Forum Activity for @dusty

By the way, I moved this discussion to the Forum on Specific Luthiers so that it would be more easily located later on instead of getting lost in the General Music category.

@noah-coy-barfield, I had a McSpadden baritone for about a year that I had to sell when I was making another dulcimer purchase that I couldn't really afford. It was a wonderful instrument, with a strong, deep voice.  Here is the video I posted when I was obliged to sell it: 

One nice thing about McSpaddens is that they keep their value pretty well.  And they are always well made (unless you get one made from a kit, and then you never know!).

I actually like all the suggestions here.  I've found in jams that it's important to have a clear leader for each tune.  That person counts out the first measure and determines the tempo.  Everyone else should follow that person.  It also helps if that person or a surrogate taps their feet loudly and plays the role of conductor.  

If there is a real disconnect, it may be that someone has to take a more active approach. In my monthly dulcimer group, I will sometimes start counting beats out loud and giving cues to where we are: "2-3-4- third line" or "3-4 A chord" or  whatever to get people in sync.

And sometimes a private conversation may be necessary.  I have a tendency to speed up as I play. One person in my local group always plays too fast.  But one day I spoke with her privately, explaining that we both had the same bad tendency and asking for her help in slowing down and following the tempo of the rest of the group.  That conversation made her a better player with out my having to insult her in any way.

But as a general rule, every orchestra needs a conductor. Whether that's the rhythm guitar as Randy suggests, someone taping their foot, or another leader of some sort.

@jp, I regularly use a .014 on my melody string and almost always tune to d. I've never had a string break on my dulcimer when I was tuning it.  But perhaps on longer VSLs .012 or even lighter would work better.  I say go for it and see what happens, perhaps putting on some goggles just in case.   Jeepers, creepers, you gotta protect your peepers!

@nigelbleddfa, it is surely the case that the more you change a string's tuning the more likely the string is to snap, but so what?  It's a good idea to change strings every 3-6 months anyway, so I don't see what the big deal is.  A string costs a buck.  A dulcimer costs a lot more than that.  There are better reasons to justify a new dulcimer.

Maybe I'm spoiled.  My thoughtful wife  got me a $100 gift card to Just Strings for my last birthday. I was able to buy several years worth of strings with that.

@jp, before I answer your question, let me point you to the place to ask questions about the site.  Click on Forums, and the first one is " Site Questions: How Do I . . ? " That is the place to post questions about how to do things here. In fact, before you pose your own question, you should peruse the existing discussions to see if someone has already asked the same question.

Now . . . yes, of course you can post your own music.  You can post videos from YouTube or Vimeo and audio files directly to FOTMD or via SoundCloud.  There are some rules, though. You can only post tunes that are in the public domain or that you wrote yourself and you must actually be playing or singing on the piece you post.  Please read the Site Rules to make sure whatever you post here is acceptable.

To add an audio or video file, start from your own home page, click "audio" or "video" and then the "+" sign. It should be self-explanatory, but if you have problems, you know where to ask for help.

@adrian-e,  I have a different approach to this.  

I strongly advise against spending a lot of money on an instrument until you've been playing long enough to discover your own preferences.  Some variables are more obvious than others.  The VSL, or vibrating string length, makes a difference mainly in how big the spaces are between frets and the sustain the instrument has.  Do you want an overlay such as ebony on the fretboard?  How wide should the fretboard be?  What kind of fret wire do you prefer?  How far apart should the strings be?  Do you want a wrist rest?  a bevel or place to rest your arm while you play?  Do you want a warm, mellow tone, or a brighter sound? Do you want a false bottom for more volume, or would you rather have less volume but be able to control it by muting the bottom on your legs?

You would be surprised how many small variables can make a big difference in how you (yes you, not me, because we are all different) play an instrument.  It took me a few years of playing to develop most of my preferences, but I am still refining certain issues like how far apart I want the strings.  Some of that can be adjusted on any instrument, but some of it can't.  And you don't want to spend a lot of money on an instrument only to find after playing it a while that it's not to your liking.  You would be better off playing for a while, trying out a variety of different instruments, and slowly developing a sense of what your dream dulcimer is.  In a few years, if you are still playing and still enjoying the dulcimer, you'll know exactly what you want to spend your money on.

I also don't know how to quantify the differences in tone between dulcimers.  I have dulcimers that cost $300 and dulcimers that cost over $1000.  The more expensive dulcimers sound a lot richer and play a lot easier.  But 3 times as much? I have no idea.  If we are judging dulcimers by a ratio of their sound quality relative to their price, I would suggest the David Lynch beginner dulcimer to be the best dulcimer out there.  It does not have the rich, warm tone of dulcimers that cost ten times the price, but the intonation is excellent, the action is good, the instrument has a nice punch to it, and the price is about a third of a Ron Gibson.

Having said all that, both Ron Gibson and Bonnie Carol dulcimers have good reputations and good resale value.

Hey @jp.  Welcome to FOTMD.  Since "Here Comes the Sun" is under copyright, you won't find free copies of tab around.  But there have been a few people to record it, and it's possible there's a version in a book somewhere.

You might consider posting a "Wanted" listing in the For Sale Forum .

You can contact David and order a dulcimer (or at least get on a waiting list) through his website: ww.davidbeede.com .  I've never seen one of his dulcimers available in a store and used copies rarely come available.

@erna-schram, as you can see there are a few different approaches here.  Mine is close to both Banjimer and Rob.

The most common keys in folk, bluegrass, or old timey jams are C, D, G, and A.  If you practicetuning back and forth between DAA or DAd and CGG or CGC, then you will only need one dulcimer.  For the key of G, capo at the third fret with your normal D tuning. For the key of A, capo at the fourth fret.  Then all you have to know is how to transpose.  What's nice about the capo is that you don't have to learn new chord shapes. You can continue to play the same chord shapes you already know.  Then the only trick is knowing which chord to play.  Perhaps this transposition chart will help.

It should be obvious how to read this.  If you are playing a song in the key of C and you are tuned CGG or CGC, then when the song requires a C chord, you use the fingering for your D chord.  When the song requires a G chord, you use your fingering for an A chord.  If the song is in the key of G, then tuned DAD or DAA, put the capo on the third fret.  If the song requires a G chord, you use the fingering for a D chord.  If the song requires a Bm, you use the fingering for an F#m.  And so forth.

Personally, if I were bringing two dulcimers to a jam, I would tune one as a baritone to be able to get the keys of G and A and the other as a standard to get D and C.  Then no capos are needed.  But if you only bring one dulcimer and a capo, you can easily get the four most common keys.

And if you think a little bit, you can get the others as well.  What if someone wants to play in the key of F to fit their voice?  You can tune to C and capo at 3!  If someone wants to play in Ab, you might first call them crazy, and then you could think:  "If a capo at the fourth fret gives me the key of A when I'm tuned to D, if I tune to Db, the fourth fret will be Ab!"  A little bit of creative thought will allow you to find most keys without having to re-learn different chord fingerings for each one.

I can't wait to finish up some work so I can take the time to listen to the new podcast.

We had Heidi and Bob out here in Sacramento several months ago for a dulcimer workshop and house concert.  We must have had about 30 guests for the concert, all packed into a private home sitting on rented chairs.  I can't say we were comfortable, but the music transported us to a place of sweet harmony.  I love that electric dulcimer/cello thing that Bob plays.

I'm still amazed that I could get all of FOTMD and ED on a little jump drive in my pocket.  Wow!  I feel so powerful! 

Thanks, Brian. Just out of curiosity, how long did that download take?

I'm actually surprised.  Less than 4 GB for the whole thing.  Makes me wonder why servers have to be so big.

Folks, just a reminder about Strumelia's reminder.  From what Bruce has said, it is likely that even if ED is shut down, the stable content (tabs, articles, etc) will likely still be available.

A few comments on pick clack.

First, you probably notice it more than any listeners would since you are right above the instrument and the clack does not bounce around in the box and get amplified the way the sound from the vibrating strings does. 

Second, you might indeed be hitting the fretboard when you pick or strum, but that is probably the only technical "mistake" that one might make. 

Third, although it might seem counter-intuitive, thinner picks make more of a clacking sound than heavier picks.  Consider moving to heavier picks and holding them loosely rather than tightly.

Fourth, you might indeed reduce pick clack with leather or felt picks, but you will never be able to control those picks enough to play lots of single notes, something you may want to do eventually even if you are mostly strumming now. 

And fifth, some of us don't hate the pick clack, so don't worry about it too much.  I liken it to the sound of fingers squeaking as they move along the strings. It is a nice reminder of the tactile nature of the instrument.  This is music being made by a person holding an instrument, not some digital creation made in a vacuum with no ambient noise.

Well there's no reason to steal the bad ones! 

@showtimegary. there is nothing we can tell you. You're on your own.

Ha! I'm kidding, of course.    You are going to get tons of advice from this site, and some of it might even be helpful!

First off, I would suggest you join both the Beginners Group and the Old Style Drone Players Group , since your dulcimer is intended for traditional styles of music.  Poke around there and see if there are old conversations that might help.

Secondly, don't be afraid to just play.  Put the dulcimer on your lap, tune it up, and start playing.  If you like what you hear, do it again.  If you don't, try something different.  Lots of people learned to play this instrument long before the internet or even tablature had been used.

If you are a beginner, Strumelia's Noter and Drone Blog  might be very helpful.

And when you have questions, speak up. If we don't know the answer, we'll make something up!

John, I see over at ED that one person has volunteered to take the site over, but I'm not sure everyone understands how much work is involved and how much technical savvy it requires.  A team of people with the right range of expertise might be able to do it, but the number of people who have that expertise, have the time available, and have an interest in dulcimers is pretty low.  I have not given up hope that the right group of folks might step forward, but I also think that the rest of us with our own websites will have to be more involved in the future to fill the large void ED will leave.

@linda-boies, we are all in shock about this development.  Please see an earlier discussion about ED closing .  Lois has explained how to use the "Wayback Machine" to find material from expired websites.  Hopefully all the resources available on ED will still be around even if no one can be found to maintain the current site.

Paula, I've been wanting to learn Boys from Wexford myself, so I began the process of transposing the sheet music to D and arranging some basic harmonic accompaniment.  You can see in the attached pdf what I've come up with so far (I call it a "work in progress," or WIP).  It should get you started.  From here my process will be to listen to as many versions of the song as I can to hear when there should be minor chords instead of major chords.  And then I will begin adding the "filler," meaning the arpeggios and other minor embellishments to fill in the spaces when the melody takes several beats.  If you have any luck with this tab, let me know.

The Boys from Wexford (WIP).pdf - 58KB

@paula-brawdy , there is plenty of sheet music for Boys of Wexford available online. Most of it seems to be in the key of G.  It wouldn't be too hard to transpose that to D. But also note that Leo is playing a dulcimer with four equidistant strings.  I'm sure you could figure out how to play the tune in regular DAd tuning, but it won't be exactly like his. Also, he uses the 1+ fret to get a C chord in Banish Misfortune.

Here is Leo's version for reference .  He is a member here, so you might consider contacting him directly.  

Yes, the tab archive at ED was a great resource for beginners. I learned a few tunes that way when I was first starting out before I gained the confidence to figure songs out on my own.  I do hope that database is retained somehow.

But everyone should know that ED is not the only site to maintain free dulcimer tablature.  I list 9 such sites on the Resources page of my website, and I'm sure there are others.  (If you know of any, let me know and I'll add them.)

I just went through the articles on ED and downloaded those that I thought I might want to review in the future.  Ron Z has posted that he is no longer accepting any new content (articles, tab, events, members, etc.) so what we see there now is all there will ever be.

I'm shocked by this news. 

I guess neither of us took to the Herdim picks, huh?  Let me point out that you are experimenting with different materials, gauges, and designs all at once.  You might try to limit the variables.  For example, try to isolate the material you like before deciding what thickness works best.  If you try four different picks but each one is different in shape, material, and thickness, you might not figure out why you prefer a specific one. 

Since you mention it, let me say that my pick of choice is the Dunlop tortext pick, but I use the standard size, not the III.  When I first started on the dulcimer I was using the yellow .73, then I moved to the green .88, and recently I've moved to the 1.0 blue ones.  But I like heavier strings, and in general as string gauges get bigger so will the gauges of your pick.  I like the tortex material, but find I need to moisten my fingertips a bit.  You will often see me lick my fingers and then wipe them on my jeans to get just the right amount of moisture.  It's probably not a good look on stage, but it's better than losing control of a pick and having it fly into the audience! 

The only picks I've found that I prefer to the Dunlop Tortex are the Blue Chip picks, but those are way beyond my budget.

Hi, @nigelbleddfa .  I would encourage you to continue experimenting with different picks. Note that in addition to different shapes (teardrop, triangle, etc.) and design (thumb hook, hole in the middle, etc.), picks come in different kinds of materials and, most importantly, different thicknesses.  You refer to your old Herdim pick as "floppy," which leads me to think you were using a pick that was too thin and you have found more success with a heavier gauge pick.  As I have been playing the dulcimer I have moved to slightly heavier and heavier picks, and one reason I like the heavier picks is that it makes it easier to pluck single strings.  I personally did not like the Herdim picks (too pointy), but I played guitar for decades before discovering the dulcimer, so my own pick preferences were mostly developed before I ever held a dulcimer.  But you might revisit the Herdim picks and choose one that's a heavier gauge than the one you started with.  Again, keep exploring different options.  Eventually you will settle on the best pick for you.

Hey @notsothoreau, I agree with what Richard has said.  Initially follow whatever recommendations the luthier has for your instrument.  But you should also experiment a little to discover your own preferences.  You may find that you want one or more strings a little heavier or lighter than what the luthier suggested.  And you may find that different dulcimers respond differently to different string gauges.  Learn what you prefer for each of your dulcimers and then you can buy single strings in bulk.

As Richard says, in general, nickel-wound strings have a brighter sound and bronze-wound strings have a mellower sound.  I much prefer bronze-wound strings, but that is a matter of personal preference.  I also use so-called "squeekless" strings for my bass strings. They reduce the sound of your fingers sliding up and down.  If you play in a drone style and don't fret the bass string, that is obviously not an issue for you.  And some people don't like some of the squeekless strings because those that are coated with a plastic to fill in the grooves supposedly have a muted sound (something my ears don't hear).

You might also want to make use of the Strothers String Gauge Calculator .  You enter in the VSL (vibrating string length, or the distance between the nut and the bridge) and the note you want the open string to play.  The calculator will then estimate a good string gauge to use.  Note that the calculator errs on the light side, so feel free to try out stings one or two notches heavier than indicated.

Just think of this as one area you can explore to help develop your own preferences and thereby, your own sound.

Wow!  This stuff's really good and really interesting.  I like Jeff's percussive style of playing the dulcimer.

I don't want to start a big debate here, but how could shortening the VSL not affect the volume?  Pluck an open string. Now fret it at the octave. You will clearly see that the longer string has a lot more volume than the shorter one.  Or if you think your finger (or noter) on the fretboard is what dampened the sound, fret a string at the first fret and pluck it. Then fret it at the 12th fret. Which is louder?

And even more than volume, shorter strings have less sustain.  On a well-made dulcimer such as the McSpadden you might not notice that if you play down near the nut and use a lot of open strings, but in the second octave it will be much more noticeable.

I am not saying any of this to dissuade people from getting dulcimers with shorter scale length, for my current go-to dulcimer has a mere 25" scale length.  It is a beautiful sounding instrument, and I made that choice for the same reason Susie did: the ease of playing chords.  But there seems to me no doubt that you sacrifice some volume and sustain as you move to shorter VSLs.

That's good thinking, @notsothoreau.  I always advise people to play for a year or more before indulging in what they think will be their dream dulcimer.  There are just so many variables (scale length, fretboard width, fretboard overlay, wood types, extra frets, bright tone vs mellow tone, internal pickup, and more) that until you play for a while and develop your preferences, you can't know what kind of dulcimer you will really want.  Get a decent, playable, and affordable dulcimer at first and give yourself some time to discover what options you would want on your dream dulcimer.  (Of course, if you're like many of us, you may find that you have several dream dulcimers!)

Here is the link: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/ .  I will also fix it in the original post.

FYI: The best way to create a hyperlink in a post is to use the hyperlink tool.  Just highlight the text that will have the link and click the hyperlink icon (the fifth icon from the right in the tool bar).  Then you paste the URL and can choose to have the link open in another window or this one (I always choose another window).

Linda, proposals for groups go to the site owner Strumelia and she discusses them with the Moderators.  I'm sure we'll talk about your idea.  I can tell you, though, that a lot of the groups get started with a fair amount of activity and then go dormant.  Most of the state-centered groups are really small and don't have much going on.  When I posted about a month ago in the California Group to publicize a dulcimer festival in Berkeley, I noticed that the last post was me a year ago announcing the same festival! No one had posted in a year!  The largest state group is Michigan with 60 members, but even there the last post was 2 years ago.  And some state groups are really small. Indiana, for example, only has 12 people.

I am of mixed sentiment on this. I can understand the desire for a central place to find people in a local area, but I also fear that too much content gets hidden in groups and now we have too many groups with too little going on.  I joined the California group for exactly the reason you explain, and yet it hasn't worked out too well.

I'm sure Strumelia will get back to you.

Peter, if it's possible to stop that, it would be a YouTube setting.  I'll poke around there and see if I can find anything. 

Does Vimeo do the same thing?

It's heartening to hear that some of you will be getting together even if the official event has been cancelled.  You can't keep a good dulcimer player down!

Hi Adrian,

Rick never had a website to my knowledge, but he's still around.  He moved recently, but he had a koa dulcimer for sale a few months ago, so he must still be making them.  He is a member here:  https://fotmd.com/rick-probst .  Try to contact him.  If he doesn't get back to you, send me a personal message and I'll contact him on your behalf. (I don't think it's my place to hand out his email.)

I'm pretty sure Rick is still making dulcimers, but not that many.  He's been making ukuleles and other instruments with a steadier market.  But luthiery was always a side gig for him anyway; he has a day job, so his production is limited.

Susie, Richard is describing the dimensions of the standard dulcimer that McSpadden has sold for years.  However, a couple of years ago they began making another one with a shorter VSL.  I think it's 26" instead of 28.5".  If you play noter/drone, the longer VSL is fine. But some people who play chords prefer a shorter VSL because it's easier to finger some chords (although you lose some sustain in the process).

Micarta is a synthetic material that is used in place of ebony or rosewood.  Since legal ebony is getting harder to find (and therefore more expensive) some guitars and other instruments are now made with micarta fretboards and bridges.  I've read that it is as hard as ebony, but I don't know what it feels like to play.  If you search the internet you'll find some high-end Martin guitars with micarta fretboards, so it must be pretty good.

One interesting note: since Micarta is synthetic, it can be colored.  Most of the time it is black so that it looks like Ebony (though it probably doesn't have wood grain). But theoretically, it could be any color. Imagine a dulcimer with a hot pink fretboard!

Dana,

There are several books of Celtic music for the dulcimer.  Mark Nelson, Lorinda Jones, Neal Hellman, and Linda Brockinton all have good books out, and I'm sure others do as well.  You might also look specifically for music by Turlough O'Carolan, for a lot of those harp tunes work very well on dulcimer, and again, there are books dedicated to O'Carolan tunes arranged for the dulcimer.  Shelley Stevens has one out as does Linda Brockinton.

I have a student who is concentrating on Celtic tunes, so I am helping her work through Neal Hellman's book, Celtic Tunes and Slow Airs for Mountain Dulcimer .  The book used to come with a CD, though newer editions give you access to the music online.  The music is really good; for most tunes there is an instrumental version of the arrangement in the book and another version with the dulcimer strumming chords and Janet Herman singing.  Beautiful stuff.  If you use Neal's book, be forewarned that he uses a lot of hammer-ons and pull-offs. I tell my student to ignore all of that initially, to learn the melody first, and then slowly to add some of the hammers and pulls only when it makes sense to her.  The book has a nice mix of well-known tunes and others that are more esoteric.

On my website for River City Dulcimers I also have a "hidden" page of tab for Celtic tunes that are common in dulcimer circles.  Some of the tab is my own, some is found elsewhere on the web.  None is copyrighted.  Feel free to make use of it.  And if you want to work on tab that I wrote, I am happy to provide a video or audio demo. Just send me a note.

Happy picking!

Cool!  I just realized that since my local dulcimer group meets the fourth Saturday of every month, it will almost always be on Play Music on the Porch Day!  We're going to have to take our chairs outside and share with the neighborhood!

Supposedly builders and their instruments start to look alike.

Oh no, wait.  That's dogs and their owners. 

Very cool, Ken. Nice job.

Patricia and Wayne are the coolest kids in school!