Forum Activity for @lenard

TRADITION! 

When asked about dulcimer with “extra" frets, Jean Ritchie replied “In a strict sense it has a different finger board, it’s not quite a dulcimer anymore.”    

You can find all the notes in the dulcimer's range, but you have to be willing to re-tune at least one string to do so (takes less than 30 seconds, with practice).

If you want a chromatic instrument lay a guitar on your lap and play that.  Or I can build you an  "acoustic lap guitar". Just don't call it a dulcimer.   Part of the essential definition of Dulcimer, to many of us, is the diatonic fretboard.

If you are playing mostly "classic dulcimer songs" especially from tabulature rather than SMN, it will be 'more difficult' because the fret numbering convention is different, and you'll have to find the fewer diatonic frets among the plethora of chromatic frets.  You won't be able to simply count 1,2,3,4... to find a tab numbered fret.  With a chromatic instrument that becomes
1/2,1,1-1/2, 2, 3, 3-1/2, 4, 4-1/2, 5, 6, 6-1/2,7......



Also, IMHO the 'sound' of a chromatic "dulcimer" is different when you slide from note to note -- because of all the intervening chromatic notes between diatonic notes -- I hear those slides as 'muddier'...

That's correct.

What dulcimer tuning are you basing your chord chart on?

Well, I have another one!  I found it on the goodwill site.  It looks like a Black Mountain, but has no label. 

I'll post some pictures of some of my dulcimers a little later. 

This one came with only one string (the bass string); also the saddle is a bit damaged and the nut is a bit out of place.  So I'm going to take it to my favorite luthier down the road. 

When I was at a concert of an Irish band (Geraldine McGowan and band) in 2004 I was so fascinated by the whistle player and the beautiful sound of especially the low whistle that I immediately had the wish to buy a whistle.

Since I have learned to play the recorder when I was a child and kept playing it all my life in recorder ensembles it was not difficult for me to learn how to play the whistle. 

What was different compared to the recorder playing was the typical Irish ornamentation like cuts, strikes, rolls, crans and slides and to not tonguing every tone.

I started with a Clare high D and "worked" myself down to an Overton (Colin Goldie) low D.

Please find attached a picture with my whistle collection (from left to right):

high D: Overton (Colin Goldie), Mac Nic, Susato

high C: Mac Nic

high Bb: Tony Dixon

low A: Mac Nic

low G: Ian Lambe

low F: Tony Dixon

low D: Overton (Colin Goldie)

I love all of them and every one has its specific sound and need of breath.

The Mac Nics are very easy to play regarding breath and getting into the next octave - the Overtons need more pressure.

Since I have relatively long fingers I can play the low A, G and F still with my fingertips and need no piper's grip. This is in fact necessary for the low D from Colin Goldie and I had to get used to it for a little while.

I so much enjoy playing the whistles and it is nice to hear that there are a lot of other whistle players here on the forum.

Love all these dulcimers!  Which brings me to the question…..

How many dulcimers does a dulcimer player need?

Just one more!

Love all these dulcimers!  Which brings me to the question…..

How many dulcimers does a dulcimer player need?

Just one more!

Welcome to the forum! Thanks for sharing your dulcimer collection!