My understanding is that as of a few years ago, the airlines were required to allow you to carry on any instrument that could fit in the overhead compartment. So the dimensions of the overhead compartment and how early your board would be the determining factors.
There have been a few discussions on this topic. If I can dig them up I'll post again with the links.
@Don-Grundy, Ken is correct. You do not have to sign into a Group once you've joined it. I would also like to point out that we have a Forum specifically for Site Questions . Feel free to peruse the existing conversations there or start another one of your own if you have any questions. If we all use that Forum for site-related questions it becomes a great resource for others.
Don, I use those Wedgie rubber picks on an acoustic bass guitar, and they help make the instrument sound more like an upright bass. But I don't think they make fingerpicks, do they?
Scott, the order of the posts is not, I believe, something individual users can change. It is a setting we decided on as we built the site. If my memory serves me well, at one point we did have the oldest posts at the top, but some people complained about that, and it also led to people posting without reading the most recent posts to see where the discussion had gone.
In the Group discussions, the original post does indeed stay at the top, but below that the rest of the posts are listed with the most recent one at the top.
The way the Forums work, though, as you've noted, the original post moves to the bottom as new posts are added.
This is one of the examples of the adage that you can't please everyone. But at least this way we are all shown the most recent post without having to do too much scrolling. In long, involved discussion in which an individual might post numerous times, having the most recent stuff at the top is convenient. But you are right that if you are joining a discussion late, you might have to scroll to see the original comment or question.
Jill, plastic or metal picks will always sound like plastic or metal. The felt flat picks have a softer sound, but you can't play individual notes very well and they certainly wouldn't help you with fingerpicking.
If the issue for you is the physical contact between your fingers and the strings (rather than some muscular issue), you might explore some of the products intended to help people who don't like the fingertip pressure on their fretting hand.
There are products called "guitar gloves" that are tight-fitting gloves intended for the fretting hand. They supposedly reduce the wear on fingertips. It might be that you could try one of those for your picking hand. And if you don't like wearing the whole glove, you might be able to cut off the fingers themselves, and just use the fingers you want to pick with.
There are also products for the fingertips themselves, again intended for the fretting hand, such as Gorilla Tips.
I've never used any of that stuff and imagine that even if they worked for you there would be a period of adjustment where you would have to get used to the feel of the strings through those products, but if you have no other solutions, you might give them a try.
Mmm hmm. That's it right there. 
I finally had a chance to listen to the latest podcast on Nina Zanetti. What a great job you do capturing not only the mood and timbre of her music, but also her personality. Nina was really helpful to me when I was first starting on the dulcimer, and that patient, helpful nature really comes out in the podcast. What a treat it is to listen to!
I agree with @Ken-Hulme. I would have used the word "active" rather than "complicated," but I think we're talking about the same thing. It sounds to me like a Celtic ballad in which the singing of any given verse might involve more notes depending on the specific lyrics.
Cynthia, I could certainly learn the tune and play it for you . . . but I'm leaving in a little bit for a 2-day business trip. If this conversation is still at a stalemate on Friday I'll give it a try.
For the record, I did not have to download it at all. I clicked on the link Dana supplied and then clicked on the song title and it played directly from Google Drive.
Sure is pretty. 
No idea what song it is. 
@LisavB, I second @Ferrator's suggestion below. There is a whole group here at FOTMD solely devoted to Fingerpicking . Why not join, peruse some of the conversations and maybe start one of your own?
For the record, many (check out Linda Brockinton and Nina Zanetti for the best examples) fingerpick without using their nails, just using the skin of the fingertips. That makes for a more mellow tone. (OK, you can call it "dull" but I find it soft and expressive.)
What a charming tune! Those harmonies at the end come as a real surprise. And throughout the tune, the bass keeps they rhythm popping. Thoroughly enjoyable.
That's a good question, Jill. If you check out this video , you see Aaron O'Rourke playing the bass dulcimer (he takes a solo just after 2:00). He is not laying the instrument flat on his lap, but has it angled up, with the foot of the dulcimer resting securely against his body.
I have never played a fretless instrument, so if I were buying one of these for myself I would get the acu-fretless model since it would be easier to get accurate intonation. If you have experience playing stringed instruments like the cello or have played fretless basses, the plain fretless would probably be fine.
It sure looks fun to play!
Kevin, there are a few books of duets for standard and baritone dulcimers. I know @LarryConger has one, as does Shelley Stevens. Larry is a member here so you could contact him directly with any questions.
But this is the kind of question the Baritone Group would really help with, so once again, I urge you to join that group and seek guidance there.
Hi @5Kwkdw3,
First, let me point out that there is a whole group here devoted to baritones, and the most recent discussion there is about how to tune to play with others. You might consider joining the Baritone Group and carrying on this discussion there.
It appears you are not principally interested in playing with other dulcimer players, but in playing with other instruments more generally. The basic issue, as I think you understand, is determining the key you will be playing in.
If you tune your baritone to GDg, playing in the key of G will be easiest. You can also tune AEa and play in the key of A. If you are tuned GDg and you capo at the third fret, you will be in the key of C, and at the fourth fret you will be in the key of D. If you are tuned AEa, you can get the key of D with a capo at the 4th fret and E with a capo at the 5th fret.
So just with those two 1-5-8 tunings, you can easily play in the keys of A, C, D, E, and G.
If you have a 1.5 fret, there are other possibilities as well, and depending on your string gauges you might be able tune a bit higher than A or lower than G. Be careful, though, tuning too high since you may break a string.
There is some tab for baritones, but you don't need it. If you are in a 1-5-8 tuning such as GDg, you can use all the tab for dulcimers tuned DAd. You will simply be playing in G instead of D, but the tab will still work. I tab everything out in DAd, but I often play that stuff tuned EBe or CGc or GDg or AEa, and sometimes a half step lower or higher than those tunings depending on my mood.
By the way, I see you have a Probst dulcimer in your picture. I, too, have a Probst, and it is currently strung as a baritone!
If you are not familiar with capos, take a look at this video . I posted it about two years ago in response to a similar question here at FOTMD. I demonstrate the capo on a standard dulcimer tuned DAd, but hopefully you'll get the point.
The signature is at least proof that the dulcimer was not made from a kit, something you have to look out for with used McSpaddens.
McSpaddens tend to maintain their value pretty well over time, and they are all well made, so they're a safe bet if you have to buy one without playing it first.
If playing a lot is not your way of developing calluses, you might try soaking your fingertips in vinegar. Old school baseball players used to urinate on their hands to toughen up the skin, but if you use that method, please don't play any of my instruments, thank you. 
@Glowhazel, the main way to add a video of yourself playing is to go to your profile page and click "Videos." Then choose the "+" sign to add a new one and choose YouTube or Vimeo. You will be asked for the YouTube URL and the title of the video. If you use that method, we can all see your video in the main video section.
If you are trying to post a video as part of a conversation in a Forum or Group discussion, then you use the "embed local media" icon in the tool bar. It looks like a piece of film strip.
In neither case do you use the embed code from YouTube. Strumelia explained how to do this a while back in response to another question in this forum.
As Robin explains, you can also just put the URL in the text box.
Molly, I just use a regular picture hanger and string or wire. See this picture of a wall in my office/music room. In that case I used leather shoe laces to hang the dulcimers from the hangers, but for a more discreet look you could use fishing line, which is really strong but also nearly invisible.
What a fine idea!
Let's see if the muse offers up a new tune . . .
A few comments, some of which have already been stated.
A thicker pick will lead to less pick clack.
Holding the pick so that less sticks out of your fingers will decrease the contact between the pick and the fretboard. Remember that you only have to graze the top of the strings. You don't have to actually dig down beneath them.
Some pick materials make more clack than others. I am not fan of the felt picks Lois recommends because it is too hard to pick individual strings or play fast. But you might experiment with different brands of picks and different models from different brands and see if some have less clack than others. (I've actually started using pretty expensive picks because they have a warmer, less plasticky tone and very little pick clack. But the really expensive one I have was given as a gift. I would never spend $35 on a single pick, and you shouldn't either!)
You probably hear the pick clack more than your audience.
Some people, as Strumelia explains, don't mind the pick clack at all. Personally, I enjoy hearing fingers sliding on strings and picks hitting the instrument. It's a reminder that playing an instrument is a tactile experience as well as a musical one and is not merely a computer producing clean digital tones. (I like to hear the valve noise of jazz saxophone players, too.)
If you really hate it, play with your fingers. I love the soft sound of bare fingertips caressing the strings. Linda Brockinton and Nina Zanetti play such moving music. You can, too.
Folks, here's another newspaper article on a dulcimer club in Jasper, IN.
Dulcimer Group Relaxes the Strings of Life
Congratulations on your success. I went in the other direction: from the guitar to the dulcimer, and you're right that playing one instrument makes the next one easier to pick up. But the bigger lesson here is that as the muscles in our fingers stretch and strengthen, chord formations that once seemed impossible become do-able. Newbies need to be reminded that instead of saying "I can't play that chord" they should be saying "I can't play that chord yet!"
And that extended slant chord down near the nut is the toughest chord to finger, so you are doing great!
You sound great, Sandi! And that little wren sounds perfect. Nice job!
Perhaps what surprised me most about the video is that nearly everyone is playing from tab not on paper, but on their tablet computers. Who says retirees are technophobes?
Even though most of us have no genuine ambition to become serious musicians and just want to have fun, I thought given the original question here I'd post a link to Jack Tuttle's Top Ten Ways to Become a Better Musician . Jack was a legendary multi-instrumentalist and music teacher long before his daughter Molly became the hottest flatpicking guitarist since Tony Rice.
I just thought I'd bring to everyone's attention this story that ran on WLOS in North Carolina entitled " Mountain dulcimer connects people to their roots and each other ."
My favorite line: The "quick learning curve and communal nature of the instrument makes the mountain dulcimer a perfect fit for aspiring musicians."
I am not sure the instrument itself has a communal nature, but those who play the dulcimer certainly do!
Yeah, I spent many lackluster years strumming guitar with no direction at all. My playing wasn't horrible, but it wasn't very good either, and I knew it, so it gave me little pleasure. Then when I did get motivated to improve (what motivated me is a story for another time) the first thing I did was start to play scales, and my technique got better so fast I was totally energized and started enjoying playing again. For me, part of the enjoyment of playing music is the continuous improvement, even if it is often so slow as to be imperceptible. Learning new tunes or adding new techniques or new ideas to a song I've been playing for years is immensely enjoyable.
From time to time my playing stagnates, and I feel as though I'm not learning anything new. Then I make a conscious effort to work on a technique that had been too hard in the past, or a song I had never managed to figure out. That new direction gives me a boost and I start enjoying my playing again. Woo hoo!
Hi @YeahSureOK. The first thing I'd say is that whatever you do, you have to enjoy it. If you start thinking of practicing as a chore, then you'll not play as much and just won't have much fun. Personally, I play scales a fair amount, both up the neck and across the fretboard. Scales help for both right- and left-hand technique, and one reason I enjoy them is that you see progress really fast. When you practice a song, you get better at that song, but when you practice scales, arpeggios, and other exercises, you get better at all the songs you play. And you also make it easier to learn new songs, too.
If you don't know how to get started on scales, let me know. I'll point you to some exercises that I developed for my students. I think I also developed some flatpicking exercises. I'll see what I can dig out.
I would also recommend arpeggio exercises. There are a couple that I do that I got out of Aaron O'Rourke's book Faster, Cleaner, Better: A Collection of Exercises and Etudes for Mountain Dulcimer. I would also recommend Mike Casey's book Hands-On Dulcimer, which has a ton of exercises for both hands.
Once you examine the exercises that others have designed, you'll see that you could design your own as well. I would start with a question: What technique or techniques do you want to work on? Then you can find or develop an exercise for that precise purpose.
I second the advice @Salt-Springs offers to contact @Guy-Babusek. He plays Aeolus dulcimers and has probably been in contact Dale.
Lois, this is a big question, for at essence you are asking how to improvise or take a solo.
First, just some terminology. The term "filler" is usually used for what we do in short spaces, say a few beats in between melody lines or when the melody line sits on a long note.
If you want to play a whole verse doing something different, there are other terms. If you stay close to the melody, it would just be called a "variation," and there are some strategies for creating variations. Aaron O'Rourke teaches this stuff by differentiating between melodic variations, harmonic variations, and rhythmic variations. (He has a book or two entitled "Mastering Variations.")
If you leave the melody behind, you are playing what would have been called many decades ago a "musical interlude," but what we refer to more recently as "a solo." In both cases the chord progression is the same as the verse you are replacing, but you are no longer pretending to play the melody. The way to learn to do this just by feeling or by ear would be to record yourself just playing the chords of the piece and then practicing coming up with alternative melodies. You start by finding the safe notes, which are just the notes of each chord. If you venture to a note that is not a chordal tone, that's OK, so long as it's a passing tone and you get back to a chordal tone soon, probably the first beat of the next measure. As you get a feel for the chord progression, you can perhaps plan how to move from a safe note for one chord to a safe note for the next one.
One of my golden rules of dulcimer playing is to keep your left hand in the shape of a chord at all times. That way you can pluck any note and it will sound OK. In that sense, each of your fingers is already fretting a safe note. Sometimes you can play several filler beats or a section of a solo just by playing arpeggios (the notes of a chord) in a rhythmically interesting way. And sometimes starting with an arpeggio will lead you to more adventurous melodic invention.
A lot of folks who teach this stuff will demonstrate certain scales, such as the 5-note pentatonic scales, as good for improvising. They are, but on the dulcimer we only have 7 notes anyway, so we are already pretty close to the pentatonic scales. And even if you play around with those scales, it is still a good idea to resolve your improvisations on those chord tones, so I would still stress keeping close to those chord positions.
Both Aaron O'Rourke and Stephen Seifert teach this stuff. You might look for some of their online lessons.
Finally in the interests of full disclosure, let me confess that I think in my own playing I am pretty good at filler and often play tunes adding lots of bass notes, extra strums, rhythmic arpeggios, short licks, and some chord substitution, so that each verse sounds a little different than the others. In that sense I am creating variations. But I am not good at all at those longer musical interludes or improvisational solos where you leave the melody behind. When I perform a song with words, I almost always include one or two verses of an instrumental break, and the audience probably thinks I'm improvising, but the truth is that I compose that stuff and practice it over and over again (OCD anyone?), the same way you practice a new song. It's not very inventive either, but it does add a little break from the vocals, and hopefully every now and then I get lucky and find a cool lick here and there.
@Ferrator, first, bridges and intros are different. Bridges are usually part of the composed song. It might be considered the "B" part that contrasts with the main melody. The kind of intro you are talking about is not a formal part of the composed song but a few bars played before the song starts.
One trick for an intro is to play the end of the "B" part of the song. For example, if you were playing "Silently Night" you might begin very slowly playing the part that goes along with the words "Sleep in heavenly peace," then pause for a moment, and then begin "Silent night, holy night . . . ."
You ask a very good question that gets at the difference between merely playing a song and playing an interpretation of a song, which would include intros, filler, perhaps a musical interlude (what we used to call the "solo") as well as an ending.
@Hobbyhorse, those look like quite elegant instruments you are making. Nice job!
I hope you heal quickly. The Liquid Skin stuff that Ken recommends is awesome. It seals like super glue but it is also antiseptic, so it keeps things clean. It is especially useful on parts of the hand that move a lot.
Thanks for those recommendations. @Ken-Hulme, I found the entire Chieftans album on YouTube and listened to most of it this morning. The Jackson Brown tune is pretty special indeed.
@Steve-Smith, thanks for reminding us about Cathy. Listening to her music is a nice way to honor her memory.
Several years ago I started this discussion hoping people would share their favorite holiday albums. May there are some new recommendations . . .
Melanie, if you are following the tab of a song and a chord name is indicated on top, you are not supposed to stop playing the tab and play the chord. The chord is for another instrument (like a guitar or another dulcimer) to accompany you. The chances are, you are already playing that chord. For example, if you are stumming across the strings in DAd, and you move from the open melody string up to the second fret, and then to the fourth fret, you are already playing D chords. If you want to sing the song and play chords, by all means follow those chordal indications. But if you are playing tab, just play the tab.
For a long time I did not put chords in my tablature. But over time I got frustrated that people in my local dulcimer group could play 3-1-0 if it were in the tablature, but if I asked them to play a G chord, they had no idea how to do it! So I started putting the chord names in so that they would understand what chords they were playing when they followed the tab.
