Forum Activity for @dusty

If you judge by the number of new members joining FOTMD, the MD community is strong.

That's such a nice gesture on Glen's part, Jim. I love the vest!

Several years ago I lent a stranger a dulcimer at a dulcimer festival. The next year at that same festival he showed up with a limberjack for me. Or should I say limberjill .

That's hilarious, @nate.  It certainly demonstrates the limitations of information from AI.  On the one hand, it found your information here. On the other hand, it fails to recognize how unique your builds are, implying lots of "enthusiasts" are experimenting the way you do.

Neither of the two products I use occasionally--Howard Feed-N-Wax and Old English Lemon Oil--contain silicone.  I have to admit, though, that I didn't know that until I looked it up. Those products were recommended to me years ago and they both seem to work well.

Let's remember that the distinction between the lute family and the zither family is based on organology, which classifies instruments based on the way they make sound (technically its the Hornbostel-Sachs system). 

There are certainly other ways to classify them: how they are played, what they sound like, the purpose of the music (dance, worship), etc.  After all, in terms of organology, the piano and the organ are completely unrelated instruments, the former a string instrument and the latter a wind instrument.  But most of us see them as similar because they are played in a similar manner.  In terms of how you play the instrument, the mountain dulcimer is much closer to lutes than to zithers such as the hammered dulcimer.

We made it into the AI algorithms!  That constitutes success in my book, even if the information being spewed by the bots is factually incorrect.

I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk when he saw his name in the phonebook:

Well OK, so lute might be the genus, but we still need a species name.  

It may not be a dulcimer, but it isn't a lute either.  A lute usually has 11 or more strings. I believe a Renaissance lute has 15 strings, and some courses are not fretted but only used for bass notes.  The instrument in the video is more like a diatonic ukulele than a diatonic lute. 

@ken-longfield is on the right track referring to it as what is often called a stick or walkabout dulcimer.  The odd thing about Seagull's Merlin is that it has a 6+ fret but no 6 fret.

I hope you know, @lilley-pad, that the filmmakers responsible for the Hearts of the Dulcimer documentary are FOTMD members @Patricia Delich and @Wayne Jiang .

And some of the folks responsible for the Santa Cruz dulcimer renaissance back in the day are still active, most notably Neal Hellman and Howard Rugg.  Neal organizes the Redwood Dulcimer Day festival every year (mid-August) and Howard has started making dulcimers again, resurrecting Capritaurus.

When I bought my Terry McCafferty dulcimer, he was offering 3 VSLs from which to choose: 25", 25.8", and 27", though I could be wrong on that last one.  The boxes are all identical, with the difference just being the length of the fingerboard and the placement of the saddle.  So his instruments would be good ones to choose from to gauge the difference VSL makes.

I am convinced that there is little-to-no difference in tone, although the differences in VSL in these cases are minimal.  

However, I believe the 25.8" has a bit more sustain than the 25", and the difference is less than an inch! (I opted for the 25" model anyway, just for the comfort of my chording hand.)

(If you visit Terry's website, click the "Cool Stuff" page. You might see someone you know playing a tune or two!)

Yeah, to actually measure the difference, we would need to hold all the other variables constant.  We would need the same builder to make identical instruments with the exception of the VSL.  Same box, same bracing, same wood types, same wood thickness, same amount of glue, etc.  And even then we would have to decide what string gauges to use.  Would you choose the gauges most appropriate for the longer VSL or the shorter?  Would you cut the difference in half to measure? Either way, you are not really hearing the way at least one of the dulcimers would normally sound.

I guess what I'm saying is that we could never measure this accurately.  But the good news is we'll be able to discuss it forever! 

Sustain.  I think longer VSLs have more sustain than shorter ones.

Remember that modern instruments often have much larger boxes than do traditional instruments, so some of the generalizations here may not accurately describe the difference between a traditional instrument with a long VSL and a modern instrument with a shorter one.

Just what we need to get the kids interested!

I have to admit I didn't expect such a strong voice from Amanda.

How could we ever forget? It's the best day of the year!

@overdrive, please note that your description of frets and scale positions only holds true if the open string is the tonic.  In traditional dulcimer playing, different tunings are used for different modes, and the tonic changes depending on the tuning.  So yes, in DAd (mixolydian) the tonic is the open string. But in DAA (ionian) the tonic is found at the 3rd fret.  In DAC (aeolian) the tonic is found at the 1st fret.  Basically, the pattern of whole and half steps in the scale or mode determines where on the fretboard you find the tonic.

I suspect that the 6+ fret was added so that you could get the two "major" sounding modes (ionian & mixolydian) out of a single tuning (1-5-8 or DAd).  I doubt people started tuning more in DAd than DAA simply because they wanted to play a small number of mixolydian tunes all the time.

And as people started playing chords and fretting across all the strings, DAd offers a greater melodic range (three notes worth!) out of a single chord position than does DAA.  Chording in DAA sounds more concise and coherent to my ear, but it requires a lot more hand movement to play in a basic chord/melody style.

Good advice so far.  I have always had good results with Howard Feed N Wax, especially with older wood that might have dried out a bit.

@john-petry, normally I would say that that would be a good question for the I Have Extra Frets Group , but I see that @jan-potts asked that question 13 years ago and no one answered.

In a DAd tuning, the Ab you get on the melody string at 3+ is the same note as the middle string at the 6+ fret, so I don't see a huge need for it.  Maybe you could play the B part of Ash Grove without having to go so high up the fretboard.  Then again, on a dulcimer without a 6+ fret, that could be the answer.  I use that 6+ on the middle string pretty often.  You need that note for an E major chord, after all.

@tonyg, I'm glad to hear of your discoveries on the instrument.  In traditional, modal dulcimer music, the tuning is dictated by the specific notes of the melody.  DAd gives you the lowered 7th note (found on the 6 fret), which does not exist in DAA (it would be on the 8+ fret).  So certain tunes such as Going to Boston or Old Joe Clark can only be played in DAd.

That lowered 7th note defines the mode as Mixolydian.  DAA, beginning on the 3rd fret, provides the major scale or Ionian mode, which has a regular 7th note on the 9th fret.

If you have a 6+ fret, you can play the major scale or Ionian mode in DAd, which is presumably why that extra fret became so popular.  And if you are fretting with your fingers and are comfortable moving to the middle string, then you can overcome the main limitation of playing trad tunes in DAd only on the melody string, which is that no notes are available below the open melody string (the root or tonic).

But the short answer to your question is that traditional players tune DAd whenever the melody requires that lowered seventh note.

Sad news.  For a few years Terry was very active here and always had encouraging comments for everyone.  There was true joy in his heart and respect for the humanity in all of us.  Plus, he wore a good hat.  RIP.

Hi @karen-b, I arranged Beech Spring specifically to teach those left-hand techniques.  You can find my arrangement here .

In general, I find slow airs and ballads to be well suited to those techniques.  For example, see my arrangement of Calon Lân .

Never heard of that tuning, but if the middle string is an octave above the bass string--which is indicated by the lower case "d"--it probably has to be plain steel.

Hey @lilley-pad, not everything is free, but . . . 

* On YouTube, you can just search for a tune, as in "Soldier's Joy backing track" and find some stuff.  And remember that you can slow down YouTube videos and the pitch will stay the same.

* I have learned a lot of songs from https://www.mandolessons.com/ .   For some of the tunes, there is a true backing track and for others he just plays the tune on the mandolin and then plays the chords while you are supposed to take the lead.

* Bing Futch has a series called "Mountain Dulcimer in the Band" that has backing tracks for all sorts of trad tunes.  I'm not sure what the prices are if you want to buy individual issues, but you can subscribe to him on Patreon for as little as $5 a month and get access to it all.  Then you can always cancel after a month if it's not what you're looking for.

* Years ago during my misguided effort to learn bluegrass mandolin, I purchased a product from Homespun Music called Steve Kaufman's Four-Hour Bluegrass Workout. It has both super slow and seriously up-to-speed versions of traditional bluegrass tunes, most of which are part of the old timey and folk traditions as well.  For each version, he takes the lead for the first verse and then the next two verses just have the backing tracks so you can practice.  I think there is a second series that has come out more recently, too, offering even more tunes.  But beware: As with the mandolessons site, the tunes are shared in the most common key in bluegrass jams, so while some (St. Anne's Reel, Soldier's Joy) will likely be in the key of D, others will be in C, G, or A or one of the relative minors.

Good luck searching!

@randy-adams, I'm in the @Nate fan club myself, but neither you nor I are as cute as those Swifties who will be joining us once Taylor plays a jell-o mold dulcimer in a Super Bowl ad.

Your comment about the number of professional dulcimer players in interesting.  How many professionals were there in the mid-1960s?  I have no idea.  But I bet there are more now. The internet has allowed folk musicians to reach a much larger market than would have been possible before.

At least here in California, John, the majority of people who picked up the dulcimer in the early 70s did so because of Joni Mitchell and Richard Fariña.  There was no pre-existing dulcimer tradition out here until people heard those two pop stars.  And many of those people are still around, playing and teaching others.

When I got my first dulcimer I was employed teaching beginning guitar to some middle- and high-school students.  I brought my dulcimer in to show them my new toy, and they all got excited because they had just seen Cyndi Lauper play one on TV the night before. But by then, Lauper was old news.  When she had her hits back in the 1980s, she never appeared with a dulcimer (nor any instrument, for that matter).  Had she done so, perhaps I would have discovered the dulcimer decades earlier than I did.

Interesting question.  I'm not sure how to measure it, either.  The dulcimer was never a popular instrument. Even in Appalachia in the 19th century, it was less common, surely, than fiddles, banjos, and guitars.  The folk revival did indeed represent an apotheosis of sorts, but importantly, a lot of the people who took up the dulcimer then are still involved in the instrument. I've learned from many of them (Neal Hellman, Joellen Lapidus, Holly Tannen, etc.)

The original question references only the last 10-15 years.  Since I first discovered the dulcimer 13-14 years ago, I think my own perspective is useful here.

Until the pandemic, the number of dulcimer festivals was increasing.  And throughout that period, the number of people engaging about dulcimers online (FOTDM, ED, Facebook, etc.) has also been increasing.  In terms of the sheer number of people who own or play the instrument, I think there are more people involved now than there ever were.

And I'm not sure that the number of "commercial" builders is a measure of an instrument's popularity. First, as @Nate says, the dulcimer is relatively easy to build, and a lot of people build dulcimers for themselves or close friends. Second, and I will argue this until the cows come home and crush our tuners, we now have a small number of phenomenal luthiers making instruments that far surpass in quality of tone and playability the vast majority of instruments made in the past.  Even long-standing "commercial" luthiers such as Folkcraft and McSpadden are making much better instruments than they did decades ago, and if you add New Harmony and David Beede and Ron Ewing and Jerry Rockwell and Terry McCafferty and so many more, I think the number of outstanding dulcimers being produced is greater than ever.  Makers of some less impressive instruments have ceased, but I think that's not a bad thing.  Additionally, the market has been sufficient for low-end commercial builders like Roosbeck to enter the fray.

Having said all this, imagine if Taylor Swift would just play one song on the dulcimer in one of her concerts, I bet a whole bunch of teenage girls would get turned onto the instrument and before you can pick up your noter, there would be a NateBuildsToys Fan Club formed, their insignia a jello mold in the shape of a treble clef.

Enjoy your newly rejuvenated dulcimer, @roue!

Folks, I've recently learned that Randy Wilkinson is living in Arizona and will send a pdf of his books for a nominal fee.  If anyone wants his email, please send me a personal message.

Just one correction, Strumelia: the coffee place was not hip until you arrived.  Wherever you go to grab your morning joe is the hip coffee place.

I find the current interest in vinyl curious.  Personally, I miss listening to an album (scratches and all) while slowly reading the liner notes.  With Spotify you can't even figure out the musicians who play on a given track.  But why young hipsters would prefer to buy big bulky albums rather than click a button on Spotify is beyond me.

Happily, I live in a place that has a lot of small cafes.  Some of them are enjoyable places to hang out. Each one has a slightly different vibe.  Some are genuinely social spaces, with lively conversation, local artists' work on the walls, poetry readings, open mic nights, and the like.  Others are quieter, clearly conducive to students and others getting some work done.  But I also share Ken's predicament of only wanting plain drip coffee.  The baristas are all disappointed when I don't order a lavender latte with almond milk or something like that.

Hi John.  I think there are a few different issues with tuners.  One is the accuracy of the gizmo inside.  My guess is that all of the common tuners are more accurate than our ears are.  However, a second issue is how information is presented to you. One tuner, for example, might have 5 lights in between a C# and a D.  But another tuner might have 10 lights in between those tones.  So mathematically, the one with 10 lights will be able to display the tone twice as accurately.  That means what your Snark considers "in tune" might be twice the range of another tuner, making it less accurate functionally.

If you poke around the internet, you will generally be told that the most accurate tuners are the strobe tuners.  Second are those needle tuners (which is probably what your app is).  The best small strobe tuners are made by Peterson.  The original was the Peterson Strobo Clip, but that is pretty big. I actually have one for sale in the For Sale Forum .  Then Peterson came out with a smaller version, the Strobo Clip HD .  The smaller one is slightly less accurate but is much easier to read.  I also have one of those.

But I personally think the best tuner out there in terms of accuracy and display is TC Electronic's UniTune Clip On .  It is not as flexible as the Snark, but its display is much more accurate.  It's hard to describe why that's the case, but basically there are two sets of lights to follow. One is probably about as accurate as the Snark, but then there is another fine tuner set of lights to get you even closer.

For guitarists, TC Electronic also makes a PolyTune tuner that can assess all your strings at once. It's pretty wild. I have one of those on one of my guitars, but to be honest, I think the UniTune is all that anyone should need.

It's also worth mentioning that I use several of the D'Addario tuners, both the headstock tuners and the violin tuners , the latter of which can straddle the dulcimer fretboard. Both of those have a lower profile than the Snark, Peterson, and UniTune, but they are probably no more accurate than the Snark.  They're just small. You can probably see one next to the nut on most of the videos I've posted.

What a beautiful dulcimer.  I love the contrast of the ebony fretboard overlay and the cedar top.

As others have said, the instrument looks very nice and was likely very well made.

To determine if the instrument is good for a beginner, I would like more information about the action and the VSL (vibrating string length).  If you plan to play in a noter/drone style, those issues may matter little. But if you play to play with your fingers, then the action or height of the strings is very important. And if you plan to play chords, then a shorter VSL will be easier (though anything in the 25"-28" range should be OK).  And as @Nate says, you will likely want to string it as a three course instrument rather than a four course instrument. It is hard to tell from the photo whether the notches exist in the nut and bridge to facilitate that.

It is hard to find a well-built dulcimer for less than $300, so the price seems fair for such a pretty instrument, but if you will be required to spend more on repairs and other modifications, it may not be worth it.

Yes.

FolkRoots dulcimers are well known.  It was an off-shoot of Michael and Howard Rugg's Capritaurus Dulcimers in Felton, CA.  At some point (but later than the 70s, I believe), they sold FolkRoots to Folkcraft, which continues to make a line of dulcimers under that name.

The good news for you is that Howard Rugg is making dulcimers again and is a member of FOTMD!  So if you have any questions, you should go directly to him.

@gerardo1000, it's a good idea to start with the luthier's recommendations about string gauge, as you are doing, but don't feel locked into those gauges.  Follow your own preferences.  And in fact, a difference of 1 or 2 is inconsequential, so I wouldn't fret about the difference between .011 and .012 or .022 and .024.  

There are factors other than VSL to consider, and again, the most important is your own preferences.  One thing to remember is that you want some consistency of tension across the strings.  You might consult a string tension calculator such as this one to ensure that the three courses have similar tension.

FWIW, I prefer slightly heavier strings for a variety of reasons, including the fact that they are louder and also that they provide more resistance, allowing more precision when bending.  There is also a faster response to the flatpick (something enhanced with heavier picks).  On my dulcimers with VSLs in the 25"-26" range, I use .026 on the bass, .016 on the middle, and .013 on the melody.  YMMV, of course.

Strings are cheap. I would suggest buying single strings (not pre-packaged dulcimer sets) and experimenting to find your own personal preferences.

It would have been a nice find anyway, but that label just adds such heartfelt meaning.  I'm sure the dulcimer expresses a father's love for his daughter with every strum.

@lilley-pad, I would suggest first that you join the Four Equidistant Strings Group here at FOTMD.  Peruse what has already been posted, and if you still have questions, start a new discussion there.

Remember that there are several different ways to tune with 4 equidistant strings, so you need to specify the tuning before anyone can answer your question about chords.

The chart shared by @john-petry is for a chromatic instrument, so I don't know how helpful that will be.

A lot of questions there, ShirinSam!

Based on the string gauges, this is not a baritone. I would suggest a wound .024 on the bass, .014 for the middle, and .012 for the melody strings.  You could go up or down 1-2 on any of those and still be OK.

For the wood, I suggest a product called Howard Feed N Wax. You can get it at any home improvement store or Amazon.  Get the smallest bottle available.  A little goes a long way. You just put a dab on a clean rag and rub it in.  If the wood is really dry, it will absorb it. I usually put it on and then wipe any excess off 15 minutes later.  If you're interested in a demo, check out Bing Futch's video on dulcimer maintenance .

I do have a question about the nut. From the one picture, it looks extremely thin, as though someone replaced the original with a piece of a credit card or something. Is that possible?  If so, you might consider replacing it with something more durable.

Nice find! I'm sure your daughter will love it.

Thanks for sharing that sad news with us, Lisa.  The obituary makes it clear what a caring person Judith was.

Kurt Vonnegut in a letter to high school students:

Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.

You can hear James Earl Jones read the entire letter here.   

That's quite moving, Robin.  Thanks so much for sharing.  Definitely worthy of good headphones.  And a kleenex.