Forum Activity for @marsha-elliott

Lute Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Thank you Strumelia. I will try that.

Lute Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Strumelia,

Key of D

Lute Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Thank you all for the interesting feedback. I may be wrong but am thinking that watching other videos from that guy I saw that besides using the capo on fret 1, he also had a slightly different tuning from DAD (I can’t remember, but maybe one of the D’s was one step different?)

I guess I will just stick to relying on using that E minor to get a more medieval sound. I was talking to my husband Mike about it and suggested that the next time he gets the urge to build another dulcimer for me (he has built 7 so far experimenting on different  woods and designs) that he do a pear-shape that looks like a lute just for fun.

Lute Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Have any of you ever played or built a Lute Dulcimer? I saw a YouTube video that   fascinated me as I love playing Celtic and medieval tunes. I would love to buy one but they all look way too expensive. My husband built my mountain dulcimer and I am looking for maybe some plans and instructions for him to build me one.

If you want to check out the video: https://youtu.be/u814RNCqxEQ?si=kICcja0RAcyLi68K

Bodhran (Irish Drum)

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

In my mountain community there are so many fun Jam sessions available. I wanted to have an instrument that I could use when the tunes get too fast or complicated for my dulcimer. A few years ago I bought a used Bodhran from a vender at a Dulcimer festival, found YouTube videos with lessons and in a couple of years I was “rockin’ it. I was going to buy a better one on our planned trip to Scotland/Ireland, but the pandemic hit and the trip was canceled. So I ordered one shipped here from a well known builder in Dublin and it totally upped my game. I still LOVE my dulcimer, but am having the time of my life playing the Bodhran.

 Photo is of the Jam I play with every Thursday night (April thru September) at a local tap-room:

Tab for Slan Le Maigh?

Dulcimer Resources:TABS/Books/websites/DVDs

I love this tune too and when I saw your post about anyone trying this song, I put it on my “to do” list. Today I worked out the 1st 8 measures, which then repeat to play a verse. The chorus which has 18 measures is a lot harder and I need more time to work that out. 

I have attached a rough recording of those 1st 8 measures. Let me know if you think they fit. I played very slow and did not add and extra picks so you could hopefully hear the chord for each note. Tuned to DAD,  I used a score in the key of A and transposed it to key of D. This tune is played in 4-4 and also in 3-4 time.... my version is 4-4.

Capo positions, tunings, chords and other wonderful things

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

All of this is very helpful. I am understanding better now. And I’m excited to try it out at practice on Monday. 😁

Capo positions, tunings, chords and other wonderful things

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

@skip

If I play the chords as G  C  G  C  G  D  Em  D  C  Em  D  G  C  G  C  G  D  Em  D  C,    Wouldn’t I need to retune to G?

The tunes in D and the tunes in G are all mixed up in the lineup. I am trying to prevent retuning for each song. There will not be time to do that, so I want to remain tuned to D except for the one song that is in key of C, and I am used to retuning fast to C. I was thinking that is the reason to use the capo is to adjust to a new tuning faster????? 

Now I am really confused!

Capo positions, tunings, chords and other wonderful things

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Thank you so much @dusty-turtle and @skip. 

So if I am tuned in DAd and put the capo at 3

and the key of G music guitar chords are:

G  C  G  C  G  D  Em  D  C  Em  D  G  C  G  C  G  D  Em  D  C  Em  D

Then Would I play:

D  G  D  G  D  A  Bm  A  G  Bm  A  D  G  D  G  D  A  Bm  A  G  Bm  A

 

And do I try to play versions of those chords that do not include pressing the melody string, or does it matter?

(for instance playing the D Chord with 200 instead of 002, and playing the G chord with 310 instead of 013) 

The really difficult thing about this is that the songs they are playing are obscure tunes from their Episcopal song book, and I AM Presbyterian and have never heard any of these songs before nor can I find them on YouTube to listen to.

I could just sit out the songs that are not in the key of D, but this is a good chance for me to try out playing in the other keys using the capo, since they are a really friendly group and will tolerate my mistakes.

Capo positions, tunings, chords and other wonderful things

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I need help with something. I am to play my Dulcimer with a group of other instruments for a church gathering (sing-along). They are doing a few of the songs in key of D so I can play with them. But I think I can also play the ones that are in G if someone can answer the questions I have. I know how to use the capo to change the key and how to renumber the frets to the right of the capo and play the chords that I would normally play for key of D. The problem here is that literally all of the songs except for two are songs I have never heard and there are no arrangement in D for them. For those songs I want to just strum backup using the guitar chords shown on the arrangements that they have given me. 

 

So here is the question.... since the guitar chords shown in their key of G arrangements are chords for the key of G, then I am assuming that I cannot play them as I would if the arrangement was in the key of D. So assuming I use the capo at the 3rd fret, Is there a chart somewhere that will show me what to transpose them to?

 

Intermediates

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

You are absolutely right Dusty. I need to work on keeping a happy face when I make a mistake. It seems that the difficulty of doing so is in direct coralation with who the audience is.... old folks, kids and family, no problem because they don't even know when I make a mistake, but on a stage, different story. I loose concentration and bingo, ooops!

 

Intermediates

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I just returned from the Dulcimer U workshop in Cullowhee, NC where my main morning class was Tull Glazener's upper intermediate. He taught us how to take any music score, transpose it to key of D (or what ever key you want), then write the full chord tab for it. He also taught us how to then write other parts to do it as ensemble. No previous knowledge of music theory was necessary, nor did we have to be able to play by ear.

it was an intense week, but I came out of there with a whole new world opened to me. And I am so excited now to know that if I can't find tab for a song I like, it won't be a problem.

Choose just ONE song for all eternity...

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I would have to say "Come By the Hills". It's an Irish traditional tune that I first heard played by Celtic Thunder on one of their CDs. I think because I live in the mountains that it really speaks to me.

 

But I also LOVE "River" too that several of you mentioned. Put the two together and you would need a whole box of tissues to handle the tears.

updated by @marsha-elliott: 07/31/18 02:56:46PM

So You're That Kind of Gal?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Nigel, I looked up those two songs you recommended on YouTube. They are both beautiful.

in the dulcimer club I played with a couple of years ago, before moving up here to the mountains, there was a sweet lady from Wales who played with us. She taught us to play the Welch song, Calan Lan. And it became one of the club's favorites. 

So You're That Kind of Gal?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Oh YES, I, too, am that kind of gal. Some of my favorites are:

Carrickfergus

Ned of the Hill

Foggy Dew

Will Ye Go Lassy Go

Skye Boat Song

Danny Boy

Cill Cais

Come By the Hills

Come Fare Away

Parting Glass

Star of the County Down

Ye Banks and Braes of old Bonnie Doone

and of course.... Will Ye No Come Back Again

 

Joe Collins has 2 good books, Simply Celtic, and Irish Charms which you can order online and you can sign up for his monthly free tab, which are often Celtic tunes.

Tull Glazener has some good ones too which you can order online.

 

Tuning question...

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Hi @kb9jlo

i just now saw your question today so I'm a bit late for the Christmas songs. However I wanted to tell you something that may help in playing for your grand darlings to sing along. You already know that you will find most songs tabbed for the DAD tuning. If you need to sing in a bit lower key, which is often needed, then you can tune to CGC and play the exact same tab as you do for DAD.

That would mean you lower each string by one.