Forum Activity for @dusty

I would like to reiterate a point Robin makes above. Although nowadays, software such as Tabledit allows very elaborate tablature indicating all sorts of nuances of playing, most tab that people have used has been very simple. That simple tab assumes that you already know what the song sounds like. In the case Folkfan raises--3453, 3453, 567, 567--which is Frre Jacques on an A string, one has to know that the 7 note is played for twice as long as the other notes. One also has to know that the accents fall on the first and third beats of the measure rather than the second and fourth. You don't even have to know what a measure is, but to play that song based on that tab, you have to know what it is supposed to sound like.

The point is that even if you think you are playing by tab rather than by ear, you are relying on your ear a lot.

My second point is that we all learn differently. It may be, as Folkfan says, that "With the use of tab . . . a person can quickly join in and get a sense of satisfaction from being able to play." But not all people can do that. I cannot look at tablature and play a song. I can replicate the notes on the page, but I cannot get it to sound like a song unless I have an idea of what the song sounds like. However, if someone plays a simple song slowly in front of me, I will be able to pick it up by the third verse or so. Let's not generalize about how easy it is to play from tab. Some of us cannot do it at all.

But the really odd (to an outsider) use of tablature in the dulcimer community is not for learning songs; it is the utter reliance on tablature in order to play at all. Once you have learned a song, you should be able to dispense with the tab. Maybe you need a quick glance to refresh your memory, but I have to believe that you are stifling your own musical expression if your attention is focused on the tablature in front of you rather than on the instrument on your lap. When you play you have to feel the music enough to know when you might play some notes staccato or linger on a whole note a bit longer or play the chorus with some extra drama. I'm not talking about improvisation here, but merely the small nuances of playing that give any song its character. I assume no one wants to sound like those midi files when they play a song. You need to free yourself from tab in order to put your own unique touch into a song.

It may be, as Robin suggests, that we need to do a better job teaching people how to play by muscle memory. Part of that is learning about how songs are put together. It is a lot easier to learn a song if you pay attention to the fact that there are four melody lines of four measures each, that the second and fourth are identical, and that the first and third only vary in two measures, and so forth. Learning to see that kind of structure when you first listen to a song or look at tablature is the first step in knowing a song without the tab. Most of the music we play is pretty formulaic, and understanding some of those formulas (formulae?) can help in the process of freeing oneself from an over-reliance on tab.

I am not sure how to respond to this interesting conversation except as an outsider. I have only been playing the dulcimer for about 4 years. I have only attended two festivals, both on the west coast. I cannot attest to how things have been changing in the dulcimer community, but I do share the general observation that dulcimer players are increasing in number and so are dulcimer festivals. Stephen's observation is merely that even if it is true that a majority of workshops center on chording, DAd tuning and playing by tab, there is more available on other styles of play than there was in the past. That seems like an accurate observation.

Later this month I will be attending a dulcimer festival offered for the first time. There are 9 workshops in total, about 1/3 devoted solely to beginners. Of the other 6, one is devoted to noter technique, one solely to DAC, and one to a variety of tunings for fiddle tunes. There are only two devoted to modern chord style play in DAd tunings for intermediate or advanced players. My guess is that nearly everyone attending will find too little for their particular interests. But to the credit of the organizers, there is quite a variety for the choosing.

But this festival symbolizes the problem. There are only so many workshops that can be scheduled and perhaps only at the massive festivals like Dulcimerville is it possible to schedule enough workshops on a sufficient variety of playing techniques to satisfy everyone. Stephen's own work is another example. While some traditionalists see his work as a quintessential example of modern chord style playing in DAd, others of us complain that the Join the Jam tunes are allpresented in a drone style, with the melody played solely (or mostly) on the melody string. You just can't please everyone.

But what I fail to understand is why people think these different ways of playing the dulcimer are mutually exclusive. I consider myself a modern chord style player because I fret across all the strings. But to some people, much of what I do is not chord/melody but flatpicking. And sometimes I fingerpick, when the song or arrangement warrants that technique. Recently I began trying to play an old Shaker hymn and I decided the best way to do it would be out of a DAA tuning, perhaps even (gasp) with a noter. Having attended the Redwood Dulcimer Day in Santa Cruz, I've learned from some of the originators of the West Coast style of play. But what I've learned from them is how to play traditional French waltzes, laudas from the Italian Renaissance, and songs of freedom from South Africa. In the same way that playing the mandolin made me a better guitar player, studying different styles of dulcimer playing makes us better at whatever it is we choose to specialize in.

What I find bothersome is the refusal of some dulcimer players to attend a workshop that does not address the specific style of play they prefer. This kind of ghetto-izing can only stifle our development as musicians. Robin Clark, who is active here and a wonderful noter/drone player, occasionally posts renditions of songs in a chord style, and even in one of his droning tunes, he refers to the move to the IV chord in one part of the melody. His understanding of chords does not hinder but rather enhances his ability to perform as a noter/drone player.

But now for my personal complaint: I hate tablature. Yes, I use it, almost daily, to get the general sense of a song or to navigate a particularly difficult section of a tune, but I cannot read tablature fast enough to play along at a workshop. If you play a verse or two, however, I'll catchup. I have to feel a song before I can play it. At the Dulcimer School I've posted a lot of practice videos, and I appreciate Stephen's feedback. But truth be told, I learn from the videos or audio tracks, not the tablature. I don't even look at most of the tablature. My prediction is that tablature will die out as audio and video recording becomes easier and easier. It used to be that the only "take-away" from a workshop would be a piece of paper with the music written on it. And since we are folk musicians suspicious of fancy learnin', we refuse to learnSMN, so we use tablature. But everyone has a phone now that can capture a workshop leader playing a song. Everyone can record themselves on their webcams and share their work with the world on YouTube or here at FOTMD. I find it tedious to have an instructor lead us measure by measure through a piece of tablature that was not made available prior to a festival. If the tab is helpful, distribute it beforehand. But when we get together, let'splay. If I have to sit out the first verse or two while I get the hang of a piece, so be it.

Maybe, here on the West Coast, I don't have the luxury of complaining ofa First World problem. I am so grateful if someone who plays the dulcimer and has something to teach me is within a few hundred miles, that I don't care what tuning they are using, whether they fretwith fingers or a noter, or whether they hold a quill, a pick, or nothing in their right hand. I am grateful to have them near and want to learn what they have to share.

It's no surprise to me that Bobby makes such a remarkable instrument. Coming from you, Ken, this is high praise indeed.

Congrats on the new instrument, Beth. I bought a Mahalo uke for my daughter for her birthday. It's painted pink!

Rachel, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "interchangeable," but a chord is a chord regardless of the instrument.TheC major chord, for example,is comprised of the notes C, E, and G. If you play those notes at the same time you are playing a C chord. It doesn't matter what instrument you are playing. Similarly, G major involves the notes G, B, and D. D involves the notes D, F# and A.

Remember that the chords only provide the harmonic structure of the tune and do not sound like the melody. If all you do is play the chords, it may be hard to hear what song you are playing. Only a few--like "The 59th StreetBridge Song (Feeling Groovy)"--will be easily identifiable.

Why not start with a simple, two-chord song? Play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" with the chords D (002) and A (101). Strum the chords while you sing (or whistle, or hum, or whatever). For the first line, strum your D chord. For second line, strum the A chord. For the third line go back to the D chord. And for the fourth lineplay the A chord until the end when you resolve to the D again. The first line of the melody is the note you make when you play the melody string on the second fret. Try playing those chords and singing. Do the chords seem to accompany the melody correctly?

Stephen Seifert's chord chart is an excellent chord chart, but you might not be ready to use it on its own if you are just beginning to play chords. Instead you need to gain practice fretting and strumming chords and understanding the role of chords in music. Once you learn that, then you can use Stephen's chart as a resource to learn how to play chords all over the fretboard and how to play some more complicated chords.

One way of playing the dulcimer is indeed to strum chords as backup to the melody or lead being sung or played by another instrument. But many of us who play chords do so in what is called a chord/melody style in which we combine chording with playing the melody. In that style of play, the melody is more easily identifiable than it is if you just strum chords as backup. Another style--in fact the traditional style--of dulcimer is a drone style in which the melody is played (either with fingers or a noter) on the melody string and the other two strings are allowed to ring out (drone). In that style of play as well, the melody is easily identified.

But if you are just strumming chords, you will likely not hear the melody from your strumming alone. That is why I suggest you hum or sing or whistle the melody and play the chords as backup.

Breanna, I think there are two different issues when getting a dulcimer for a kid. One is the cost. You don't want to spend a lot of money on an instrument if your child will lose interest after a month. For that reason, the cardboard dulcimers might be an option. Then again, they cost about $70 new, andDavid Lynch's student dulcimer is only $125.

The second issue, as you mention, is the size of the dulcimer. Wayne has linked to my list of little dulcimers. For small fingers, the VSL obviously makes a difference, but so does the width of the fretboard, at least if your little one is likely to learn chords on the dulcimer. A couple of years ago I got my daughter (who turns 8 in about a week) an octave dulcimer by David Beede (the model he calls the Eddy Beede). It is a tiny dulcimer that allows my daughter full control over the fretboard. The fact that it is also an octave dulcimer means that we can play duets, with me on a standard dulcimer at her on the octave. Assuming she continues to play, eventually she will want a full-size dulcimer, I am sure, but the small size of the fretboard on her octave allows her fingers to stretch in ways similar to ours on a full-size dulcimer. In other words, the dulcimer itself poses no impediment to the development of her command of the dulcimer, which would be the case, I think, with a full-sized fretboard.

You might consider an octave dulcimer or perhaps one of the dulcimers with the VSLs similar to theGinger by McSpadden, Soprano by Blue Lion, or Baritone Dulcimette by Ron Ewing. Those dulcimers are in between an octave and a full-size dulcimers. They are not all intended to be tuned to the key of D, though, so if you want to accompany your child you might look into that issue. Those dulcimers can be pricey, though. I justified an Eedy Beede for my daughter with the logic that it was an instrument I would enjoy should she not develop a long-term interest in playing.

Hi Bradford. You might consider joining the group I created a while back called Help Me Learn This Song, Please . You can start a new discussion with Road to Lisdoonvarna--or any other tune you needhelp with--as the title.

Quick thought: It might be easier to use a capo on the first fret for this one.

Quick question: You describe your difficulty with chords; what about with your picking hand? If you can pick individual strings rather than strum across all of them, you will indeed be able to play this song without too much difficulty. If you have trouble holding a pick, you might consider a thumb pick.

Quick suggestion: You might consider starting a discussion asking for ideas for songs to play at a Ren Fair in a droning style. I bet Ken H. and folkfan alone could give you dozens of good ideas.

Robin, your noter technique is definitely advanced. And hey, no beginner could use a false nut so effectively.

Folkfan, no beginner could talk modes and tunings as clearly and confidently as you do.

I love you both, but y'all are nuts.

Most often when a workshop is listed as beginner/intermediate or intermediate/advanced the idea is not that a new, in-between category is created but that the workshop would be appropriate for players of both levels.

Yes, Ken, it appears people don't like the word "expert." But if you change the name to "advanced" we'll find something else to complain about.

Ken, it would indeed be nice if everyone could adopt a common set of definitions of these terms. If this discussion begins the process whereby such an agreement could be made, you have done the dulcimer world a great service.

Let me complicate things a bit.

There are at least two other terms commonly used in this context: novice and advanced. In fact, I think "advanced" is much more commonly used than "expert." One might still be a student and be "advanced," but your definition of "expert" is what most of us would call a professional. I doubt you will see a workshop advertised for the "expert" level,but you might see it for the "advanced" level.

One reason this issue is complicated and confusing is that although some people come to the dulcimer with no prior experience on any musical instrument, others come as advanced players on other instruments. I was able to tune and change strings before ever holding a dulcimer because I had beenplaying guitars, mandolins,ukuleles and the like for decades. And I could probably play six tunes from memory within a couple of hours of getting my first dulcimer. That ability was not due to some natural gift I have, for believe me, I am not naturally gifted, but simply that I had been playing so many other stringed instruments that I was already familiar with how to play. And the fact that I had read (perhaps a dozen times) your essay"I Just got a Mountain Dulcimer, Now What?" over on ED meant that I was familiar with MD terminology even though I had never held one before. About a month after getting my first dulcimer I attended a festival thinking I was a beginner but was told by people at my first workshop that I was at least intermediate and perhaps even advanced. They were wrong, of course. My knowledge of the fretboard was still in its infancy, for example. But they based that opinion on my comfort fretting, strumming and picking notes and chords. I guess my only point is that any serious definition of these terms for "levels" of playing has to account for those whose technique might be advanced but whose understanding of the instrument is still at a beginner level. In fact, after almost four years I probablystill fit that description. (Maybe the term "novice" could be defined in such a way as to include those new to the dulcimer but familiar with other fretted instruments.)

My only real quarrel with your definition of terms, though, is the insistence that one must be equally familiar with all styles of dulcimer play. Is it not possible for someone to be an expert noter/drone player who knows nothing about chords? Is it not possible to be an expert modern chord player who knows nothing about noter technique? One would not demand that an expert blues guitarist also know how to play classical guitar or that the double bass player in an orchestra also know how to play bluegrass bass.

Dana was also the one who found the episode of the Waltons in which John Boy plays the dulcimer and sings:

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/forum/topics/john-boy-walton-s-dulcimer-song

Dan, you've been given good advice so far. Make sure your legs are spread pretty wide and that the head of the dulcimer sits on your knee. Some people use that shelf liner/carpet pad stuff on their laps, but others claim that the material can mark the finish of your dulcimer.

Although some traditionalists frown upon using straps, I had a horrible problem with my dulcimer moving around until I installed strap buttons and began using a strap around my lower back. The dulcimer immediately became "mine." You can make your own strap, of course, and Strumelia has a nice video about how to do that at her noter/drone blog (scroll down to the very lower bottom of this page). Carrie is right that any adjustable guitar strap will also work, but my preference is the quick release dulcimer strap that Sue Carpenter designs and sells. I have one on each of my dulcimers now.

Dave, I love the button you're sportin' there! Oh, and the playings nice, too.

Robin, although I hardly ever play it anymore, I, too,picked up a Kentucky A-style mandolin a few years ago (I also splurged for the one with the solid top, but there is a model without it, so it is not quite the cheapest model) and played it regularly for a while when I shared a house with a guitarist far better than I. That instrument has a very balanced sound, though not as much punch perhaps as the real expensive mandolins.

But I think you are underestimating your abilities when you say there are no crossover skills. That fast and steady right hand you have developed is what's enabling you to jump right in and play some bluegrass chops as part of a rhythm section. Someone without your experience would have to play for a long time to be able to do that. And your general understanding of the music will eventually encourage you to add filler or small solos here and there. You will very soon start translating musical ideas from the dulcimer to the mandolin and eventually vice versa.

You seem to haveconcrete goals with the mandolin and I have no doubt that you will achieve them, but even if you don't take up the mandolin with the same enthusiasm and mastery that characterizes your dulcimer playing, I would bet in the long run, playing the mandolin will make you a better dulcimer player.

And your description of serious practice is a heartening one.

Thanks Santa, er, uh, I mean Phil. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

I would agree that ebony makes iteasier to slide fingersaround and therefore encourages faster fingering. But the hardness of the wood also makes it much more resistant to pick marks. If, like me,you often strum over the fretboard rather than in the strum hollow, and if, like me, you occasionally do so with a little too much exuberance, then you sometimes leave pick marks on the corners of the fretboard. Ebony resists those marks due to the hardness of the wood.

I had a dulcimer with a padauk overlay that was fast, but not as fast as ebony.

I do not believe having a fretboard overlay would affect sound in any way.

We had pop tarts for breakfast, hot pockets for lunch

Tonight we'll be scrounging a crumb or a scrap

It's Christmas, you know, but I have a hunch

Mama's still strumming the dulcimer on her lap

Mandy, I think the Folkcraft deserves that you write an originalsong. So get out your writing pad. Here are some suggested titles:

"My Dulcimer Kicks your iPad's Butt!"

"Two Dulcimers, One Husband" [Or "Mandy's Trinity"]

"Cut Down the Christmas Tree, I Need Wood for a Dulcimer" [Or "Cedar ain't just for smellin'"]

"No Christmas Dinner, Mama's Still Playin' Her Dulcimer" [Also known by the refrain: "Pop tarts for Christmas"]

"The Second Best Husband in the World" [Hey, what do you want? I'm married, too!]

Congrats on the new addition to your instrument family.

I have acouple of Sue Carpenter's nylon quick release adjustable straps. Scroll to the bottom of this link: http://www.suecarpenter.net/catalog.htm . Although you can leave the straps on and just undo the quick release, there is no reason you can't just pull the loop off the ends. Since I have more dulcimers than I do straps, I put them on and take them off all the time.

Thanks everyone for your recommendations. I am glad this discussion finally got some momentum.

Rick, you can't be a scrooge and listen to the Hawaiian slack key guitar Christmas album I mention above. It is so soothing and pretty, not syrupy and sentimental at all.

Ha! You know I'll come to you first if I do want 30 verses to anything.

My daughter has learned the Dreidel Song on the piano and insists on playing it after lighting the candles each night. I wish I knew better Chanukah music to teach her.

folkfan said:

Dusty, Do you really want 30 verses to "The Carnal and the Crane" ????? heheheheee

Mostly, I stick to Jewish Holiday music and much of that is in Hebrew. For Chanukah my husband and I sing "Maoz Tzur" after lighting the candles, though I caught him mumbling "The Dreydl Song" last night.

Thanks, Stephanie, for the recommendations. The only one on the list that I already have is the Odetta album. I can't believe John McCutcheon has a Christmas album and I didn't even know it!

And thank you too, Folkfan. I am so glad to see you posting again. I also kind of expected you to mention a song or two and then immediately rattle off the twenty variations of the lyrics that can be found as the song migrated from the British isles or wherever to our shores. I will definitely check out Custer LaRue's singing.

Thanks for posting, Lois. Part of the reason I started this discussion was to get ideas for a CD to buy myself, since as I mentioned, Iallow myself one holiday CD each year. That CD does indeed look interesting, although as you mention,they seem to have not only put out several Christmas CDs, but also movedto other forms of music. Do you know the Turtle Island String Quartet? They are virtuoso classical musicians who play classical arrangments of pop tunes, including Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, and so forth. They might be right up your alley.

Let me start with three of my favorites.

Although I do have a copy of Leon Redbon's Christmas Island album, my favorite island Christmas music is A Hawaiian Slack Key Christmas .

There are a variety of artists on this album, but any fan of stringed instruments will have to love it. The first tune is a really mellow but happy version of Jingle Bell Rock, and some of the picking is just outstanding on all the tunes. With only one exception, it is all instrumental. It all has the gentle island feel and the serenity of silent night, but if ever a hot lick can be called soothing, it is found on this album. I listen tothis almost everyday during the month of December. And the last tune is Auld Lang Syne, so you can justify playing the music until the New Year.

Another favorite of mine is the virtuoso mandolin playing on David Grisman and Andy Statman's Songs of Our Fathers .

Although this album is not technically a holiday album, I tend to listen to it during Hanukkah, Passover, and the high holidays. It is filed with traditional Jewish music from Eastern Europe played in a modern style tinged with Klezmer and jazz sensibilities. The picking is top notch. These guys shred no matter what kind of music they play.

And more traditional is Chanticleer's Psallite! A Renaissance Christmas . Chanticleer is a male choir whose voices just meld together. Although their attempt to do gospel music on other albums falls short, they are in their element here singing the harmonies of classical compositions. Most of the lyrics are in Latin, so you'll need to invite a monk over to translate, but you can enjoy the precise solemn harmonies without understanding the words. I know I do.

Whatever you listen to or play, whether "Daddy's drinking up our Christmas" or "all is calm, all is bright," I hope music complements the joy of the season for all of you.

As we approach the holiday season this year, I want to admit that every year I treat myself to one album of holiday music. Over the years I've accumulated a decent collection, from Renaissance choral music by the Cambridge Choir to James Brown's Funky Christmas (Santa Claus goes straight to the ghetto, in case you didn't know!), from Charlie Brown's jazzy Christmas standards to El Vez (the Mexican Elvis impersonator) asking, "Mamacita, donde esta Santa Claus?"

I thought it might be nice if we shared with one another our holiday music recommendations.  I'll start us off with a couple, but if no one else joins in "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you."

Hi folks.

I just want to remind everyone that many common Christmas songs which we think are traditional and therefore are in the Public Domain are in fact under copyright. For a quick reference of some of the more common Christmas songs, take a look at this webpage: http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/2010/10/dont-let-a-lawsuit-drain-your-christmas-cheer-holiday-music-and-the-public-domain/

Delores, the placement of the strap buttons matters, but not as much as you think. Dulcimers are much lighter than guitars, and even those of us who use straps do not actually suspend the full weight of the dulcimer by the strap the way you do when you play the guitar or banjo.

There are two places where you might want buttons. One is on the very end of the dulcimer. You can see here where McSpadden puts those strap buttons: http://www.mcspaddendulcimers.com/searchresults.asp?cat=49 . The top three pictures there show where the stap buttons would normally go on the bottom of the dulcimer.

The bottom two pictures on that page show strap buttons underneath the head of the dulcimer. Both pictures show dulcimers with flat heads. I don't know if you can still access that spot with a scroll head. But you can probably avoid installing a strap button there anyway. Get a leather shoelace and run it around your dulcimer underneath the strings just to the left of the nut. Loop that leather shoelace through the hole in your strap and tie it tight. If you are nervous, run it around the dulcimer twice.

Delores, the only question is whether your dulcimer already has strap buttons. If it does, then attach the strap to the buttons. If it doesn't you need to add strap buttons.

That is a task you should be able to do yourself, although every now and then you hear of someone botching the job. You will want to pre-drill a tiny hole for the screw that comes with the button. And it can't hurt to put some soap on the screw itself so that it glides more easily into the wood.

If you are nervous about doing this yourself, any guitar shop can do it. Just don't let them charge you more than a nominal fee since it will take them no more than 5 minutes.

My favorites are Sue Carpenter's quick release, adjustable mountain dulcimer straps. Others have copied her design, but I think she was the original. Here is the link tothe catalog page of her website: http://www.suecarpenter.net/catalog.htm . Scroll all the way to the bottom and you will see one of her straps in red. They come in a wide variety of colors.

Nigel, others have provided some good information here, and I hesitate to add to the mix. You know what they say about too many cooks . . .

The most common keys in old timey and bluegrass jams are C, D, G, and A.

With your dulcimer tuned DAd or DAA, you are obviously in the key of D. You can put your capo at the third fret and you will be in G. You can put the capo at the fourth fret and play in A. In both those cases, the fingering youhave already learned will work fine, but you will simply be in a different key.

For C, tune your dulcimer one note down to CGc of CGG. Once again, everything you already learned for DAd or DAA will work except that you will now be playing in C.

Paul is correct that you can tune DGD to play in the key of G, and many people do that for certain songs. But the fingering will be different from what you are used to.

As Carey and Strumelia have explained, since the dulcimer is diatonic, the capo is more compicated than it is on chromatic instruments such as the guitar. You cannot simply put it on the first or second frets to change keys as you will also be changing modes. There are uses for the capo at those keys, but the fingering you already know will not work.

However, if you want to play your diatonic dulcimer in multi-instrument jams, you should get used to tuning to CGc or CGG and using the capo at the third and fourth frets. Here is a Bing Futch video where he teaches the fiddle tune Hangman's Reel in D and then demonstrates how to play it in G and A using the capo. (And if you listen during the closing credits you will hear a "minor" version of the song which is the same fingering but the capo at the first fret.)

As a Red Sox fan since before I can remember, I am indeed routing for a team this year: whoever is playing the Yankees.

I know there are Yankees fans out there. But I guess some people wanted Goliath to beat David, too.

Actually, a lot of the games have been really exciting this year. And here in Northern Cal we had two teams in the run, with the As a genuine cinderella team with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. My wife is a Giants fan, so our house is black and orange and not because of Halloween.

Excellent research, BRAshley!

B. Ross Ashley said:

That would be dulse , Benjamin, with an s, not a c. [Scottish Gaelic duileasg , from Old Irish duilesc .] at The Free Dictionary , it's not got anything to do with sweetness.

Check out this story about why B.B. King named his guitar "Lucille":

Funny, when I was writing my comment about one of my dulcimers being a tomboy, I had a weird feeling of dja-vue. Now I know why; check out this discussion that I started one late night and subsequently forgot about: http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/forum/topics/dulcimer-gender-studies .

Ihave adigital copy of this picture -- or at leasta similar one --buthesitate to post itboth because it shows a woman's bear bottom and also because I just copied if off the web somewhere and have no ideaif it is copyrighted or what. If anyone is interested in seeing the picture, send me a personal message and I'll point you to it.

Dana R. McCall said:

There is a neat picture of a dulcimer compared to a womans body, if I can find it again I will post it.

Paul, you are certainly correct in a factual sense that the words for material objects in English have no gender. But cultural significance is different. Why do we give boats female names? Until about two years ago all hurricanes had female names. Why? When Chuck Berry sholds his guitar between his legs with the neck sticking out and dances toward the audience, he is celebrating it as a phallic object. And in scholarly circles, people who study semiotics (the study of signs) usually see round as feminine and straight as masculine. So objects can have certain cultural meanings even if grammatically those meanings make no sense. I think that is the case with dulcimers. Most people who name their dulcimers choose female names. That is not the same as the grammatical question about whether the word for dulcimer in German should be male or female, but it is fun to think about.

Just look at those curves! That's got to be a full-figured woman!

It is true that most people refer to their dulcimers as female. Interestingly, guitars are more ambivalent. The body is usually seen as representing the female body, but the neck is a phallic symbol.

In all seriousness, since dulcimer is not a German word, I don't think the "er" ending is relevant. What about " scheitholt" ? Is that word masculine or feminine? According to my German pocket dictionarythe word " Zither " is feminine. That seems as good a reason as any to consider the dulcimer feminine as well.

On a personal note, I name all my dulcimers. They all have female names except for a couple whose names are not sex-specific. One has dolphin soundholes and my daughter named it Splash. One has dragonfly insets in the soundholes and we call it Dragonfly. But the others have female names: Rosa, Lucinda, Liza, Queenie. Lucinda's a tomboy ( Wildfang ), though. And I have yet to name my baritone dulcimer, though the lower range might indicate a male voicing. I'm thinking Otis.

I have three suggestions, two of which have already been offered.

1) Get a baritone dulcimer, or at least string a dulcimer for a baritone. Baritones are usually tuned to G or A, as Paul explains. (Smaller dulcimers might be tuned an octave above a normal baritone, in the manner of the baritone dulcimette that Ron Ewing makes. Dulcimers with VSLs around 22 or so work well with this tuning.)

2) Capo on the third fret so you'll be in G. I do this all the time when jamming with people. You can also cap at the fourth fret to play in A.

3) Tune DGD. This is sometimes called a reverse Ionian tuning. If you are playing in a drone style, it would probably take little adjustment. But if you play chords, you may have to adapt to different fingering.

Good luck.

Gayle, I know a pretty accomplished mandolin player who echos folkfan's advice. He told me to put my instruments near the speakers of my stereo and let the wood vibrate to the music. That way they would be "improving with age" not only when I play, but during all the down time, too. I can't say I've actually done that, though.

Oh, and I am a big believer in changing strings. New strings sound better and are much easier on your fingertips.

In Search of the Wild Dulcimer is both an historical artifact and still a useful guide to the instrumnet. It's nice that its available in digital form, but you can also find hard copies for sale at reasonable prices on Ebay and elsewhere.

Gayle, Robin is certainly right that different websites have different personalities, and Strumelia and the early members here certainly set a friendly and encouraging tone that is what has drawn so many of us to this little corner of the internet.

But I also think that something of the dulcimer's personality comes out in those who play the instrument. It is a humble folk instrument with no pretense at all. It can make very sophisticated music (not in my hands, of course) but is more at home on the porch being played by familiy and friends who care more about having fun than impressing anyone.

And no one can play something called a hogfiddle and take themselves too seriously.

How 'bout "Groundhog?"

Here comes Sally with a snigger and a grin

Groundhog gravy all over her chin

Ken, a discussion on songs about food might be a nice idea!

Ken Hulme said:

Boiled cabbage, squirrel heads in gravy, five pounds of possum, Peas pease eatin' goober peas, how many other food related songs are there of similar nature???