Thank you all so much. I'm so glad I found this group! After reading your replies, I think what I have been doing is strumming across all the strings all the time. I'll work on that. I'm also trying to accomodate my finger-picking style on the guitar to the dulcimer. Will be reading up on that in the Forums.
I would say I am a novice player, self-taught with the help of books. When I first started playing, I would play a whole chord whenever there was a chord change in the tune. But I've been noticing lately that a lot of players don't do that - they use a chord change once in awhile but otherwise just go with the drone. This certainly makes it easier to play fast, which is one of my problems. I would like to ask other players what determines whether you choose to chord or not.
About 4 months ago I bought a Clemmer Banjammer at a festival (remember when we had festivals?). I just haven't bonded with this instrument. At first I thought it was because it was louder than I was used to, but that problem was solved by stuffing a sock in the back like you would with a banjo. However, I'm still not comfortable with it and I finally decided just a little while ago that it is probably due to the height of the fingerboard, which is about 1 and 1/4 inches from the body (which consists of one board). Somehow that seems to affect the action; my fingers just don't seem to glide along it as I would like. I have two other dulcimers, a very old Folk Roots and a relatively new James McAnulty with an extra kind of "trestle" piece at the back which gives it a wonderful, mellow tone. I bought the Banjammer because I thought it would be good for fiddle tunes, but I'm thinking of asking the builder if I can trade it in towards another instrument. Advice, anyone?
Thank you, Lois! I'll definitely check out that discussion.
Yes, it definitely helps to know the names of the chords in a class where the teacher is discussing chord progressions. ; -)
Thank you all so much for your responses. It was a teacher (I don't remember who) who told me not to use my thumb, I think because it would take too long to reposition to the next chord. I'm talking mostly about the 3-1-0 and 5-3-3 chords, in DAd tuning. Or I think that's what I mean, because...
Another little problem I'm having is that I know guitar chords, know banjo chords, and can fake mandolin chords (have trouble with the barre), but when I try to memorize dulcimer chords my brain says, "oh no, enough is enough". So I'm having to go by how the chord feels in the piece or sit there and say, "let's see, d-e-f#-g, and a-b, and d, so this must be a g chord". This is slow. But I can play a piece all the way through without remembering the names of the chords, or choose to use a chord without knowing its name.
I've had classes with both Stephen Seifert and Aaron O'Rourke. They are wonderful!
I play other instruments but am fairly new to the dulcimer. I was told in a dulcimer class that using the thumb on the low 'd' string - for example, when making a G chord - is a no-no. But sometimes it just seems more convenient and quicker. Opinions?
