Ariane, is it too late to contribute a tune for the Musical Spring? I've been really busy with work and other responsibilties but would still like to contribute if there is time and all your days aren't taken.
You mean it's not hot links and whiskey?
@dulcididdle, I just want to follow up on the least important of your initial questions: the popping sound you heard and the string going very flat. When you put on a new string and start winding, there simply isn't as much tension on that string as there will be later, when you get it up to pitch. So often it winds loosely around the post. Then, either while you are tuning or sometimes a little while later, the tension will pull that loosely wound part tighter. That is probably what happened when you heard the popping sound. And yes, strings go flat as that happens. When I put new strings on I manually pull on the string to increase the tension, and then as I get close to pitch I repeatedly pull the string up, stretching it, trying to get the winding as tight as possible and all the stretching out before I start playing. New strings always needs to stretch a bit (going flat in the process), but you can speed that process up so there will be less re-tuning later if you just pull on the new string as I've described.
Remember when using a capo that you have to push down evenly and with some force on the top before you tighten it. The strings have to be depressed as though you were fingering them or using a noter. It might take a few tries before you get the hang of it.
And I should specify that if you put it on top of the fret, it should be barely on top, meaning the fret should still be visible from the side of the capo. The majority of the capo should still be to the left of the fret wire. Don't put the capo centered right on top. If I had better cameras and editing capability I would make a video about how to do that.
Tuning up is safer than tuning down, for the worst that can happen is that you'll break a string! I use a wound .020 as the bass string on both my smaller dulcimers made by Ron Ewing. One is an octave dulcimer tuned to D and the other is what Ron calls a "baritone dulcimette," which is about the size of a Ginger and tuned to G or A. But they are both significantly smaller than a standard dulcimer, so I am not surprised your string broke.
If you are trying to tune a standard dulcimer to tonal ranges it was not originally intended, you might consult the Strothers String Gauge Calculator . You indicate the VSL and the note you want and it determines the correct gauge for you. It errs on the light side, so feel free to go one or two sizes heavier.
@Userno4, I have two dulcimers currently tuned either GDG or AEA. One is a baritone dulcimer, so it is tuned a fourth or fifth below a standard dulcimer. It is a larger instrument with extra bracing inside. The other is 3/4-size instrument about the size of the McSpadden Ginger. It is tuned a fourth or a fifth above a standard dulcimer.
Depending on whether you are trying to tune above or below a standard dulcimer, you will want a smaller instrument (above) or a larger instrument (below).
I would suggest keeping a tuner on your instrument and learning to retune quickly; that way you can move from D to C and back quickly enough to join songs in either of those keys. And you should be able to retune between G and A quickly as well. It's only three strings and one step.
Let me also offer another possibility for G and A: use a capo. Tuned to D, you are in G with the capo at the third fret and in A with the capo at the fourth fret. So with a single dulcimer, you can get to C, D, G, and A pretty easily. Here's a video I made for another discussion here at FOTMD about using a capo.
Also, the 1.5 fret aids in getting other keys. If you are tuned to D, you can also play in G with that 1.5 fret since it gives you the C natural you need. Between the extra fret and the capo, more keys are at your disposal out of a single tuning than you might think. You don't really want to carry three dulcimers to every jam you attend, do you? It takes just about as long to put one instrument into its case and take another out as it does to retune your three strings.
That's really cool, Robin. Thanks for sharing that.
What is hard for us to imagine is the majesty of those large churches. Today we are used to massive buildings. But back then, nearly everyone lived in a one-room mud-and-brick home. The magnificence of those cathedrals must have been overwhelming. And then if you also heard phenomenal choral music or powerful pipe organs it would have been an overwhelming experience.
Yes, Aubrey's amazing. She has mastered every style of clog dancing and can do it while talking, singing, playing the fiddle, or playing the banjo. If I could dance like that I wouldn't need to go to the gym! 
Here's a link to a similar discussion from about 7 years ago. In that discussion I link to an article about the law requiring airlines to accommodate instruments in the overhead.
I can't remember if I mentioned this in that discussion, but Aaron O'Rourke shared with me a few years ago that when he travels by air he packs his dulcimers in a soft gig bag surrounded by his clothes and towels and stuffed in one of those hard, oversized containers made for carrying golf clubs, which he checks as luggage. The dulcimers are safe inside and the airlines are used to handling those things. Then he also has a light, soft case when he gets to his destination.
Also pay attention to this discussion in which Jan Potts warns us that some airlines don't let economy passengers use the overhead spaces at all. They are closed before you even board.
I have taken small dulcimers as carry-ons. I have an octave dulcimer that can fit under the seat in front and a ginger-sized dulcimer that I put in a hard viola case in the overhead. I've never traveled by air with a full-sized dulcimer, but presumably if it can fit in the overhead, you can take it.
And to put the proper amount of fear in you, here's Bing's song about Northwest Airlines mangling his dulcimer .
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!
