Forum Activity for @dusty

I assume that traditionally dulcimers were tuned to whatever keynote sounded best. A luthier would "hoo in the hole," meaning sing into the soundhole and find the tone that resonated most saliently and then tune the instrument to that key.

Obviously if you are singing with the dulcimer, you will tune to the key that best fits your voice. And that might vary by song. I can sing some songs in D, but others I have to sing in C, C# or even G depending on the precise range of the melody.

For just playing, though I tend to switch between C and D depending on whether I am fingerpicking or flatpicking. I like the extra slack and the soft pull of the strings in C for fingerpicking, for that allows a more precise touch. But for flatpicking, especially playing fast, I want the strings tighter and with less give, so I tune to D. I also tend to flatpick back toward the bridge and fingerpick toward the 10th fret or so.

I think Ken is probably right about the timing of the switch from C to D. Whether it was specifically to play fiddle tunes or merely to play with other instruments in the keys of D, G and A, I am not sure.

But you are certainly correct, Babs, that the norm these days, regardless of what modal tuning one uses, is to tune to the key of D, at least on standard sized dulcimers.

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, Martha. I don't know that one but it looks approachable enough from the tab. Thanks for the suggestion.

Martha E said:

One of my favorites is Keel Row:

http://threeriversdulcimersociety.net/Music/Keel%20Row.pdf

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, James. I play all three of those with my regular dulcimer group, so they were among the first I put on the list.

James Phillips said:

Dusty, a couple I'd suggest are already on that list - Water Is Wide, Southwind, Morning Has Broken. Good luck with this!

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I have to admit, John, that I didn't know that one. But I just gave it a listen and it sure is fun! I'll put some tab together, maybe even some lyrics and chords, and add that to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

john p said:

You have to include 'I'll Tell Me Ma' as well.

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, William. The Minstrel Boy was the first fingerpicking tune I ever tried, and I'll definitely add that to the list. I also learned Annie Laurie from some tab Nina Zanetti posted on her website, so I'll definitely add at least those two. the list of songs I have to learn, though, is getting pretty long, so I'm not sure how many of the others will make it to the list before the event itslef. Thanks for the suggestions.

William Craig Mann said:

Consider:

Scotland the Brave, The Minstrel Boy, The Green Hills of Tyroll (The Scottish Soldier), The Battle's O'er

and a little more complex:

Mo Guile Mear, Be Thou My Vision, McLeod's Reel, Annie Laurie, Endearing Young Charms

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I think that history is accurate, Peter. And I just paid for another year of the website. As long as the website is up, the list will be, too, although it may evolve over time.

Peter W. said:

I read that Irish emigrants went to Liverpool first to escape from unemployment. From there the big ships to America departed, and many of them decided to give it a try.

Please keep your list online - I guess I'll like to try out some of them during the summer...

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Scotland the Brave is a good suggestion, Babs. Thanks.

Babs Greene said:

That's one of the reasons I didn't mention tunes by title but gave the book information instead, Dusty, I know it has Scotland the Brave and other familiar tunes in it but they may only be familiar more so to people in the UK

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I guess it's fair to say, Guy, that you are an uncommon musician in many ways. Peter mentioned Down by the Sally Gardens as well, so I'll be learning that one and adding it for sure. Thanks!

Guy Babusek said:

Looks like a great list to me. I tend to do a lot of so called "Celtic" music, but I don't think most of mine is very common LOL. Down By The Sally Gardens might be a nice addition to your list.

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Babs, I have a couple of books of Celtic tunes but I don't really know which ones are the more common ones, so rather than just choosing tunes at random, I'm looking for those that a lot of players would either know or at least be interested in learning. I'll definitely check out the book you mention, though.

Babs Greene said:

The Complete Book of Celtic Music for Appalachian Dulcimer has a few that you might be interested in.

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Linda, the list is obviously a personal one. I included what I thought to be common tunes as well as tunes that I happen to know. I'll check out Red is the Rose. And we might play Wild Mountain Thyme, but I won't put it on the list with tablature since it's still under copyright. Thanks for the suggestions!

Linda W. Collins said:

This is quite a varied list. How about adding:

Red Is the Rose

Will Ye Go, Lassie Go? (Wild Mountain Thyme)

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, Ken. I could probably add Lock Lomond and Auld Lang Syne right away. The others I'll have to learn first. But thanks for the suggestions.

Ken Hulme said:

Loch Lomond

Banks of the Bann

Maire's Wedding

Auld Lang Syne

Tramps and Hawkers

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, Peter. I'll check out Down By the Sally Gardens. And its funny, but I just arranged a version of Leaving of Liverpool for my regular dulcimer group, but I always thought of it as English rather than Irish since it mentions Liverpool. Now that I think about it, though, it was always sung by those Irish groups like the Clancy Brothers, the Pogues, and Tommy Makem, wasn't it?

Peter W. said:

you could add

... Down by the Sall[e]y Gardens

and perhaps...

... Leaving of Liverpool

Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Hello good people of FOTMD. I have been asked to lead a Celtic jam at this spring's Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering . I agreed to do it only after making it clear that this would not be an Irish or Celtic "session" but would more resemble a song circle in which we focused on Celtic tunes, including many slower tunes.

The way this jam is being publicized, people are invited to bring a song to play or to learn one from the jam leader (me). And I was asked to put together a list of tunes, ideally with tab, that people could examine ahead of time. I have started that process, and added a page of Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer on my website.

Please take a look at that list and let me know if I have left out any obvious tunes. I am not necessarily looking for your favorite Irish polka or Scottish lament, but rather tunes that are commonly played on the dulcimer. For example, just yesterday someone suggested that I add "Farewell to Tarwathie" and "All Through the Night." To be honest, I am not looking for anything too complicated, either, for I have to be able to play and perhaps teach any song on the list.

And just for the record, I am fully aware that the very term "Celtic" might be offensive to some in that it glosses over the differences among Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Manx, and Breton musical cultures. No offense is intended. But from the perspective of the vast immigrant land of the U.S. of A., music from the various Celtic cultures does exhibit some shared characteristics that differentiates it from, for example, Afro-Caribbean music or Baltic music or klezmer or whatever. As a further confessional, I think so far I only have Irish, Scottish, and Welsh tunes on the list. (I ask particular forgiveness from the Breton family I lived with for 6 months in the late 1980s. Pardonnez-moi.)

I welcome any suggestions you have. And if you have none because my list is so wonderful, well I'd love to hear that too.

updated by @dusty: 02/25/19 09:55:39PM

Festival List

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Well, since you're not leaving until September, we'll see you at the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering on May 30 and the Redwood Dulcimer Day in Santa Cruz on August 1, correct?

Mountain Dulcimer Cd's you like to listen too.

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Lexie, my suggested CD is not filled with traditional appalachian folk tunes at all, but I find it to be the most relaxing dulcimer CD of the several dozen that I own: Mark Nelson's Ke Kukima Polinahe: Hawaiian and Polynesian Music for Mountain Dulcimer .

I think there is a book of tab for all the songs on the CD, but it might be difficult stuff for I've never heard anyone else play the tunes.

Babs, I don't know Bonnie's book, though it seems like it would be really helpful.

I can tell you that I developed a technique (mainly from watching Linda Brockinton and Nina Zanetti) of brushing my finger across the strings of the dulcimer. It is like an inward strum, but much softer since it is done by the finger. If you do it quickly, the strings sound in unison, but if you do it slowly, then you get a more arpeggiated sound.

But without reading the discussions of technique in Bonnie's book, I don't know if that's what she means by drag or not.

I would agree with Strumelia. If you are enjoying some of the arrangements in the book you will probably benefit from the explanations and other arrangements there as well.

Tennessee Waltz

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Vicki, since you have a simple version of the song, I would suggest listening or watching other versions of the song to see if you can steal an idea or two.

Larry Conger, for example, does a really nice job of using some minor chords to add some "color" to the tune.And most of the filler he adds is just quick arpeggios.

For the record, I've been working on this tune for a while myself. I think it's one of most under-rated American melodies. And don't limit yourself to dulcimer versions. Again, since you already have a simple version, try to add a little spice little by little. One of my favorites is this bluesy soulful version by Norah Jones and Bonnie Raitt. You can tell from Nora's gospel-inspired organ at the beginning, that this is something special. Maybe you can steal a melodic variation, a short chord progression, or whatever.

Hello and a little info

OFF TOPIC discussions

Excellent news, Dana!

Hello and a little info

OFF TOPIC discussions

Dana, I only now just noticed this thread, so I have just learned of your situation. I am so sorry to hear of what you've been going through. But I can tell you are facing things head on. And how wonderful is it that dulcimer music can be part of your treatment! You are spreading the joy of dulcimer music even while fighting cancer! I'll keep you in my thoughts, Dana.

who to buy strings from ?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

For the record, I've never had the "mess" Steve did with the ball of strings fromJust Strings. I just remove one at a time and the ball stays intact. It is quite compact, in fact, much more so than the individual strings in a packet. I keep it all in the ziploc bag they come in.

In general, steel is steel and strings are strings. The quality will not vary from one retailer to another, but there are variables for wound strings that might be a matter of personal preference. I prefer the tone of bronze wound strings to nickel strings, for example, but I would not say that they are better, merely that I prefer the tone.

I do indeed buy bulk wound strings and have done so from both Just Strings and Folkcraft. However, I try to buy as much as I can from my local music stores. You never know, but you might find yourself in a bind, with a workshop or gig the next day, and you need a string or two. If there are no brick-and-mortar stores around, you will be up that proverbial creek without a paddle. Strings are cheap, so even though it costs a little more, I buy as much as possible from my local music stores. Plus, you might just meet someone interested in the dulcimer.

Babs, remember that for people who play in a drone style, the only string they have to think about is the melody string, so new tunings really mean that the key note (or home note or tonic) is in a different place on that melody string. Obviously, in that style of playing, switching tunings is wholly different than it is for those of us who play cross string and with chords. In my playing, for example, I never think of a note in isolation; I think of chord positions and see the melody out of those positions.

I play other instruments, too, such as the guitar and mandolin. I have no trouble switching from one to the other even though they are tuned completely differently and chord shapes are completely different. I think something similar is at hand for those people who are proficient playing in many different tunings. They simply learn different places to find notes on the fretboard. Their brains flip a switch when they switch tunings in the same way that I flip from guitar to mandolin.

I have not gotten there, I must admit. I almost always tune 1-5-8 and after 5 years I find I am still getting to know the fretboard. (Only a couple of weeks ago, for example, did I find the 8-6+-5 E chord!) This limitation to my playing is mostly on purpose. I want to know the fretboard well enough that I can accompany other people playing a song that I don't know and without recourse to tab or other music. I can do that on the guitar and mandolin and am working on being similarly proficient on the dulcimer. I would love to be playing a song when someone says "take a few verses, Dusty" and be able to improvise something melodic and fun for a while. But I can't quite do that now. Maybe at some point I will surely experiment more seriously with other tunings, but my goal right now is to know the fretboard in a 1-5-8 tuning. I am not "afraid" of other tunings in the sense that I will occasionally play around with one or take a workshop on DAc tunes or something like that, but I still consider my main "work" on the dulcimer to be getting better aquainted with the fretboard in a 1-5-8 tuning.

High or Low tuning dulcimer.

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Noah, you are certainly right that a lot of people are afraid of changing tunings or changing strings, but I am confused by parts of your question. Referring to the key of A or G does not tell us how exactly you are tuned, which leads to Strumelia's essential question.

And there are laws of physics that rule over any propaganda. Given any specific VSL and any specific gauge string, there is a limit to how low or how high you can tune that string.

I would also add that the perfect VSL is dependent on your playing style. If you are playing in a droning style, longer VSLs are less troublesome than they are for people who play chords. I play cross string and chord a lot and I find 28-1/2 is about the upper limit for me. I simply can't finger certain chords with a VSL longer than that.

ginger or 26 vsl

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Monica, if you have not been playing long, give it some time. Chording involves using and stretching muscles in your hand and fingers that you might never have used before. It may be that a 30" dulcimer will always be too long, but I doubt if you will have trouble with anything 27" or less after you've been playing a while.

Dulcimer use in folk/rock bands

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Right you are, Ken. I don't think there would have been a California dulcimer scene back in the 1970s had it not been for Joni and Richard.

Here is Joni:

Here are Richard and Mimi:

Here is Cyndi Lauper:

Ken, you'll be happy to see that Faria is using a noter. And I have to smile when Pete Seeger asks "What key? D?"

By the way, many years ago Neal Hellman put out a book in which he transcribed every dulcimer tune by RichardFaria. The book is long out-of-print, but Neal has made a pdf available online free of charge. Follow the links in his blog called LiberatingFaria .

Dulcimer use in folk/rock bands

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I wouldn't call it folk/rock, but Cyndi Lauper has been playing dulcimer on stage and TV for the last few years.

FYI: this is the website entirely devoted to the 1-3-5 tuning: http://www.mountaindulcimer-1-3-5.com/ .

Folk Music Resources

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Good idea for a forum, Ken. Thanks!

In another discussion Robert Schuler pointed me to the Snips and Clips website of penny whistle tunes. Lots of those tunes work on the dulcimer, of course, too.

Well, Charley, I hope you get better fast and start enjoying your new musical toy. Let us know how it goes.

Tenor guitar players?

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

James, my understanding is that the tenor guitar is tuned to fifths, usually CGDA or GDAE. AndGDAE is exactly how a mandolin is tuned, though an octave higher than a tenor guitar). So you might seek out mandolin tab for tunes. Even if you tune CGDA, you could still use that tab; you will simply be in a different key. But chord charts and tab for the mandolin are certainly more popular on the internet, so you might look for that stuff instead of limiting yourself to lessons on tenor guitar.

Look what I've been up to! BEWARE - dulciporn

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Wow, that's great, Mandy. The dulcimer looks great, and I really like seeing all the pictures of the process. Good job! I look forward to hearing it, too!

I did blush a little, seeing a naked dulcimer.

Ken, I definitely suggest checking out videos. I came to the dulcimer from guitar and mandolin and learned my first dozen songs or so from YouTube videos by Bing Futch and Stephen Seifert and others.

There is really only one book specifically on technique: Mike Casey's Hands-On Dulcimer: Developing Technique through Exercises and Studies.

Otherwise, for nice arrangements of Irish tunes in a soft, fingerpicking style, I would recommend books by Linda Brockinton and Nina Zanetti.

Neal Hellman also has a book of Irish tunes, and he has a whole bunch of books out there on Shaker tunes, Beatles tunes (that's a really tough one that I don't recommend), music of the world, and more.

Steve Eulberg has a nice book out there that includes a wide variety of English and Celtic tunes, including some from Scotland. I think it's called Another Jig Will Do.

Maybe others will disagree with me, but since you are already experienced with other stringed instruments, an instructional method book will be too basic for you. Dig around YouTube and when you find a really good player whose music you would like to play, and then check out their websites to see if they have any books out there.

I bought the David Schnaufer DVD a while back, but while I was waiting for it to arrive I learned his version of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" just from watching the YouTube video. You could probably do the same.

One other thought: both Stephen Seifert and Steve Eulberg have online subscription "schools." Seifert's is called The Dulcimer School and Eulberg's is called Dulcimer Crossing. In both cases, you pay a monthly fee and have access to a whole range of resources. I have only seen samples of Dulcimer Crossing lessons, but I learn a flatpicking version of "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" from it. I am much more familiar with the Dulcimer School and although I wish Stephen were more active on there, there is an enormous amount of material there, from beginner lessons to phenomenal classical or jazz pieces that I don't know if I'll ever play. There is video, audio, pdf downloads of tab, and more. It might be worth joining one or another of those online schools and spending a month digging around to see what interests you. You can always cancel your subscription. Both of those guys are not only great players but understand the diatonic fretboard and are experienced and thoughtful teachers.

Ken, if you already play other instruments (especially stringed instruments) and you understand basic music theory, the more important question is what kind of music you want to play on the dulcimer. Do you intend to play noter/drone, do you want to flatpick fiddle tunes, fingerpick O'Carolan tunes, or something else?I played guitar for many years and although I have some instructional books, I learned a lot more by watching videos than beginner books.It is not clear to me that a book designed for a real beginner, meaning someone with no experience, is what you need. But I'm sure people could recommend good books or DVD lessons if you could indicate what kind of music and what kind of playing style you are interested in.

An Unofficial History of Westphalia Waltz

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this.

help me name that fiddle tune -- please!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, Brian. I had heard of that app or another just like it but I assumed incorrectly that it was for pop music and would not be helpful for traditional music. However, I just checked it out on my Android phone (where it costs $4.63, by the way) and it states that it is specifically for "traditional Irish, Scots, Welsh, and Breton music." It sounds pretty cool. Does it actually work? There are so many common phrases in these old tunes and so many variations of individual tunes, I am a bit skeptical.

help me name that fiddle tune -- please!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Well check out the big brain on Rob!

That's it! I used to play that one on the mandolin about 20 years ago, which is why it was in my head.

Thanks so much!

Thanks also to Bob. I had worked through some of the hornpipes on the slips and snips page, and Ricketts was coming up, so I would have found it eventually.

Rob N Lackey said:

It's Rickett's Hornpipe

help me name that fiddle tune -- please!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, Patty. A few notes in the A part do resemble Turkey. And yeah, Rob might now. I also think Randy Adams and Mark Gilston could probably ID the tune in a second. But I think Bob is right that it's a hornpipe, so I'm looking through that website he sent me to and hopefully I'll find it.

help me name that fiddle tune -- please!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, Bob. Will do. What a cool resource that is! If nothing else I'm glad I posted here simply to have learned of that clips and snips page . What a great way to learn tunes for those of us who learn by ear!

help me name that fiddle tune -- please!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thanks, Bob and Lexie. I'll start digging around on YouTube for hornpipes and see if I can't find one that fits.

help me name that fiddle tune -- please!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

This old fiddle tune has been floating around my head like a familiar smell that you can't quite identify. Does anyone know what the name of the tune is? Help!

The first correct answer will earn my undying gratitude.

updated by @dusty: 06/11/15 07:42:26AM

Computer TAB/Music composing programs. You recommend?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I would also recommend Tabledit. It is an incredibly powerful tool that allows you to enter either tab or standard music notation, and it will fill in the other.

However, it is not very instinctive, and is therefore really frustrating when you first start using it. There is help available, and if anyone gets it, I recommend Stephen Seifert's extensive Tabledit Tutorial , which he offers free on his website. Secondly, the Arranging for Dulcimers group here is available when you have question (and you will have many!) about how to use the software. You'll notice that I've posted a few questions there myself.

There is a free version that you can use which has certain length limits, such as only songs of 16 measures or something like that. However, if only those who had success with that free version bought the software, no one would do it. As I said, it is not obvious how to make certain basic indications, such as triplets or slides or alternate endings. You will drive yourself crazy trying to figure that stuff out. However, the resources above and general Google searches will get you answers quickly. And the more you use it, the faster you get.

Using Tabledit has made me a better player by helping me connect what I play to standard music notation and basic music theory.