I was sadden to learn that DPN was shutting down the publication at the end of 2024. Ashley is doing the right thing by honoring those who have a subscription to the end of 2024. The publication was such a part of my life for many many years and I believe was the glue that held the community together. DPN will be missed by many.
If your going to go the chromatic vs diatonic route I think the suggestions made by Dwain Wilder concerning the gold/silver frets and or his FlexiFrets is brilliant. Other wise adding fret markers is wise.
Sorry to hear it will not be available this year. I have really enjoyed it in the past. Hope you have a blessed holiday season and a wonderful new year.
Does any one know if the Dulcimer Advent Calendar is available this year?
Wondering how people practice. I usually practice the fundamental/techniques, old songs, a new song and noodling. The time spent on each varies. The order varies and may or may not include all in a given session. When one has a large number old songs how do people manage? I find I can play songs from years ago but not well. The time needed to play the songs at a higher level varies from song to song. Do people try to keep their entire list of songs playable? Do they move on after they achieve a certain level never to return? What does your practice session consist of? How much time to do you spend on each activity?
Crosspicking is a specific type of flatpicking.
Flatpicking is merely the technique of playing runs of single notes using a flatpick. (Technically we also strum with a flatpick, but usually flatpicking is seen as an alternative to strumming.)
Crosspicking involves the use of flatpicking patterns across several strings. Check out this demonstration of Molly Tuttle crosspicking "Wildwood Flower." You can see that by imposing her picking pattern across several strings, she adds rhythmic complexity while not only carrying the melody, but also offering harmony (chords) as well, without strumming at all.
If you are just starting out, you will want to master the basic back-and-forth picking of flatpicking before getting into the more complex rhythmic patterns of crosspicking. If you search these terms on the internet, you'll find lots of stuff for guitarists, a little for mandolin players, and almost nothing for dulcimer players. Among dulcimer players, the most prolific at both would be Aaron O'Rourke and Gary Gallier. Stephen Seifert is clearly capable of the technique as well, as is Erin Mae, but they tend to strum a lot more than is usually included in crosspicking.
Edit: In that Molly Tuttle video, she doesn't play the song until 12:52. She begins teaching it at 7:48. The first 7+ minutes is her explaining the crosspicking pattern she uses.
Is there a difference between cross picking and flat picking? If so what is the difference and when would you use one over the other?
Years ago a gentleman from KY taught me how to build a mountain dulcimer. Do not remember how the conversion went but he indicated the VSL and fretboard lay out was based on a KY dulcimer. So I'm wondering if there were regional differences in the VSL. If there were differences was there a large difference? If the VSL from one state to the next was similar I wonder how that occurred.
What is the history concerning the term possum board? Where did it come from? Why is it called a possum board? Does it increase the volume and/or tone of the instrument?
