Forum Activity for @userno4

Interesting thoughts here. I participate in a couple of musical groups; one does a lot of singing, the other (predominantly mountain dulcimers) does not.   
Learning to play is a challenge. Learning to sing while doing that is another challenge. 

One of my problems is that I tend to ... well, sing off-key. Play in one key and then start out with a much higher key in my singing. Nerves? I'm not sure why. Nerves may be one reason.

You know that your dulcimer has a hold on you when ... you have to suddenly enter the hospital, will be there for a couple of days (in relatively good health) and you ask your spouse to bring a favorite dulcimer to you. (In this day of COVID-19, it means leaving it at the front door and having an employee bring it to you.)

I ended up having a long conversation with two nurses (it was a low-census time) and played some music for them. A nursing assistant heard my playing at another time, complimented me (I could hear her from the hallway) and later asked me why I had choose that instrument. A fourth nurse said he was a pianist and had started playing the ukulele. I think he was intrigued.

Playing it lifted my spirits. Talking two the two nurses was even better. I played a song or two for them, not because I liked it (though I did) but because I could tell they liked it. One said she had a 12-string guitar that she hadn't played in years; she was intrigued at having only three strings to deal with and said "At my age" (early 60s, perhaps), she might find that an easier go. The younger nurse said that it made her think she needed to restart trying to learn the guitar.

Oh, and there was a second nursing assistant (making for five hospital employees) whom I told about shopgoodwill.com, from which I purchased this particular dulcimer. "I love thrift stores!" she said. 

(For the record, I'm home now. I might need to go back; when I left, we were still waiting on some blood work, but two doctors both said it was fine if I left, as it was unlikely I would have to return.)

 Hospital bed.JPG - 174KB

Interesting idea. I wonder if there's enough interest to make it worthwhile. That's probably a decision for the site owner.

1. All in-person church activities cancelled, including our small group meetings. It's on-line, which ... well, is better than nothing.

2. I participate in two music groups, one where I take a hammered dulcimer and one where I take a mountain dulcimer. The venues of both have shut down / shut us out.

3. My wife started working from home today. Daughter's school is out for two weeks, officially, but I expect it to be out for the rest of the year. In two weeks, she will probably start some sort of distance learning.

4. I like to go skiing and snowboarding. The season ended at least a week early, perhaps two.

5. I work at home, remotely, as a contractor. In late April, the client is having an all-staff retreat. Well, it was. Not anymore. The cancellation makes my life easier, but it also means I'll go at least four months before I see any of my colleagues in person.

6. Sigh. I'm an introvert who over the last couple of years has become less introverted. Guess I picked a bad couple of years to start that transition.

That's just a start. There are other things.

That's a good idea. I've already played outside once this year, but it's too cold (still) on most days to do that. 

"Live streaming" is the same idea as live television broadcast, except it usually means using the internet rather than the airwaves to transmit the signal. It also includes watching on a computer or smartphone rather than a TV with rabbit ears. 

If you're interested in performing in front of a group, it would be a way for you to to that ... except you'd be performing in front of a camera, not (for lack of a better term) a studio audience.

Eh. I suppose it might be better than nothing. But I suspect it would be less satisfying. Then again, people record themselves while playing and then upload the video to YouTube, FOTMD, Facebook, and so forth.

I used to visit my father-in-law when he lived in a memory care facility. (You know what they say about music being one of the last things to go.) I would sing with the staff music therapist (or whatever her title was) but have been there just once (with my hammered dulcimer) since he died. 

I've thought of going back, but lately I've been wondering how long it will be until I would be barred. Perhaps already.

And I go to a weekly jam session that meets in the dining area of a senior-only apartment building. Yeah, I wonder how long we will be doing that. I didn't go to the last session because I had a leaky nose and decided to stay home and rest. 

Thank you! I looked at that website, and it looks like it has what I'm looking for. I have two dulcimers that lack inlays, so a sheet of 20 will serve me well.

I'm enjoying a dulcimer I added to my collection, but I'm a bit thrown by its lack of fretboard markers, which I'm used to.

Have you used something like this and if so, has it been useful? Is there a better alternative? 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PGQYQJY?tag=duckduckgo-brave-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

Well, that calculator is interesting. I plugged in the length of the shortest dulcimer (25.5 inches) and it said that for the bass string I need a diameter of 0.15. The thinnest one I have is 0.20. The steel one I had tried the other day broke. Tonight, I put on the 0.20 in bronze, and it took.

I was able to tune up the middle string that was already on the instrument, whatever that was. Then I put on a 0.8 (which is what the calculator said) for a melody string.

About 30 minutes of playing later, it works. I've got a dulcimer tuned to GDG (G3, D4, G4). 

Thanks for the info on where to place the capo. I'll have to keep that in mind. And the gauge calculator will probably be useful.

I'm hoping to tune up. I think that would match a mandolin. A ginger would be a logical choice, but ... more money. So right now, I'm seeing if I can get by with some new strings, and talking with some string vendors.

The capo makes my instruments sound awful. But maybe I'm doing something wrong. Now having watched your video, I'll have to try again by placing it directly on the fret. Oh, and I love the 7th sound that a 1.5 fret has, too. I've enjoyed having it on two of my instruments and will have to try it on the third by placing the cap on the 4th fret.

Carrying three dulcimers isn't that big of a deal; it's less weight than my hammered dulcimer. Still, I'd expect to carry just two.

Yes, I suppose I could learn how to tune more quickly. I'd probably stay in C or G as the default; in the bluegrass group, we don't use D that often.

Thanks for the reply!

I have three dulcimers. Which one should I tune to GDC?

Dulcimer 1: A Roosebeck that my mother bought me about five years ago. It's 25.5 inches from nut to bridge. I think that the 1.5 fret I had someone put in has risen a bit, which explain the tinny sound I sometimes hear. (Yes, I know it's imported from Pakistan, which brings out the haters.)

Dulcimer 2: This one is made by Michael Sanderson of Harbor Springs, Michigan, going under the name of Sylvan Music. The distance from the nut to the bridge is 26.25 inches. It's got a more mellow sound than the Roosebeck. This is the one I usually take to a dulcimer club, where everyone tunes down to to CGC. It has a 1.5 fret, which has been well-behaved.

Dulcimer 3: I bought this one at a Goodwill auction last week. It's a TK O'Brien mode 36. Like the Sanderson dulcimer, it was made in early 2011. It's 25.875 inches long from nut to bridge. It has a 6.5 fret but not a 1.5. It has a very sweet sound, especially when I strum around the 4th or 5th fret. It's probably the quietest of the three.

I'd like to move one of these to GDG because I'd like to have one for a bluegrass jam session I go to on a regular basis. I expect to take two with me, actually, one tuned in C (our autoharp player likes to play in C) and one in G (since it's a bluegrass group).

I bought some banjo strings (.20, .11, .09) and started to restring the Roosebeck with the .20. The string snapped, so I called GHS strings, the maker, and he said there must be a defect and will send me some new strings, including some thinner ones.

Any suggestions?

I didn't know that. Thanks. 

Using a pick for tuning. I ... overlooked that. I was thinking of plucking it with my fingers, but a pick would certainly work.

Now if I can figure out how this thing should be set up. I can tell that a few strings are out of tune.

Over the weekend, I retrieved one of my late mother's hammered dulcimers (Jake's Cabin Traveler). I'm new to the instrument but can play the melody of some tunes already.

But here's a mystery. There's something on the side of the dulcimer that looks like a pick holder. So I put a pick in there and took a photo of it.

Does anyone use a pick on a hammered dulcimer? Or is it likely there in case my mother had her MD with her as well and needed a pick?

 Pick holder.JPG.jpg - 84KB

Thanks for posting this. I've been listening to a lot of podcasts (and audiobooks) of late. I've just listened to three episodes and found them to be well done.

I'm still relatively new to the dulcimer (and the piano is my primary instrument), so I'm pulled in several directions. I like the idea of fingerpicking as well as the blues, so I enjoyed the episode on both those topics. After meeting Bing Futch at the Evart festival, I've got to listen to the episode that profiles him. And .... and ... well, there's more. It's great to hear the stories of different people, with, of course, their music.

Here's the other dulcimer I have. There's a label inside that says "Michael Sanderson" and "Sylvan Music" and "Harbor Springs, Mich.," with what I assume to be a serial number in the low 100s. It's got a deeper, richer tone than my Roosebeck Grace Mountain. 

Does anyone else have an instrument from Mr. Sanderson? I looked around and found only two pieces of information about him, which is from 2000 or so. The instrument (the label inside) is from 2011. My mother bought it from someone in June 2016, and I inherited it from her.

What sort of wood does this look to be?

 Sanderson1.jpg - 113KB

Yes, it looks a lot like that, so I'd say, that's it. I haven't measured my instrument, and I'm not sure the description of the wood is an exact match — it's hard to tell if the bridge and the neck are the same wood; maybe it's just a difference in the grain — but it does seem to be the same. Same tailpiece. Same tuners. Same f note holes and same arched bridge, plus of course the contrasting light and dark colors. Mine has an extra screw at the end for holding a strap, and it has only three strings (through slots for four), plus of course the 1.5 fret, but these three differences are easily explained as after-market changes. 

Yeah, a more correct placement may require making a third cut between fret 1 and 2. But I'm not sure I want to spend the money for that. And it does seem to tune within my tolerances. 

My 9-year-old daughter and I are listening to an audio version of "Anne of Avonlea" when I drive her home from school. We've already been through "Anne of Green Gables," and before that, "A Wrinkle in Time" and "A Swiftly Tilting Planet." I just finished listening to "The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe," which I read decades ago in college. I'm not sure if I should go onto the next in the series or start up "Pride and Prejudice," which my daughter is almost finished reading through. In the fall, I listed to the space trilogy of C.S. Lewis as well as "The Great Divorce" and "The Abolition of Man." 

I do READ, and read nonfiction, but that's a start.

Someone suggested I find the builder of the dulcimer if I'd like to add a fret to. The label inside says "Sylvan Music, Harbor Springs, Mich." It's dated 2-9-11 (so no antique here) and has a serial number. It also has the signature "Michael Sanderson." I found two online references to him leading a workshop at a folk festival in his region of Michigan, but that's it. 

Is anyone familiar with his work or how to contact him? On occasion, I get to that part of the country, so I might be able to return the instrument to its maker and see if he would put in that fret for me. 

For the record, here's a top-side view of the dulcimer. I have no idea who built it, so if for some reason someone recognizes it, I'd appreciate a comment.

The yellow spots you see on the top side of the fretboard are tiny pieces of post-it notes I had in place at one point. 

 Dulcimer 1.jpg - 105KB

I prefer having a 1.5 and 6.5 fret but that's just me. But I will say that having someone other than the original builder might cause problems. Here's a close-up of the fretboard with fret 1 (left) and 1.5 (right). The other frets on the board resemble the fret on the left.

Another problem (perhaps) is that the luthier at the string shop said the 1.5 fret was installed too close to the 1 fret; it should have been closer to fret 2.

 Frest 1 and 1.5.jpg - 54KB

Uh-oh. I feel like I've touched off a religious debate. "Is it sacrilegious to add a fret to an old dulcimer?"

I can't see why you would buy a dulcimer just to admire it (and not play it the way you wish), but opinions differ.

Where's the best forum for that?

I have posted a top view in my user profile and am looking for a way to link to that.

There's no indication on or in the instrument to tell me who made it. My mother gave it to me as a birthday gift two years ago, and I don't remember her telling me where she bought it. She died six months ago, and I have yet to find any records of it in her stuff. So the maker of the dulcimer is a mystery.

Ken, thanks for the reply. Yes, "dressing" is the word I was looking for. And yes, I think the fee would include dressing all the frets. The guy said it would probably be closer to $100 but he wanted to leave some room.

The string shop works mostly on guitars, though it builds mandolins and has repaired sitars and some other stuff. 

At this point, I will wait until I find someone who does a lot of work on dulcimers. I would like to get that 1.5 fret. 

I have a four-string dulcimer to which I'd like to add (or more accurately, have added) a 1.5 fret. 

I recall that some vendors at the only dulcimer festival I've been to (in Evart, Michigan) were adding frets for $15. So I thought, oh, great, this will be cheap.

Then I paid a visit to a local stringed instrument shop. First, I showed the guy my three-string dulcimer and asked him to fix a tinny noise I hear on the low notes. He pointed out that the 1.5 fret appeared to be an after-market job. The cut into the wood was not as smooth as it should be, and the fret had started to float up. He put the fret back down but said if it caused a problem again, he would have to ... oh great. Now I forget the verb. Bake it? Sand it? Whatever, I think it involves sanding down each of the frets. Total cost is about $200.

I show him the four-string dulcimer and asked about putting a 1.5 on there. He said it would be about $100 but could go to $200.

So .. .what's the price range for installing a fret? On the one hand, it looks like the after-market fret job (performed when and where I don't know) was substandard, and the guy talked about how hard it is to do things correctly. He said he should measure the place to 0.001 of an inch. Maybe it's gilding the lily?

I know that musical instruments can be expensive, but my (late) mother paid $300 for this four-string unit last year, and I didn't feel like paying $150 or so for a single fret, so I left.

 My bad. I should have said friction tuners. That's what they have no. The guitar shop said that if I wanted to play the banjo, I should get gear tuners (same as planetary?), but if I wanted to sell it, I should keep the friction tuners.

In my house I have:

Piano: A console piano from my late mother-in-law. I took (half-heartedly) piano lessons as a kid and have enjoyed playing hymns and other songs by ear. I play the melody with one hand and broken chords with the other. So far, I primarily play in C and use the C, F, and G chords.

Electronic keyboard: From my mother. I received this before the piano. It may have a means of recording and mixing sounds since it has all sorts of options. I'd like to use my chart of frequencies for various instruments and play through the range of some of the instruments in the bank, such as violin.

Soprano recorder: It's a $5 Yamaha unit that I bought when I bought one for my daughter's music class at school. I get confused by the fingering.

Alto recorder: It's also a Yamaha. I prefer the depth of the sound over the soprano but don't play it often.

Clark tin whistles in C and D: I definitely prefer these to the soprano recorder, though I play them more "breathy" than I'd like to. I have gotten into the second octave on both.

Spoons: More of a novelty item than anything, but they're in the box.

Slide whistle: Does this count as an instrument? It's good for occasional silliness.

Harmonica: Another piece of plastic. No, I can't play it all that well. Oh, and a kazoo, too.

4-string banjo: I found this when cleaning my late father-in-law's house. It's a 1925 (or so) Lyon and Healy Washburn. I had a great time digging out information on the company and model. It has planetary gears, which means it doesn't hold a tune well. I'd prefer a brighter 5-string model, but I don't know how to play either. I've experimented with scales and a few chords.