Forum Activity for @dusty

John, maybe I am not explaining myself well. What the lever does is raise the pitch of a string by a 1/2 note. It is that simple. If the lever were active on a stringon a fretted instrument, then every fret would play a note 1/2 note higher than it would have with the lever down. So I got to wonderingwhether it might be possible to use a lever on a dulcimer so that you couldhitthe lever andplay the 1st fret to get the equivalent of a 1+ fret. If you could do that easily, then you mightbe able to play chromatic music without adding extra frets.

My second thought was that if you had a lever on every string, and the levers could adjust the tuning by a whole note, then you could easily go back and forth between a C tuning anda D tuning, for example.

Bobby had a more do-able idea of a lever on the melody string that would allow you to switch between aeolian tuning and mixolydian tuningjust by flipping the lever.

To be honest, I don't know modes that well, but I do know of some songs that go back and forth between major andminor keys, and the ability to change tunings like that in the middle of a song would sure be helpful.

john p said:

Hi Dusty,

I think there is a danger of misunderstanding what the semitone levers do. As I understand it, the harp is a diatonic instrument, and the levers don't add any extra frets.

I think you are right, Bobby. The lever sits between the bridge and the zither pins. When you raise the lever, a small metal piece pushes down on the string, raising it a 1/2 note. There may be some other models, but I just looked at a one at my local music store and that's how it works.

Some harpists only put them on certain strings, but in the picture above each string has one and they are color-coded to help the player know which string is which. Obviously, nothing that elaborate would be needed for a dulcimer.

Bobby, I don't know if you were thinking backwards or not, but you clearly seem to understand what got me thinking about this to begin with.

Folkfan, why do you suggest a fretless dulcimer? On a fretless you could get any note you wanted anyway. I see the lever as a way to compensate for the limits of a diatonic fretboard.

If I had the talent to play a fretless dulcimer,I wouldn't have this problem to begin with.

Shawn McCurdy said:

Now if you happened to have a fretless dulcimer.....

Ivan, my understanding is that the harp lever sharpens the string by exactly a 1/2 note. So a C becomes a C#,an F becomes and F# and so forth.If that same balance could be achieved on a dulcimer, then the lever would make every note a 1/2 note higher (not just the open string).

I imagine two possible uses. One would be if it were easily accessible like the tremoloor whammy bar on an electric guitar (or that littlebutton on chromatic harmonicas). When you wanted a notethat could only beplayed with a 1/2 fret, you could finger the fret just below the note andhit that lever to get the note you needed.

The second use would be if you could design those levers to alter the tone a full note instead of a 1/2 note.Then you could tune to C and flip all those levers to quickly get into D tuning. For those of us who play a lot in multi-instrument jams, that would be really helpful since there is not always time in between songs to re-tune 3 or 4 strings.

Ivan Bradley said:

Dusty, a harp lever works by shortening the VSL of an individual string, making it a semitone sharp. With a fretted instrument, shortening the VSL to make the string any significant amount sharp would play havoc with the fret spacing - they'd all be out of kilter except for the open string.

Many of us are familiar with the levers that harpists use to adjust the tuning of a string by a 1/2 step. The obvious advantage is being able to play a diatonic instrument and still get those accidentals when necessary.

Has anyone ever triedinstallinglevers on a dulcimer? It might be done just on the melody string or on all strings, and it might be a way of playing chromatic music without adding all those pesky frets all over the place.

If levers could adjust a string by a whole note, you could conceivably "flip the levers" to change from a C tuning to a D tuning.

Am I off my rocker or is this feasible?

Lucky you, John, to have seen that show. It's kind of funny to hear those two dulcimer tunes after an electric set with a big bass and all. Some of it reminds me of the Miles of Aisles album where she has a full band, including electric bass, horns, and everything, yet behind it all is Joni's melodic voice and acoustic sensibilities.

By the 80s you could hear her voice changing, getting deeper with less sustain, signs of both age and cigarettes.

I'd be her "mean old daddy" anytime.

Some of us have seen pieces of this clip, but the whole concert is available on YouTube. I've cued it to the spot where Joni Mitchell introduces her dulcimer to the audience and then plays "California," one of my favorite Joni songs.

http://youtu.be/qH9DzMKxulc?t=16m14s

Thanks for listening. I recorded that at the Redwood Dulcimer Day last summer, and you can hear all the folk in the audience. But Paul and Ron recently recorded a cleaner version of the arrangement:

Jan, I'll make sure Paul sees your request. It is indeed abeautiful arrangement, and I can understand why you'd wantto play it.

Jan Potts said:

Is this duet arrangement available for purchase? I love both parts--and would like to learn both! And, Rob, if you learn them, too, we'll play a duet some day!

Thanks, Wayne and John. I'm glad to get one of Paul's arrangements some exposure.

Wayne, what makes you think it is tab and not standard music notation? (Actually, I think it is tab that Ron is reading, but I just wanted to give you a hard time. ) Paul arranged the piece for two dulcimers and not surprisingly he knows it better than Ron does. The arrangement is so precise that if Ron were to play a note that might sound great when playing solo but is not exactly what Paul had written, he would ruin the harmonies and counter-melodies that Paul intended.

I wish I could say thanks, Carrie and Cheryl. All I did was hold a camera. We're going to try to make another recording with a better mic on Paul's dulcimer. And hopefully my dulcimer group will record one or more of Paul's arrangements. He's got a couple with three or four parts of increasing difficulty, so everyone from the beginners to the more advanced can play a part.

Since I am not playing in this video, I can't upload it to our video library, but I wanted to share with everyone this carefully arranged duet of Turlough O'Carolan's "Si Bheag Si Mohr" which Paul Furnas and Ron Beardslee played at the Redwood Dulcimer Day this past weekend.

Both are founding members ofmy dulcimer group, River City Dulcimers. Paul has been playing and teaching the dulcimer for decades. He has a doctorate in early music and is a font of knowledge about music history and music theory. He has many arrangements of songs, all very carefully thought out. It is a bit hard to hear his fingerpicking here, but hopefully you can all see how pretty the arrangement is. And Paul's smile at the end is precious!

Listening to this soft and carefularrangement of the song makes me feel like that proverbial bull in a china shop when I play my awkward strumming version of the tune.

Joseph, personally I do tilt the dulcimer up a little bit, not fully vertical like a guitar, but just enough so the back is off my lap. But I do that more for the comfort of my strumming hand and not my fretting hand.

First, most of the time when dulcimer player refer to barre chords they do not actually mean they finger them as barre chords with a single finger. Most dulcimer players fret across all the strings on the same fret by using either their middle, ring, and pinky fingers or their index, middle, and ring fingers. Mark Gilston does the former; Linda Brockinton does the latter. I do both, depending on the chords or notes immediately before and after the barre chord.

Second, people who do barre a lot with a single finger tilt their hand so that it is more the side of their finger making the barre than the soft bottom. Using the side allows you to use the bone of your finger as a brace. If I am not mistaken, Stephen Seifert uses his ring finger to barre in that fashion.

Third, professionals who barre a lot get dulcimers with what is called a radiused fretboard. That means the fretboard is curved so as to allow an easier barre. Almost all guitar fretboards are radiused, but a different degree of curve is necessary for the dulcimer. Both Aaron O'Rourke and Erin Rogers play on dulcimers made by David Beede with radiused fretboards.

Fourth, Ken is correct that as you stretch for more chords you will be using muscles in your fingers and hands that have rarely been used before. Some discomfort at first is to be expected. But you should definitely not continue doing things that cause you pain. In order to play well you have to be comfortable. If some chords necessitate a stretch that hurts, find another way of playing the chord. Over time those stretches will be easier and easier, but you certainly don't want to hurt yourself.

Fifth, Ken is also correct (notice a pattern here?) about arched fingers. Obviously he is not referring to forming a barre chord with a single finger, but when you finger the fretboard, you should be using the very tips of your fingers, not the fat pads. To do that well might require developing some strength in the fingers, but that will come with time. When my daughter plays the piano, I encourage her to hold her hands so that an egg could fit beneath her fingers and palm on the keyboard and her hand won't crush it. As a general rule that is good advice for the playing the dulcimer as well.

Thanks, Babs. I figure if you find just one or two ideas, then it was a success. Let me know if you have any questions.

Babs Greene said:

Nice vids Dusty, also given me some new stuff to get in to.

Glad you've found the videos helpful, Helen. It's interesting that John comes from the drums and I come from the guitar, but we both end up in the same place. Don't be afraid to peek at the third video. Basically, it shows how the same flatpicking pattern works for picking single notes and not just strumming all the strings. You may or may not be ready for it, but it can't hurt for you to begin thinking about where you could put a single note or short single-note run into songs you already play.

Theenthusiasmanddedicationyou have shown in learning this instrument and in playing in public is inspiring to us all, Helen. Keep it up!

David, I think we are talking about two different issues here. You seem to be concerned with how to arrange a tune, meaning how fast it should be, how much embellishment is appropriate, and so forth. I am talking about technique, meaning the ability to play accurately no matter what speed you choose to play. But I don't think I disagree with anything you've said.

Obviously, if people are playing together and one is playing faster or slower than the others, that is not good. As every kindergarten teacher knows, the ability to play well with others is important. That is why someone usually counts off "12ready go" or whatever they choose before they start playing together, to ensure they play at the same tempo. Often in bluegrass bands the fiddler will begin with the "taters," just a couple of notes (usually in a bum-ditty rhythm) to set the tempo. But one big difference between professional and amateur musicians is the ability to play in a constant rhythm. And for many stringed instruments (guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, etc.) the key is right-hand technique. (For the record, I do indeed use a metronome a lot when I practice.)

I think how busy one is when playing should in part at least be a function of how many musicians are involved. The more musicians, the less you should be playing. As you point out, some songs just don't call for much embellishment at all. But these are questions of arrangement, not technique.

In the case of the three versions of "Simple Gifts," I agree with Wayne, Babs, and (I assume) David that the first version is better. But we are making that judgment based on the arrangements of the song, not the playing ability of the performers. That song is a great example of one that should be played slowly with a sparse arrangement and little embellishment. Personally, I play that song on the penny whistle and the autoharp, but not on the guitar or dulcimer. If I were to play it on the dulcimer I would choose a baritone with a deep voice and good sustain so I could letall those half-notes (and even those few whole notes) ring out.

At the end of the third video to which I point Helen as part of my explanation of my flatpicking technique, Idemonstrate the song "East Virginia." (It is an old Carter Family tune but it is alsoa generic country song melody and I know of at least two other songs that use the same melody.) You never hear dulcimer players play this song. It is filled with a lot of notes that last 4, 5, 6, or 8 beats. It works great with a singer accompanied by a guitar strumming chords. But on the dulcimer, leaving all those long notes to ring out creates problems. One is that it is hard to know when to start playing again, and the risk is great that you'll come back too early, thus ruining the rhythm of the song. It is also the case that all those long notes ringing out when there is no playing going on increases the nap factor, meaning it will put the audience to sleep. I demonstrate on that video what the song would sound like if you played the melody as written. But then I demonstrate what it would sound like if you add the kind of chordal accompaniment a guitar would offer. It becomes a song at that point. And then I also demonstrate how those long pauses are places one might choose to add some filler licks. The end result is a version of the song that clearly differentiates between the melody, the chords, and the filler. Basically that version combines the jobs of singer, guitarist, and (perhaps) mandolin player. And it is all made possible by a right-hand technique capable of keeping a steady beat. The point is not that you have to strum chords on every eighth noteor fill every pause with lots of extra notes, but that the same technique that will allow you to play Bile Dem Cabbage steadily at any speed will also allow you to play chordal accompaniment or add filler when you deem it appropriate .

Just yesterday I was taught a song by Karen Mueller at the Redwood Dulcimer Day: "Jeff Davis" by Norman Blake. If you excuse my sloppy play (I was just introduced to thesong yesterday) and weird lighting (I'm using a halogen shop light), please look at the "A" part of the song. The first part of that selection begins with an eighth note pair followed by a quarter note, and that pattern repeats a few times. It is essential that the eighth note pairs have the same duration as the quarter notes that follow them. And then thelast two measures are a longeighth note run.

When we worked on the song at the festival, a lot of people had trouble with the rhythm of the song. That was unfortunate, since the workshop was supposed to be on how to use the 1+ fret, not how to play accurately. So Karen had to explain to folks how to alternate their strumming so that they could get accurate differentiation between eighth notes and quarter notes and could someday be able to play the last measures at a speed faster than the sleep-walking speed used to teach the song. Note that what I play here (other than that last strum at the end) is nothing but what is written as the melody. I add no chords and no embellishment. The right-hand technique I've developed, though, allows me to learn that song without having to count in my head to ensure that quarter notes get twice as much time as eighth notes and allows me to begin playing it up to speed (I've still got a ways to go) even though I amjust learning the song.

But that same right-handed technique allows one to add chords and add fillers when one chooses, with the confidence that the notes will always beon rhythm. That doesn't mean we will always play the correct chords, or our filler will always be tasteful or we won't ruin a wonderful song by playing it like Speedy Gonzales on chrystal meth. But we can rest assured that our playing will always be accurate and steady. The back-and-forth right-hand technique is nothing but a tool that allows us to play steadily so that we can concentrate on the more creative aspects of making beautiful music.

Given the last set of comments here, I just want to offer a clarification of my own position. In my mind, there is a set pattern for strumming. It is in-out or out-in on a regular beat. Usually that is an eighth note pattern but on some slower songs it might actually be a sixteenth-note pattern. That is the pattern that is implicit in your right hand. But that pattern does not have to be actualized on the strings. Depending on the song, you might only hit the strings on a fraction of those strums. What the pattern does, however, is ensure that you are exactly on beat when you choose to strum. In other words, you need to be able to strum in-out or out-in in a regular pattern, but that does not mean you always do it.

Secondly, what we refer to as a strum might indeed be a pick. Just as you can choose to hit no strings on a strum (what some instructors call air strums) you can choose to hit only one or two strings as well. In my mind there ought to be no difference in your right hand between strumming and picking. And you should be able to shift between strumming all the strings and playing single-note runs or arpeggios with no alteration in the basic rhythm of your right hand.

So the way think of this, your right hand develops an out-in (or in-out) pattern which is usually based on eighth notes, so it moves out on the down beats and in on the upbeats, but on any strum you can choose to play three strings, two strings, one string, or no strings. What the pattern assures is that you will always be exactly on beat.

There are an infinite number of specific rhythmic combinations you can choose from. (The Bum-ditty is one example, where you are playing this out-in strum based on eighth notes but choose not to strum on the & following the 1st and 3rd beats. In other words, you are playing a quarter note, two eighth notes, quarter note, two eighth notes.) And I thoroughly agree with the emphasis of David and John's posts above that you should not get locked into one rhythmic pattern but should vary it as the song and even the phrase suggests.

Helen, I just took another listen to your John Stinson, and it is clear that you are getting very close to a steady back-and-forth strum. You do not have to reinvent anything you are doing.

In that song, the first measure is simply four quarter notes. You strum out on all of those. Good! The second measure has two quarter notes and then four eighth notes. You strum out on the quarter notes and out-in on each of the eighth note pairs. Excellent! You are doing just what I would be doing.

All you need to work on is keeping that strum as steady as possible so that you are always on beat. And remember that whenever you strum out, your hand has to come back in before you strum out again. That in strum should happen evenly even if you choose not to strum any strings. Although you might play "Bum bum ditty ditty" or "Bum ditty bum ditty" your hand should be moving "ditty ditty" all the time. (The bums are just quarter notes and the ditty is a pair of eighth notes.)

You're too kind,John.The fact is that you dojust as much in ahigher-quality 6-minute video asI do inmy amateur 45 minutes.Plusyou play the drums.

John Keane said:

Dusty, there's a bunch of great info in those videos of yours and well worth checkin' out!

Helen,

Whether or not in practice you actuallystrum in-out or out-in when playing a tune should depend on the tune and how you want to play it. However, it is very important that you have a steady strum and stay on beat. It might be a good idea to practice with a metronome for that reason. Once you have mastered steady playing, you can vary it according to the needs of the song. But first you have to master the ability to play steadily.

There are innumerable advantages to developing a steady in-out or out-in strum. I outline how to develop that kind of a strum in a series of three instructional videos (amateur ones, of course) which I made available here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The strum I teach in that series of videos is basically an eighth note pattern in which you strum out on the down beats and in on the up beats. So when you count 1&2&3&4& you strum out on the numbers and in on the &s. You can reverse that and strum in-out instead, but what matters is keeping it consistent. Once you have a machine-like regularity, you can begin to accent or stress certain strums and "swing" the rhythm, too. That is where the first video ends. Once you have that accented out-in strum down and are swinging it, you have a rhythm that you can use for any tune. And what is great about it is that you don't have to count beats; the strum does it for you. If you accent the first beat, for example, you will always know where you are in a song. And you know to strum quarter notes, half-notes, and the first half of eighth note pairs on the out strum and the second half of eighth note pairs on the in strum.

The second video then gets more creative with rhythms, explaining how you can skip strums, mute strums, and accent strums to get really complex rhythms. In the third video I move from strumming across all the strings to adding single notes, for there is no rule that says you have to strum all the strings on any beat. You can play one, two, three, or no strings as you wish. So that technique for strumming also allows you to begin flatpicking.

Anyway, feel free to take a look at those videos and ask me any questions you want. I will never tell anyone that they have to play a certain way. But I can tell you that I find it helpful to develop a very steady back-and-forth right hand.

At the local dulcimer group I started last fall, there are basically two of us who are the leaders since we are the most experienced. Ron Beardslee does not strum in the method I do. He is very precise and only plays exactly the notes in the music or tablature. He is able to get very clean and sparse arrangements that sound great. But he counts in his head all the time, and he has difficulty just playing along with people and following other musicians rather than playing from music. I have other skills and other problems. When I play my right hand is constantly moving out and in. I don't always pluck a string, but more often than not I do. I often stick in chords or bass notes or an arpeggio or occasionally a little lick when it does not appear on the tablature. Ron calls this me being fancy, but to me it is just playing. My hand is moving all the time. And because the rhythm of my hand does the counting for me, my brain is free to watch other musicians or think of something to add or whatever. I don't have to count to get that 3& beat since I know I'll catch it on the in strum after the accented 3 beat of the measure.

Again, there are a lot of ways to play the dulcimer. You do not have to develop a steady out-in or in-out strum. But you should aim at developing a steady strum, and to do that you either have to count constantly in your head or you have to develop that strum you are describing.

One final point: Ken mentions ballads and the desire to keep the rhythm of the melody. That is indeed one very good way of playing. But there are others. Jean Ritchie, for example, does a lot of counter-melody work. Other modern players who also sing, like Sarah Morgan, develop a rhythmic strumming that accompanies but does not copy the singing. But I'd like to make a different point.What do you do if you are playing a slow ballad in which a single note carries on for a whole measure or two whole measures? Do you strum once and then count in your head (1&2&3&4& 1&2&3&4&) before playing another note? OK, you might do that on occasion, but if your song has a lot of long, drawn-out whole notes, you need to come up with something else. A regular, swing-version of an in-out strum all by itself can help you fill in those spaces in a way that does not detract from the melody. That is something I demonstrate at the end of the third of those instructional videos.

I won't be insulted, Helen, if you don't find my videos helpful. Don't feel obliged to watch them. But I do think they are a good introduction to the benefits of developing a steady out-in right hand. So if you are asking why you might want to learn to play like this, the videos try to answer that question. And of course, contact me with questions or comments or points of disagreement or whatever.

I am one of those people who like the soft, round, guitar-y sounds of non-traditional dulcimers, but I think I know what you mean, Gail. You want that bright, high silvery sound rather than the soft, round, mellow sound.

One thing to do would be to get a dulcimer without a softwood for the soundboard. Both of your dulcimers have spruce, which is the standard soundboard wood for guitars. A dulcimer made entirely of walnut or some other hard wood will have a slightly more traditional sound. But folkfan is correct thatdesign factors other than wood type have a greater influence on tone quality. A smaller box, for example, is more traditional than the larger boxes of modern dulcimers like Blue Lion. For another example, check out this David Beede demo of his "de-coupled" tailpiece:

Many luthiers, such as FOTMD member Kevin Messenger,consciously try to make replicas of traditional dulcimers. Other luthiers, such as David at Modern Mountain Dulcimer, consicously try to make big round-sounding dulcimers appropriate for modern multi-instrument jams.

My advice would be to listen to dulcimer players, and when you hear one that has the sound you like, as who made it and what the design specs are. Most luthiers have their own specialties, but they are also willing to work with you to get you the dulcimer of your dreams. Keep your eyes and ears open so you can best explain what that is.

Dean, let me reiterate a few points already made and add a couple of my own.

First, almost everyone will have to look at the fretboard when they first start playing. Eventually, you gain the muscle memory of where the frets are and you don't have to look as much.

Second, many of us play different instruments with different VSLs, so we can't rely on that muscle memore as much as those who play a single instrument all the time. I have five dulcimers I play regularly, only two of which are standard-sized dulcimers. The others are made to fill different tonal ranges, and their sizes vary. All five of those dulcimers have different VSLs.

Third, some songs are more complicated than others. For simple tunes played around the nut, I can play without looking at the fretboard. But other songsinvolve chords higher up the freboard and/ora lot of movement from lower frets to very high frets. It is very difficult to play those kinds of tunes without looking at the fretboard. When I play guitar, I can generally play chordal accompaniment even with bass runs and little licks without looking at what I'm doing. But if I have to take a solo, then my eyes will be glued to the fingerboard since my fingers will be moving around a lot.

Fourth, some of us don't use tab or sheet music. This might sound odd, but I learn the songs I learn. What I mean is that I use tab or music when I first learn a song, and perhpas I have to refer to that to refresh my memory of a song I haven't played ina while, but while I play I don't look at music. I find I can play faster and more precisely by concentrating solely on the fretboard and my finger placement. I don't want the distraction of looking at a piece of paper and then having to translate that paper to action on the fretboard. My fingers fretting and picking strings is all I want to think about.

Nancy, I mention "Jambalaya" above because it is a really fun song and doesn't sound like something simple or child-like.

I think minimizing the chord changes is a good way to introduce the notion of chord progressions and chording in general. You are on the right track. When I was a wee one my mother taught me to play the ukulele by showing me two one-finger chords. She sang and pointed to me when I was supposed to switch from one to the other. That exercise helped me to hear when the chord change was happening.

So I encourage you to go forth and teach a couple of two-chord songs. But I don't think you should overdo it, meaning you don't need more than three or four. Once people "get" the idea of chord changes you can move very quickly to three-chord songs, and there are a lot of those. AsButch Ross said, if you like the first folk song you learn, you'll like the other one, too. His point is simply that all the songs we play are basically the same.

The reason Bile Dem Cabbage Down is so useful as a first song for chord/melody play is that is that it involves the three main chords that lay at the center of all the music we play. Additionally, all chords can be played with one or two fingers, and in fact the melody itself is really nothing but a few chord changes. So whenever the melody note is found on the 2nd fret of the melody string, you play a D, when the melody moves to the 3rd fret you play a G, and when it moves to the 1st fret you play an A. And fancier versions of the song are basically compilations of littlelicks to move from one chord to another, meaning they are usable in all the other songs we play, too.

I guess my point is that while it makes sense to begin with two-chord songs, you shouldn't fear moving to three-chord songs very quickly.They are not much more difficult to play but offer a lot more in terms of ear training and practical applications as well.

Me gotta go. How about Jambalaya?

Kay, I think Guy makes a good point here. Many dulcimer players will tell you explicitly not to practice, but to jsut have fun playing. But it appears from your initial comment that you are playing with the expressed aim of improving, and in that light I think Guy's comments are more profound than they appear at first.

Your initial post mentions a range of techniques, from chording and noting (notering?) with the left hand to strumming and fingerpicking with the right hand. Each of those techniques is different and requires its own unique development. Chording will not help you develop technique with a noter, and strumming with a flatpick will not help you develop good fingerpicking techniques. First, you might notice that few of the very best dulcimer players master more than one style. Linda Brockinton is wonderful at fingerpicking, but you will never see her play with a flatpick. Aaron O'Rourke can use a flatpick as well as any bluegrass guitar player in Nashville, but you won't see him fingerpick or use a noter.

For the moment you might indeed want to experiment with different styles to see which one is most alluring to you, but when you practice, you might want to isolate a technique and work on some aspect of that alone. Personally, I have been working recently on developing a stronger pinky on my fretting hand. I have found or developed some scales and arpeggios that necessitate the pinky and I try to run through those as often as possible. Just based on the cleanliness and speed of my fingering, I know I am improving even though I haven't really found songs that reveal my improved technique. Robin Clark posted a video not long ago on advanced noter technique . You might not be ready for the advanced stuff yet, but you might want to take a look at it and see how your own improvement might not necessarily involve chording or fingerpicking but sticking with the noter and trying to master that technique. And rememeber that each of the techniques he demonstrates might take a while to learn well enough to use fluidly in a song.

There are similar resources available for other dulcimer styles. You might want to choose one or two at a time and concentrate on particular techniques rather than playing songs in different styles and getting frustrated that you can't get them up to speed right away.

Kay, all musicians get frustrated with their own progress, so the feelings you are experiencing are normal. One way to avoid the sense that you're not getting better is to record yourself playing a song. You don't have to share it with anyone, but date it and keep it. And keep practicing. After a couple of weeks ora month go back and listen to your recording. You'll probaby know immediately that you can already play much better. That sense of progress can motivate you to keep playing and help avoid the frustration that you seem to be experiencing.

Dean, this is not really an either/or proposition. If you play dulcimer in a droning style, meaning you play the melody (with a noter or your fingers) on the melody string, then you will learn to play in different tunings depending on the melody of the song. Some songs only work in DAA, some only work in DAd, and some lucky ones can be played in both tunings. Other songs will require DAC or DAG tunings.

If you play across all the strings and play chords, then you do indeed have the ability to stick mostly to one tuning. Thirty years ago DAA would have been the most common. Today it is DAd, as you have discovered with the Desert Dulcimers.

I would second Skip's advice to stick with one tuning at a time for chording. And right now, 90 percent of the chording world plays mainly in DAd. You will find more resources for that tuning and will see more examples of it at workshops, on YouTube, and elsewhere. Mind you, I am not making a value judgment of one tuning over another, merely pointingout that for practical reasons, you will find more help chording in DAd.

But I still encourage you to experiment with other tunings, especially if you are playing in a droning style.

Robin, that guitar sounds amazingly warm and mellow. You have certainly rescued a treasure.

And I'm impressed by your playing as well. I agree with Rob; you sound Jeffersonian, as in Blind Lemon.

There are a few good sources for that mix of hillbilly and race records that was common in the 20s and 30s. I have a CD of African-American fiddlers calledFiddler, Singthe Blues for Me, and there is a two-CD set called White Country Blues that is basically old "hillbilly" singers playing blues. There was a repertoire of acoustic blues music that was common to both white and black performers who, of course, listened to each other. As Rob says, the music was only separated by record company producers and marketing folk. And of course, that whole tradition of Piedmont Blues, which centers on fingerpicking and uses the standard 12-bar form much less frequently, was equally white and black. In fact, some of your playing could easily fit into that tradition.

OK, so I ramble. I guess I'm a ramblin' man.

It was a little of both, Peter. I remembered a discussion about Cripple Creek dulcimers but couldn't remember if it was here or at ED or whether it got resolved or not. I did a search to find the conversation. It is interesting that they offered a refund two years ago but not more recently.

Peter Tommerup said:

Dusty,

GOOD WORK! Did you remember this earlier discussion or find it by searching for similar laments and complaints about Cripple Creek instruments?

As Yogi Berra (whose book is entitled I Didn't Really Say All Those Things That I Said ) did or didn't say, "it's dj vu all over again."

Check out this discussion from two years ago .

Sad story. There are many reasons why an instrument might not be exactly what we want, but it sounds like this one has many serious structural problems.

I would contact them again and insist on a refund. If all the instruments they offered you have structural problems, then exchange should not be the onlyan option. They need to know how unhappy you are and how vociferously you are voicing your concerns to the dulcimer community.

How aboutthe musicologist Professor Herbert Nositall?

Scott Collier said:

Well i don't know but with a "music professor" named Will E. Playmore? Still makes me wonder, lol. It may or may not be a true story but it's thought provoking non the less!

Ifear we may find out that Grandma Adams (Spencer) taught Bonnie how to use a machine gun, too.

Randy Adams said:

This is actually a true story and has been told in our family for years. My Grandma Adams, maiden name Spencer, grew up in Texas, played the dulcimer, and knew the Parker family. She showed Bonnie how to play the basics on the dulcimer, the modes and tunings and so forth, and she said she had never seen anyone with such a natural aptitude for music like Bonnie Parker. My Aunt Jackye Sue has pictures of Grandma and Bonnie with their dulcimers and a couple of crude home recordings of them playing. I will try to get them and will post them here.

Folks, for the record, I am skeptical too, for I've been unable to corroborate most of the information in Gibson's article. I do know Ralph Peer was indeed a recording engineer and producer who pioneered the makingof field recordings, but I can't seem to find references anywhere else to a most of this intriguing story.

In this case, perhaps, hearing is believing.

I am surprised no one here has noticed this yet, but Ohio luthier Ron Gibson has published an article on his website about three recently discovered recordings by the famed bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde in which Bony Parker played a ducimore musical instrument. The two were killed in 1934, so it is likely the recordings--if genuine--date from a year or two before then.

What is even more striking than the mere fact that Bonnie played a dulcimer is the fashion in which she did so. In one song she combined counterpoint melodies withjazz chord inversionsas well as playing percussion by tapping on the soundbox. In another song she played guitar-like riffs that would be associated with Chuck Berry two decades later. Another song includes "raps and rhymes" and can only be described as original gangster rap.

You can find Ron Gibson's article here: Did Bonnie and Clyde Play the Dulcimer? .

These recordings were supposedly discovered by the Library of Congress, which might mean they either are or soon will be made available to the public. I am sure many of us will be eager listeners and won't really believe the descriptions of the music until we hear for ourselves.

Ruth, I have to ask a question to ensure you are asking the right question.

Are you sure you are talking about "key" changes and not merely "chord" changes? The key corresponds to the keynote of the song, and in any given key, certain chords are likely. For example, a song that is in Eb will almost always have Ab and Bb as well. When a song moves from an Eb chord to a Bb chord, that is usually not a key change; it is merely a chord change. Any song will have a set of chord changes that is referred to as the chord progression, and in any given tuning, certain chord progressions are possible.

If you were to play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody," for example, in the key of Eb, there would be two chords: Eb and Bb. If you were to play "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" in the key of Eb, there would be three chords: Eb, Ab, and Bb. But in neither case is there a key change. Both songs are played in one key.

Sometimes songs really do change keys. In those cases the entire song moves from one keynote to another. And the most common key change is to move up a 4th to create an increased emotionality. For example, the Beatles song "Penny Lane" famously moves up a fourth towards the end. And sometimes that same shift can represent a lack of originality, as in the Stevie Wonder song "I Just Called to Say I Love You," where to avoid the appearance of excessive repetition the song moves up a fourth. When Whitney Houston moves up a fourth in "I Will Always Love You" it creates not only increased emotion, but increased awe because her voice demonstrates such range.

So there are songs that change keys, but they are rare. Most of the time a song begins and ends in a given key. And in that key, it will change chords several times. But if you are playing a song that moves between Eb and Bb, it is probably not changing keys, but merely changing chords.

If I am wrong here and you are indeed referring to key changes, please forgive my ramblings.

Mike, perhaps you already know the basic story of Capritaurus. But if not, Howard Rugg tells us in his own words:

Mike Andersonposted the following:

I just purchased a Capritaurus and wonder if there is a way to date it? The label has no serial numbers or signatures that I can see. I have seen several pictures and it appears to be a generic with heart-shaped soundholes and not custom. This is what mine look like but the picture is from Wikipedia:

Mike then added: I saw one of Howard's posts and he was referring to actual serial numbers. It appears to be a Model D if applicable to the Folk Roots name. I will get a flash light and do a closer exam.

From a harmonic perspective, that looks like a legit B part since it goes to the IV chord (fret 5) in the same measures where the A part goes to the V chord (first fret).

The hymn is "Lord, Dismiss Us With Thy Blessing."

But it is also credited to Schubert as "Rousseau's Dream," and this version provides some nice ideas for variations (although it also goes off into places only Oscar Peterson would understand).