Hi, Susan, your instrument sounds to be wonderfully made! Is there some way you can post photos here so, perhaps, better advice can be offered?
I recently bought this cd of Mr Clayton playing "Southern Mountain Dulcimer" and singing, too. Today, I listened to it on my car stereo-- the best stereo we have-- and liked it lots!
That wood is so nice. Love the upside-down hearts!
@tssfulk I imagine Bosse may be getting to spend time outdoors soon.
@David-Bennett Did Sally play Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm?
Wow, that's stunningly beautiful, Susie! Happy bowing!
@Robert-Shuler I hope you're moving today! Are they pumpkins good for pies? :) Pumpkin pie is my favorite.
@hugssandi Hazel's violin with your singing was just right! You enjoyment would have shown through. <3
@Steve-Smith, that sees (and looks like) a fun gathering
@hugssandi, you & Hazel will be your wonderful selves. <3 Have fun!
Mark & I are to play a mini concert at the Coshocton Dulcimer Festival on 15 June. Though we've hardly played out much over the past few years, we're looking forward to seeing friends and sharing music.
You can think of something to play for Jesus if he just was going finish dessert and coffee, @hugssandi
I'M SO EXCITED, I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
You and the kids sure do it up right, Sandi-- making it a special holiday! <3
@hugssandi I am happy you are enjoying playing! Sometimes, music just feeds the spirit. . . :)
Michael, it has been several years since I've even read anything about Darcyhorse Dulcimers. . . I wish you luck with your query!
@foundryrat Perhaps just give .012's a go and tune and re-tune to see whether it suits?
I enjoy seeing the responses, folks!
Playing mountain dulcimer with a noter is all I know-- I enjoy it tremendously! And there are MD players who play styles of music I enjoy yet could never hope to play. If a chromatic mountain dulcimer is what is called for to play the music a dulcimer player wants to make, then a chromatic fretboard it must be! :)
The mountain dulcimer and the guitar have very different timbres. Some music, music requiring "extra frets", can sound wonderful, more intimate on mountain dulcimer (as opposed to, say, guitar).
For centuries, luthiers and musicians have adapted instruments and styles of play for any number of reasons. And chromatic mountain dulcimers exist in this living tradition.
This film clip is outstanding:
I hope to get to see the movie after it's released!
I, too, wish I could make it!
@Sharon-Day Great question! I know what songs I've sung to/with a little niece or nephew yet have no clue what songs kindergarteners today know.
It looks cool, John, and I bet I could get plenty of tunes out of the little critter.
I met Ruth in '09 at Ken Bloom's Pilot Mountain Bowed Dulcimer fest. She was generous, gracious, a prolific knitter, and all-around good gal! Ken called her Saint Ruth for her work transcribing his chicken scratching on paper to music. Ruth was a treasure.
That sure is a pretty instrument-- happy strumming!
Though I'm a by-ear noter/drone player, I think my approach to bringing variety to practice would work for anyone no matter the style. I like to try different, really different types of picks or even fingerpicking on tunes to give variety to the sounds which can be got from a single tune. It may not be to everyone's liking as an exercise, I imagine, but I also like to know the essence of a tune so well I can vary the tune slightly each time I play it through.
You've built a lovely instrument, Kusani!
Jeannie, I offer healing wishes for your health and all good wishes for the many things with what you must be dealing with. Take care.
Jeannie, I'm happy for your being able to enjoy playing music again! That MMD is gorgeous.
Whatever difficulties are ahead, my wish is for you to have strength to meet them.
I've done a bit of looking in Jean Ritchie's Dulcimer People and not found a maker working under that label name.
I probably have about three hundred favorites! Yet I'll name three here. :)
And Can It Be - Charles Wesley
Peace Train - Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam)
Hard Times Come Again No More - Stephen Foster
David, Sally Ann looks to be studying how she's going to play with her new acquisition. :)
@david-bennett I remember that video! It's such a fun idea, I'm hoping to get somebody(s) to join Mark & me on the porch this year.
Mark your calendars, friends, for the last Saturday in August to join folks around the world heading outdoors (if possible) to make music!
I neglected to state (along with my Corian idea) that I wouldn't put the Corian on a wooden instrument. A cardboard box or a tin for a soundbox?
I'm thinking a fretboard made of a material such as Corian (used as counter material in kitchens, baths, etc.) might hold up?
@jp Perhaps those posted free tabs are not legal?
Copyright law is complicated. FOTMD makes every effort to demonstrate good faith with regard to protecting composers and holders of copyright, entities entitled to compensation for their work.
I've bowed both lap dulcimer and bowed dulcimers. . . I couldn't imagine bowing this critter. In my view, the design doesn't seem to lend itself to bowing.
Wow, Lisa, I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like this! Do you know anything about when and where it was built?
For what it's worth, I strum just to the left of the strum hollow most of the time. 
