Wow, that is a Tom Yocky dulcimer and those are really good instruments! I am sending you a link that you may or may not have seen that could help you set that "Island" up. I would double check to make sure the bridge and the nut have not gotten reversed somewhere along the line...........
https://reverb.com/item/655791-tom-yocky-mountain-dulcimer-2010-heartland
This is an absolute no brainer for me............"The Unquiet Grave" by Jean Ritchie..............you can hear her sing it here:
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2017/10/ghost-stories-in-song-for-halloween/
It is such an easy tune to play.......btw, there are a few others by other artists there as well...........enjoy!
Don't you get a kick out of getting up in the morning and walking into the kitchen and finding the latest creature that the cat has brought in for your inspection? A beautiful creature but one that can deliver a nasty bite if so inclined. I took him/her out to the edge of the deck and let it go, it was not injured but not really happy either.
I'm sure your right about those adjusters working really well. I am going to put them back on in short order, they needed to be cleaned up a bit which I'll get to in a few days. The pegs o this one are right on and are holding a perfect tuning with no slipping etc. The label inside says made from planks on a 100 year old slave cabin near Lagrange, Kentucky if I am reading it right.
Your right about that.........I am keeping all of the old parts that need a bit of buffing up and so far as the nut is concerned I am trying to make sure that it does not crack or chip, any more than it already has.............I really do not think this one has ever been played or if it has not very much. I did replace the strings since the ones on it were pretty much dead and left off those string adjustment hubs since they don't seem to do much other than put unnecessary strain on the strings. I'll keep them off it for the time being, but will have them if for some reason they need to be put back on. All in all there is not a scratch or ding on it.
I'll give that a try. I did take a double edge razor blade and heated it up and slid it along the sides. I managed to free about 50% of the sides this way. I suspect that it is glued across the bottom too. In the mean time I am going to cut some new slots and set the strings equidistant and tune it "Galax style". By the way, that great looking Galax that you featured last week is weighing on my brain.
Thanks.........
I just received a beautiful, basically mint Ledford that needs to have the Bone nut replaced. It appears that it has been firmly glued in place and does not want to budge. Any ideas on how to best go about removing it?
This chart gives you a fair idea of what the tunings should be on a Citera..............by the way, a great find!
Dave, check the slot depth on the nut first and then the bridge..........you might try a slightly heavier string or do what I have done when the string is just twanging on a fret........put a small piece of a flat tooth pick under the nut, right under the the edge closest to the twanging string.........then try it........do you have and adjustable or moveable bridge? Sounds like the string is vibrating in the slot a bit too much to me.
Wood Quills or Quill Bobbins are readily available on places like Ebay.......and they are dirt cheap. When I worked for a textile company during the summers during undergraduate school we threw thousands of them away because the company had changed over to paper quills. Those wooden quills screw/or slide into the the right side center gap of the wooden shuttle with the thread/yarn wound around them. Most I saw were made of oak or some other type hard wood. I'll bet they would indeed make excellent noters, especially if one side was sanded flat..........great idea Charles.......Bravo!
I've been working on re-building my vinyl collection the last few months. In the mean time I've been using the free version of Spotify and listening to all sorts of Mountain dulcimer music........there really is a great selection available there if anyone is interested and you can save the albums to a playlist too.
Very nice.............this link might be helpful to you. Strings are available on ebay and amazon too.
http://www.jamesjonesinstruments.com/misc/yangqin.html
Are you smoking Sutliff Buttered Rum?
The Germans (Penn. Dutch) used the heart to represent 4 ideas concerning love.......love of God, love of family, love of friends and love of country at least that is what I recall from years ago. In the old German Lutheran Liturgy which I grew up with, like the Roman liturgy the Sursum Corda is offered by the celebrant who intones........."Lift up your hearts" and the congregants reply........."We lift them up unto the Lord." That intonation goes back to the third or fourth century according to those old dusty books I have. The upward pointed heart may be a reference to doing that......looking to heaven the source of all true love. (see those years of seminary have provided me with all sorts of information that would be great if I ever get on Jeopardy). When the German settlers put hearts on all sorts of things they usually referred to love of family or community and faith. Some have said that upward pointing hearts meant the instrument was to be used for hymnody and celebration and the regular heart for the love of one human being for all of creation including family and friends. Then again, maybe this is just all speculation......but it is fun to think about.
Ike and Izzy........the last two Carolina Parakeets before the species went extinct. These sound holes were done By Kerry Coates and this is one of the last dulcimers she built. A genuine lady and true artist.
Sometimes the best teachers and lessons offered are extraordinary. One February, many years ago, I was driving back from a university hospital after visiting an elderly person in my congregation. It was very late and in the mountains of Northern New England temperature was well below freezing and a wind driven snowfall made driving almost impossible. As I got near to home I made a turn off a winding back road and saw something that caught my eye, (that in and of itself was a miracle)... an odd shape, covered by a thin blanket, sitting on top of a snow bank in a miserable storm at 1:00 am. I stopped my old beater of a car and pulled the blanket up and found a young woman who had decided that to die that night. I had heard about her and how she had sort of showed up in town and was homeless and suffering from some sort of mental issues that made her capable of some really bizarre and violent behavior. I took her to my office, made coffee and soup and after getting her to promise that she would not harm herself bought her a room at the one motel in town.
The next morning I picked her up at the motel and took her back to the office and did a bit of research. Prior to her illness she had been an accomplished Pianist with a slew of degree's from one of the finest universities in the deep South. As we talked she started loosing control of her emotions and went into the next room where an old banger of a piano had sat for Lord knows how long. Her agitation was increasing by leaps and bounds and trouble was on the horizon. This was where I got a real lesson in the power of music and one worth sharing.
Out of that rage and violent personality disorder came the most incredible music......Mozart, Chopin...you name it it was there and while she played the anger and pain inside her began to fade...and what was a violent rage filled affect gave way and joy began to make itself known even if only for a short time.
Here then was the lesson I learned from the "Teacher". Music when played with spirit and total absorption can still any storm, quiet any tempest and help heal a broken spirit. My teacher, I would learn had been rejected by family, friends and all sorts of social agencies because of her violent tendencies. At that time there were no mental health professionals willing to help.........we found her an apartment and she lived there for awhile. When her rage surfaced she would show up and play until it faded and off she would go.........one day she left town and where she is now I don't know. It has been over 30 years since I heard from her but I have always remembered those days and pray that some how she has been healed. Music heals and musicians can be technicians or healers......and the tools to heal are in your hands...when you play, dare to heal.
Phil thanks for re-posting that video. Such a joy to listen to that old hymn sung with such grace and sincerity.
I Cor. 15:53-55
Mike Sanderson is still an active vendor in Northern Michigan and is listed as a vendor in the Original Dulcimer Players Newsletter...........Paula Brawdy should be able to find away for you to get in touch with him...........you might send her a private message and see if she can help. I am told he makes a fine dulcimer too...........and it looks like you have one.
There used to be an article on Hand Health that Strumelia had on another site as I recall. Perhaps she can tell us where to find it if it is still available.
Looks like a Roosebeck to me Grace Mountain model
.......check it out on Amazon.
Since I had never heard of those gizmo's and checked them out they appear to be fancy silver wire wrapped around a joint to keep the little stinker from moving. And, since I am as cheap as they come decided to see if you could fashion a home made one. Went to the garage, stripped a piece of heavy Romex wire that seemed to be the correct thickness, cut it, fashioned a ring like the ones I found pictured....works like a charm, nice shinny copper for a total cost of about .75 cents. You can also use those aluminum wires you tie chain link fencing to the galvanized posts. Or if all else fails, come over to the dark side, which is actually the inaccessible brilliance of Noter play hidden from the world. 
I have Scheitholt, deluxe he built for me many years ago and it is almost always a go to instrument.............top notch and just grand in every respect.
Terry...........Jean Ritchie has an album called Carols for all Season which has some fun stuff on it that you might consider...........if you go to Spotify and sign up for the free version you can listen to all sorts of dulcimer music from her and a few others.........it's a great resource and one well worth having available and you cannot beat the price..........
John Henry...........I just read the post by Robin concerning your beloved's crossing Jordan. May you be granted great comfort from family and friends and the knowledge that beyond Jordan there is a promised land.
"I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger
Traveling through this world of woe
Yet there's no sickness, toil nor danger
In that fair land to which I go
I'm going there to see my father
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm just going over Jordan
I'm just going over home"
BTW, Marge you can also use a flat toothpick to keep that string from flopping a bit in the slot. Just loosen that string and put the flat side against the string and down in the slot and tighten it. If it is too thick a bit of sand paper will thin the toothpick down. I should have also said, with regard to the red tube on the wd40 can, you can take a razor blade and carefully split it so as to slide it on the string and down into the slot. If it is too stiff warm it up and soften it a bit or roll it or stretch it and then go for it. If it is too thick, the sand paper trick should make it workable if you mess with it a bit.
I had that problem and used the red tube off a wd40 can..........the string fit fine and it tightened up properly.
The hymn tune "Lynne" uses 13.10.11.10 as its metrical meter. That metrical format is a slight variation on "Was Lebet, Was Schwebet" written by Johann Heinrich Rheinhardt in 1754. A few adjustments to the tune and everyone is good to go I should think. Since I did not get chance to listen to MM's video or JM's, you might check this link out to see if Reinhardt's tune would work.
https://www.ccel.org/cceh/0006/x000682.htm
Are you saying you broke the hitch pin that goes into the wood or that you lost the small brass piece in side the loop? If its the pin that has broken off a good music shop with a guitar repair guy can fix that, if its the brass piece in the string, ball end strings come with them.......no problem there.
I agree, not a definitive guide.........what I meant was who knew that frets could lift, or that tuners go bad or such a thing as three different forms of intonation exist, or that different fret board lengths could require string thickness..........I was talking about general considerations..all those considerations that are highly unique could indeed cause a problem.......I never even considered that a fret board could warp, I figured if it looked good it would play well.
Just a thought....about a new topic that many of you who are more knowledgeable than I might consider setting up, especially those of you who are builders.......
would it be possible to list things that new buyers of used and new instruments should be made aware of that they might not know about.........such as intonation issues, tuner problems, raised frets, warped fret boards, adjustable bridges etc.? Some of us older birds have learned the hard way so it seems plausible that if this was all in one place sort of as a go to guide or be on the lookout for sort of thing it might be helpful to lots of folk.
Let me be serious and set the kidding aside for a moment since this is a sensitive topic and one which I have had to deal with for many years with my work with a wide variety of people. The statement that Rob makes concerning resentment is right on the money and it goes far beyond who is a "Native American" and who is not; or who is a member of a recognized tribe and who is not. For the most part there are two prevailing issues at hand one having to do with identity and the other having to do with entitlement. Let me explain.
Some folks use external groups or badges or whatever to give themselves some sort of identity that enables them to identify with a group or "clan" which creates a sense of belonging while at the same time providing some sort of boundary between themselves and the larger, "herd." I have seen this with a large variety of folk. Some claim to be Irish, some Italian, others German or Native or LGBT or whatever...could be religious in orientation too. " I am a Baptist or a Presbyterian, or Pentecostal or Catholic"........the same be true with a political affiliation as well. Identity and belonging to a substructure that is part of the larger picture is the key here. There is nothing wrong with any of that unless that self imposed identification real or imagined becomes the driving force in ones life and begins to mask the obligation to live as a genuine human being, setting aside our distinction as sentient beings charged with the responsibility of living in harmony with all beings.
The second issue is that people have somehow latched on to the idea that as human beings they have inherent right to claim for themselves whatever it is that they feel they want at any given moment. Hence, in the resentment that Rob points out, and rightly so......some folks dislike and criticize folk with Tribal Cards, because they want one and feel entitled to it and if they can't have it, no one else should have one either. At the most basic level this is a a form of jealousy that has no place in the life of a person who has even remotely begun to have a sense of self realization and emotional maturity. Fred Beuchner once wrote that "jealousy is the desire to have the other person be as unsuccessful as you think you are." If I remember that book was titled a A Theological ABC. Rob has a card, it is who he is........his heritage, his familial solidarity. That is worth cherishing. I don't, but I also have heritage and solidarity with a group as well. We are just different people all living together with all sorts of histories and traditions to recognize and appreciate.
To further muddy the waters just a bit, there are also folk who will totally disavow who they are or their traditions etc. in order to avoid anything that might make them feel limited in any way. Sometimes this can be a most positive thing and enable someone to overcome all sorts of difficulties and issues. Other times it can be way of avoiding those things that need to be integrated into their personality and utilized as a stepping stone towards emotional and psychological maturity. In other words, "get over it." It only exists in your mind, it is gone.....now what have you learned from this would be a good way to overcome that issue.
Now isn't that one hell of a post for something that started out as a performance description? So Rob, maybe the clearest way to describe yourself and what you do would be to put in your Bio or cut line...........
Rob N. Lackey
Singer, Song Writer, Mountain Musician
and
Member of the Great Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Does anyone own a dulcimer built by Lee Pack in Weaverville, NC. I am told they have the old time silvery sound and are unique in this respect. If you know of a sound file or audio clip that would be great.
And one other thing Rob.............there are lot's of, "Hits" out there rooted in old songs, I once heard that that one that goes, "Your Not Woman Enough, to Steal My Man," started out to be........."If Your not Fat Enough, Just Eat More Ham". There are others of course........remember, Leader of the Pack? It, I am told became a favorite of construction workers who changed the lyric to, "We See the Plumber's Cra_k." As of yet I am unable to confirm any of this so we will have to say right now those myths are busted.
Anyway, as soon as these meds wear off, I'll be doing lots of in depth research......I even heard that the "Water's Wide" became a weight loss commercial tune that had something to do with, "It's Just So Wide and They Won't Go Over"....., might of been one of those new fangled underwear commercials too...not sure, I'll keep digging. Betting that's a myth too.
Yup, I needed a good laugh too.... and figured you'd get a chuckle out of that one. Glad I made you laugh...............BTW......remember, Polk Salad Annie? So I figured, Ramp Salad Lackey.............the lyrics could go anywhere, whew!
Well Rob, at the risk of sounding a bit off me rocker, I think I would present a playbill sort of description, put it in a portfolio and use the show theme to describe my act. Here's what I mean, and I do this at the risk of sounding rocker-less...........
"From this Old Holler"
The Songs of Simpler Times
or
"Ramp Salad"
Songs that Lighten the Heart
or something like a Old Time Gospel Show:
"Wait'n for My Slippers"
Old Time Music Celebrating the Old Time Gospel
Checked out your string positioning on the pic you posted of your dulcimer and more or less duplicated it on one I had here that I was messing with.............when I fretted the middle/melody strings they tightened up just enough to touch the bass and sure enough threw it off. Looks like it is pushing it up enough to release some of the tension on the bass string or unseating it just a tad in the slot.
Check your string positions in the scroll head if that is what you have..............Bass string to first tuner, middle string to second and so forth , avoid crossing them because they will pick up vibrations from the other strings. Since you strum right handed I would go clockwise in this order with scroll head pointing left...........
first melody string to first tuner on bottom of scroll, second melody to top tuner on bottom of scroll, middle string to top tuner on far side, bass string to bottom tuner on far side. use the lowest holes on the tuner pegs that will allow you to keep those strings from making big X's....keep the strings a straight as possible...........some folks will tell you it doesn't matter, but it does.
Yes.......Gaelic was a hobby of mine years ago.........but here's the deal........few ever speak it here or abroad and then you have the entire colloquial thing to deal with too. So far as Carmichael's work is concerned, I did not imply that you should mine it, however..you would probably be amazed at the topical diversity that the Highlander's incorporated into their poetic side. Some I recall of course are the standard blessings one would assume such as traveling mercies or thanksgivings for a good harvest or hunt...........but consider..........blessings for the warmth of fire, the stillness of water, coming of age or the flip side crone-ing as they would put it. So I used to consider their participation in the entire movement of every aspect of life as a form of awareness and mystic perception. Remember a mystery is something once hidden, but now disclosed.
The other thing that I found, at least in my old version was how they related to death, grief and sorrow......a part of life and inevitable, not to be mourned, but merely an occasion for biding farewell to a dear one until another day and it goes on and on....
All that used to get my creative thinking going.......what would a song about warmth in the midst of bone chilling cold have for a lyric.......or what about a cool taste of water while harvesting a field, or what sort of greeting would you give a dear departed one should he or she appear in the minds eye or on a lonely highway or upon your arrival to the land wherein they reside?
I once held a Poetry reading after a hurricane in my Parish. It was directed by a band of poets and writers that frequented that old church from time to time.......it was titled, "Mourning the Trees." Most all of those poets were of Gaelic orientation and they sang, read, recited and granted wisdom to those who were still reeling from a nasty hurricane that really wrecked our Island years ago. So here is an event that happened during that storm.........
The Sanctuary in my Parish was was built in the late 1800's and had a great high tower on it............the sides of that tower had six great openings covered with Bahama shutters. The storm blew for 5 or 6 hours and since it had come up through Cuba it brought with it all sorts of birds, in fact thousands of brilliant tiny finches.........yellow, gold, green and blue. The storm blew 100's them through the shutters and into the main part of the sanctuary. When I opened the doors and huge windows, they flew round and round, like a giant tornado and headed out into the clear sky. One came back flew around my head, looked me in the eye offered a tiny incantation and joined his fast scattering pals.
So as Lyric Poet, which is what you are..........how would an old Scott put that to verse and song? Carmichael's highlanders would see a mystery in that..would it be a parting song, a thanksgiving bard or mourning greeting? The average parish member I had saw no mystery, just wondered where they might have dumped and did they do any damage. No awareness of life's mystery or the hidden blessings observation can reveal.
My old neighbor, a poet and song writer of genuine renown and immense popularity, said when he heard the story..........."Of course." Bless him he's gone now........remember, the song, "A Boy Named Sue" or the book, "A Light in the Atttic." He was one genius who captured it all and every time he presented an old tune or poem it had to be a fresh in the mind and heart as the day it was written ........I could go on, but, more than enough said..............
