Forum Activity for @ken-hulme

@jost -- A transitioning guitar player has to understand that the usual flat finger type of fretting which works on guitar doesn't work well on a dulcimer flat in your lap; a more finger-tip approach is required.   I think Roy is wise to change playing style to noter as the way to transition from painful guitar to dulcimer.   Trying to treat a dulcimer as a miniature guitar can be fraught with "issues".  Learning the dulcimer as the dulcimer is traditionally played -- and then adapting some guitar technique seems best among those I know who have transitioned.

What is your VSL (distance between nut and bridge)?  String gauges are dependent on the VSL and the open tuning of the strings.  I take it you're trying to tune DAA.   

The age of your dulcimer isn't  really a factor; but without a photo or two we can't tell whether the builder used hand-made pegs or regular commercial violin pegs. 

I personally build several 24"-26" VSL dulcemore patterns, and use what are called 1/4 size Violin pegs and a standard violin taper reamer to taper the holes in the peghead. Those pegs are about the dimensions you mention, and they tune just fine to D and even E and high -- with appropriate gauge strings -- without any issues. 

Exactly what Dan said.  The luthier would have to have your instrument in hand to make a replica peg; it's not something that can be done from a distance.

If you have any truly collectable instruments by known historic makers -- Pritchard, Thomas, Singleton, Presnell, Mize, Ritchie, etc.   Make a list, assign a price, and post them here where other  serious dulcimer collectors can have an opportunity to enlarge their collection!

Or, pick out those "special" instruments, come here and post a list.  Then create a limited time auction post for one instrument at a time....

Make a list of your dulcimer playing friends and acquaintances.  Don't ask them,  Just "assign" one of your instruments to each person, based on whatever criteria you prefer.  Tell them to pick it up or arrange shipment.  

Yes, uke tuners will work.  There are also a variety of geared tuners.  Just make sure, if you use geared tuners, that you install them 'right way around' as they come as "lefts" and "rights".

I've known several people over the years who have switched from guitar to MD, but usually for wrist pain or arthritis in the major fretting fingers, not the pinky.    IMHO it's good to get switched over now, before other hand issues start to appear.  

Noter & Drone is certainly the most definitive switch from the multi-finger/string fretting of guitar.  It has its own unique sound to offer, and a whole new world for you to explore.  One thing I would suggest is to not use the pathetic 1/4" dowel which even companies like McSpadden and Folkcraft include with their instruments.  Instead, look for noters of approximately the same diameter as your index finger.  I make many noters by rounding and polishing the "pen blanks" of exotic woods you can get from the Internet.  Bamboo also makes exemplary noters.  

Here's a link to a booklet I wrote a number of years back for folks interested in Noter & Drone style.  You can also find it in the Noter & Drone Group here (you have to "Join" a Group to be able to interact in any of the discussions).

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask here or in a Private Message.

Ken Hulme's "Get Noterized!" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com

Bright Light  - at least 6 hours of direct sun a day.
Don't overwater.  This is the most common problem.  I had jade plant cuttings which hadn't been watered in 2 years spent all day on a tile windowsill,  and looked all wrinkled and dead, come back to life with a week of  watering on a bed of sand.   The planting medium needs to be DRY to the touch before you water.  The medium also has to drain well -- you want sand or 1/8" gravel, not peat bog potting soil. 

Most of the things folks grow as houseplants are wild in our yard.  Dracanae, Bromeliads.  Jasmine, Gardenia, Frangipani.  Night Blooming Cereus.  Several Cactus.  The neighbor had a 20 ft tall Schefflera. 

We've been awash with Mangos from our tree since mid May and the flood is finally trickling away.  I have 30 quarts frozen for mango goodies all winter.   

I've made several new versions of Gaspacho so far this year -- two based on mango and one based on watermelon.  Such a great treat in our warm summer.

What Dan said!   And yes, you do get more volume using a possum board.  Put your dulcimer on a wooden table and strum it.  Do it again, but first set the dulcimer on two pencils sitting on the table (one near each end of the instrument).  You will notice significantly more volume, depending on how hard you strum...

i use an end cutter rather than side cutter.  Don't buy the gold plated one, but don't buy the dollar-store cheapo either.

kristinrichmond  -- here's a link to a beginner's guide that I wrote a number of years ago called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?:
It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms (so we all speak the same jargon) plus answers to many beginner questions about tuning, playing, care and feeding your new friend.   Feel free to copy and print the booklet.

With the tuning head to your left, closest to you will be two melody strings, the first one is 1/8"in from the edge of the fretboard, the inner string 1/8" closer to center.  On the far side of the fretboard, you have the same situation -- the outer bass string is 1/8" from the far edge of the fretboard and the inner bass string 1/8" closer to center.  The middle drone is half way between the inner melody string and the inner bass string.   Generally speaking, as Skip mentions, the bass couplet has a regular bass string appropriate for the VSL, and the inner bass string is the same as a melody, and intended to be tuned an octave above the bass string.  From bass to melody,  the usual tuning setup is  DdAdd.

You can buy commercially made nuts/bridges from McSpadden, Folkcraft and elsewhere which already have the notches cut for 3, 4, 5 and 6 string layouts,

Haven't a clue as to the builder, but I love the flower-scroll tuning head.  Where on the Goodwill site did you find it?  What town/state?  It has a certain "California" feel about it.

Looks good.  -- the two melody strings go to the tuners closest to you; the middle drone and bass drone go to the tuners on the far side.

DO NOT take all the strings off at once.  Replace one string at a time.

Charlie:

Here's a link to an essay I wrote a few years back called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? .  It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms (so we all speak the same jargon) plus answers to many beginner questions about the tuning, playing, care and feeding of your new dulcimer.  Enjoy your dulcimer journey,,,

Ken Hulme's "I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com

The VSL (on dulcimers call it Vibrating String Length, not "scale") is easily measured from the inside edge of the nut to the inside edge of the bridge.  The VSL is only an issue if you have really small hands  -- 26-1/2" to 27" is fairly normal for VSL these days.  Whether or not the fretboard is hollowed is a very minor factor.   Neither thing you mention should be a deal-breakers in the purchase of one of Warren's dulcimers.

I'd say those are good specs.  You can always just try to call Warren and ask.  His shop downtown is closed but he still makes a few at home.  He's listed in the Berea phonebook I believe.

I use a foldable waiter's tray table.  They come in various heights, available on line or at a local restaurant supply house for about the same $25.  



Some folks use a 3 sided "granny walker".  

Thanks Ken.  I wondered about that when I started looking for Larry this morning and discovered it is copyrighted by Ralph Stanley.  Although Ralph died in 2016, the copyright should still be held by his estate.

Updated since last year:

Jacob Gross fretted zither -- replica of one in the Mercer Museum
Large Burnsville NC holly leaf
Small Burnsville NC holly leaf
Til Holloway hourglass  -- out on loan
Harry Wicker KY hourglass
Ozark Walking Stick coffin shape
Korean Honda hourglass -- out on loan
John Knopf JE Thomas replica hourglass 
Bobby Ratliff Hogfiddle elliptical
Bobby Ratliff Cumberland Travel model elliptical 
2 Anglo-Saxon Lyres
1 laptop Cajon Box Drum
4 Mirliton flutes
2 Pennywhistles

Ron makes some very nice, sweet sounding dulcimers, and I'm sure you'll be pleased with your purchase.  I've not been to Gebhard Woods, but the Festival has a long history and you should be very welcomed.  My advice is to take whatever classes appeal to you, regardless of the so called "skill level" listed.  Take the beginner classes, of course, but don't feel that you should only take those.  One day, down the road, something will happen and you'll go "THAT's what that teacher at Gebhart meant!

A number of years ago I wrote a booklet called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? .  It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimr terms (so we all speak the same jargon), plus answers to many beginner questions about the tuning, playing, care and feeding of your new 'friend'.  Here's a link to the booklet to download or read on line:

Ken Hulme's "I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com

Anytime you have a question, feel free to ask them here,  There are no dumb questions, just ones that you haven't gotten answered yet.

Welcome Tull66.    Elsewhere you wrote:
I’m new here, don’t see how to start a new topic. I don’t own a dulcimer yet and want to know how to choose. I want to dabble making music, not looking for an heirloom.  Where do I begin? Thanks. Also looking for a mentor in Jeannette PA.

To start a New Discussion you go to the Discussions Tab and scroll down until you see the category you want to start a discussion in  -- This is the General Category.  Then in that category you click the + sign at the top right of the page, and a new window like this one appears.


Choosing a first dulcimer can be difficult because everyone here is going to recommend their own personal favorite brand/style and all that!

Since you at this point aren't even sure if you'll like the dulcimer, I suggest you start as inexpensively as you can while still getting an instrument you can trust.  Believe me, there are lots of cheap, fly-by-night "deals" out there to be avoided.  

I've been building and playing dulcimers since the mid-1970s, and have owned and played many different styles, brands,etc.  My advice to you, as a complete newcomer, is to choose one of the Cardboard dulcimers you can find here:

www.backyardmusic.com  › page › subpage › dulcimers › simplicity-dulcimer.htm
or here:
https://www.folkcraft.com  › products › cardboard-dulcimer-kit-2311071

It may sound almost silly.  But it isn't.  The material the body of a dulcimer is made from isn't particularly important.  Wood is the most common material, but there have also been perfectly good sounding dulcimers made out of Legos, thin plexiglass, gourds, and violin cases!  However, the accuracy of the spacing of the frets (to the nearest 1/100th of an inch or less) is critical.  Many of those "deal" dulcimers are made with inaccurate fretboards.  The cardboards instruments in the links above have VERY accurate fretboards, and are VERY suitable for a newcomer to learn to play. Those compoanies havebeen around for mny years and have thousands of satisfied customers. 

Once you've got some experience playing, and have hung around here reading and seeing what folks say about this and that -- for six months or so -- then you'll be better prepared to decide which next dulcimer you want.   BTW, finding a mentor would be a great thing, but many.many of us learned to play from one or another book, without any formal teacher.

IN the meantime, here is a link to a booklet I wrote a number of years ago called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? .  It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms (so we all speak the same jargon) plus answers to many beginner questions about the tuning, playing, care and feeding of your instrument.  Enjoy your journey!!

Ken Hulme's "I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com

Thanks for posting Theresa.  If a Festival organizer doesn't approach FOTMD and ask to post a Festival announcement in Events, it doesn't get posted.  Too much work for Lisa or the other Admins to keep track of all the Festivals out there. 

Conventional dulcimers have three courses of strings -- melody, middle drone and bass drone.  Any one or all of those courses can have 1, 2, or even 3 strings.  They are played, and often tuned, exactly the same regardless of how many stringare in each course -- CCCGGGccc, CCGGcc, CCGccc or CcGgcc are all played the same way that CGc is played  

4-Equidistant strings are a different ball of wax.   They have 4 courses, and that 4th course adds an additional note to the  tunings and the creation of (by dulcimer standards) some 'exotic' chords that are unlike conventional chords.

I suggest you spend some time joining and reading the posts in that Four Equidstant Strings Group

TRADITION! 

When asked about dulcimer with “extra" frets, Jean Ritchie replied “In a strict sense it has a different finger board, it’s not quite a dulcimer anymore.”    

You can find all the notes in the dulcimer's range, but you have to be willing to re-tune at least one string to do so (takes less than 30 seconds, with practice).

If you want a chromatic instrument lay a guitar on your lap and play that.  Or I can build you an  "acoustic lap guitar". Just don't call it a dulcimer.   Part of the essential definition of Dulcimer, to many of us, is the diatonic fretboard.

If you are playing mostly "classic dulcimer songs" especially from tabulature rather than SMN, it will be 'more difficult' because the fret numbering convention is different, and you'll have to find the fewer diatonic frets among the plethora of chromatic frets.  You won't be able to simply count 1,2,3,4... to find a tab numbered fret.  With a chromatic instrument that becomes
1/2,1,1-1/2, 2, 3, 3-1/2, 4, 4-1/2, 5, 6, 6-1/2,7......



Also, IMHO the 'sound' of a chromatic "dulcimer" is different when you slide from note to note -- because of all the intervening chromatic notes between diatonic notes -- I hear those slides as 'muddier'...

Teddy -- Traditionally only the Melody string (or couplet) nearest to you is fretted to make the notes.  The other two strings are Drones.  If you fret the Melody string(s)  with a small finger-sized stick, we call that stick a Noter, and the style is Noter & Drone.  If you fret only the Melody string(s) with one or two fingers we call that Fingerdancing.  If you fret across all three course of strings we call that non-traditional style Chord-Melody.  For the most bagpipe-like sound you'll want to focus on Noter & Drone or Fingerdancing because they emphasize the Drones.

Welcome Home, Teddy -- in many ways!   

The good news is that you can think of your dulcimer as a sort of "stringed bagpipe"!  It has the same melody and drone setup as the GBH.  There is even a specific tuning called Bagpipe Tuning -- Ddd.  Coincidentally, the dulcimer also excels at renditions of classic Scots and Irish tunes, the Border Ballads and more, particularly when played in Noter & Drone or Fingerdance style, which emphasize the drone nature of the dulcimer.  I've been playing those ballads and tunes for decades!

To get you ready for your new "friend", here's a link to an article I wrote several years ago, called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? .   It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer tunes (so we all speak the same jargon), plus answers to many beginner questions about the tuning, playing, care and feeding of your instrument.  

Ken Hulme's "I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com

First of all, you do not need to "strum in both directions".  I spent some 25 or 30 years being an 'outie only' strummer before one day accidentally strumming both ways and making it work.  I still strum 90% out-only.   You're just starting -- give it time.

Secondly, you do not need a 6+ fret, because you can retune (usually only 1 string) in just a few seconds, to change between the most common tunings to get notes you don't have in your base tuning.

I  think you should first spent some time (a week or two) daily practicing and learning how to re-tune quickly between DAd, DAA, DAC and DAG (the 4 most common Modal tunings).  Play a song in one Mode, retune the melody string, play a song in another Mode, re-tune the melody string... rinse and repeat.  After a couple of days you'll become a wizz at changing that one melody string in just a few seconds.

I think if you're dead set on having a 6+ fret you should, if possible, first borrow a 6+ fretted dulcimer for a few weeks to see if it really is your cuppa tea before possibly irrevocably changing a dulcimer which was intentionally built without the modern non-diatonic 6+ fret. If you can't borrow a ^+ dulcimer, make a temporary 6+ fret with some tape and a piece of paperclip.

I think MOST dulcimer teachers/books etc teach tunings from the bass string first -- because that is the note which defines the Keynote -- the note the instrument is tuned to.  Gotta remember dulcimers are not guitars or mandolins, and we have our own way of doing things.  Like referring to the Bass, Middle Drone and Melody strings rather than Low or High strings.

I've used Jerry Rockwell's "relative" tuning techniqus successfully for decades -- set the bass string to X, fret to bass string at fret 4 and tune the middle drone to that fifth; if tuning to a Mixolydian 1-5-7, fret the bass string at 7 and tune the melody string to that fretted note.  There detailed instructions for Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian and Aeolian Modal tunings in my I Just Got A Dulcimer... booklet.

Most tabulature has the name of the tuning at the top, and assumes that the player knows how to tune to them.

Skip's post gives you the straight dope.  I've used a similar chart for years to show basic Modal Tunings.   Of course those are the "key of D" Modal Tunings,, and any tuning can be "transposed" to the same Mode with other key notes (C, G, E, B etc).

If you join the Beginner Players Group, at the top of the Group page you'll find an article I wrote years ago to answer many newcomer's questions about the tuning, playing, care and feeding of their dulcimer.  It also includes an illustrated glossary of terms so we all speak the same jargon in regards to the instrument.  The article is called I Just Gof A Dulcimer, Now What?

Also, I've attached a PDF of another article I wrote called Uncontrite Modal Folker, which explains in detail about Modes and Modal Tunings

Uncontrite Modal Folker.pdf - 92KB

I don't play, but have several friends and bandmates who play 12 strings, and I know 3 players of 24 and 30 string Harp Guitars -- talk about "full sound"!"

Hollar when you're ready, Jost, and I'll build you the dulcimer equivilent -- 9 strings (3 courses of three strings each), on a 3" deep x 9" wide body, 27" VSL, with a double-back like a Galax.

I agree Matt.  Physics tells us the most appropriate place to pluck a string is have way between the two ends, at the maxium amplitude.  Since one end of a dulcimers' fretted string is always changing, the "average center" of a vibrating string is somewhere around fret 12-14. Olde tyme traditional dulcimers that were both fretted and bowed invariably had the traditional taller fretboards --  on the order of 1" -- which is useful both for noter-knuckle clearance and easier bowing.  

As Matt says, the strum hollow is another weight redution technique that was often not used by traditional (pre-1960) builders. 

The "strum hollow" idea was sold to modern players as a way to not scratch the fretboard in the area where the pick is doing all the strumming.  However, the best place to strum is about half way between the fretted string(s) and the bridge, which on average is somewhere around fret 12-14, not down below the 16h fret and the bridge.  Also, a good player doesn't dig the pick far enough below the plane of the strings to do much, if any scratching.

The correct term is arch.  Not scoop or scallop.   That's why you didn't find anything.  You can have an "arched" fretboard.   The purpose of arches is two-fold. 

First, they remove a great deal of the overall mass (weight) of the fretboard -- makes the whole thing lighter and more responsive while still maintaining the rigidity of the fretboard for proper fret spacing.   

Second, arching frees up some small additional part of the dulcimer top to allow it to vibrate more freely.  Vibration is of course what causes the sound. Dulcimers do not produce sound in quite the same way as guitars, mandolins, banjos, etc. 

Because of the massive brace (called the fretboard) down the length of the top, very little top vibration is even possible.  The majority of the sound comes from the vibration of the back and sides -- even though we most often bury the bottom in our sound absorbing laps.  This is why a Galax-style double back instrument gives so much more sound than a single back instrument -- the entire back is free to vibrate.

Are arches necessary?  No.  The majority of dulcimers are built with solid or channeled fretboards. 
 
Are arches useful?  Certainly. Any time an oscilloscope can measure an increase in sound production, it's a net gain.

Are arches æsthetically pleasing?  Heck yes!  I even built one dulcemore with the size and spacing of the arches matching the size and spacing of the frets.

As Skip sez, you don't need concert hall audio quality at this point.  A free audio recorder app on your phone is more than adequate to trigger your memory for what a tune sounds like.  

Definitions,,,

Fingerpicking is one way of playing the notes of a tune.  You can also strum or bow the string to sound the notes.

Fretting is choosing which notes to play  -- either fretting single notes on the melody string (Noter & Drone or Finger dancing) while the other strings drone;  or fretting any or all strings to create chords.

Question -- if you have your "finger positions copied down"  why do you need to assign note values?  99.9% of dulcimer players are accustomed to playing from "tabulature" -- three line number sequences showing which string to fret when -- rather than the half/whole/quarter notes of Standard Music Notation?  Everyone who creates tab has their own method of indicating time -- dots between numbers, long and short spaces between numbers, etc.  Simple recordings of your compositions would seem to be the easiestway to recall "how to play" a given tune.  

Are you playing Chord-Melody style across all the strings, or just working out a tune on the melody string?  Either way, there are tables which tell you what note each fret has in each tuning.  One to check out is the Strothers Chord Wizard -- Tom & Missy Strothers | Diatonic Chords   to help you figure out wht is what.

As Ken says, it depends on who you talk to.  The idea is, more or less, to free up more top to vibrate and also reduce the overall mass of the fretboard, thus enhancing the sound.  Some of us arch the fretboard, many more of us cut a channel down the length of the inside of the fretboard.  Both work, or or less, depending on the impact of the many other design variables.  "Ya pays yer money an ya takes yer chances".