Forum Activity for @overdrive

Question about the 6 1/2 fret

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

I've been thinking about the fret numbers we use as it relates to the diatonic tuning that comes on a dulcimer.

Each fret is essentially a scale degree, so the nut is 1, tonic, not zero. "Fret 1" is the major second. "Fret 2" is the major third, "Fret 3" is major fourth, and so on.  A "6.5 Fret" gives us the major seventh of the Ionian. Our "Fret 6" is the flat seventh for Mixolydian. 

Is it too late to rename the frets?  Why was Mixolydian the standard scale?  Because Old Joe Clark? Has anybody fretted up a dulcimer as a dedicated Dorian instrument?  That would be a beautiful thing!  The extra fret would make it work for Aeolian tunes.

Pick noise

Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!

Exploring the world of plectra is almost a hobby all by itself! I love my collection of picks, and I'm sure I am not alone in this. So many different materials, shapes, colors and thicknesses.  I sort them into different little Altoid tins.  There's even a tin in my desk drawer at work to fidget with while I'm on the phone or in a Zoom meeting.  Brings me calm comfort and joy. I have hand-made ones from buttons and coconut shell and coins.  I have an off-brand green cellulose pick that sounds the best on my dulcimer, but awful on my other instruments. I may never get used to thumb picks, but I have a few. Experiment and find the sound you want!

How Many Dulcimers Do You Own?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I guess it's time I took some photos!  Notice the "floating tail" and the bent bicycle spoke clamping the strings for a better break angle.

How Many Dulcimers Do You Own?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I only have *one* dulcimer, but I made it with my own two hands forty years ago in Tennessee. The walnut wood came from my high school civics teacher's backyard sawmill.  Dad and I helped him feed the wood through and used it for the staircase in our farmhouse. I kept a piece of the newel post and carefully sliced thin pieces using a bandsaw we had built ourselves from a kit. The nut was made from a PVC drainpipe scrap. A tailpiece was snipped from A/C duct. Our town library had a xeroxed pamphlet with detailed instructions on bookmatching and steam bending and using the right glue and precise fret placement.  It isn't symmetrical, but it came out looking so beautiful!  5 strings, I didn't know how to play or tune it, and it honestly sounded bad.  Well, one string sounded okay.

Two years ago, I determined to make it better. Better tuners, a new bone nut, a brass (key)bridge. Just 3 strings for now. Adjusted the action. After coming this far, I had to do the work myself.  Finally, I love the way it plays and sounds! I'm learning to play chord/melody style in DAA.  Now I realize it would be great to have another dulcimer to work on different tunings and string gauges. One that I would be able to take to lessons and festivals without worrying.

Reasons NOT To Get a Chromatic

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

Whenever I take up a new instrument, it gives me a fresh perspective on the other instruments I play. Somehow, it took me a lifetime to realize that the A minor scale is the same as the C major scale, just starting in a different spot. And it's called "Aeolian Mode". Suddenly I'm a music theory genius!  (Many thanks to Strumelia!) The diatonic dulcimer locks in the pattern that opens up all the modes for you. I feel like the chromatic dulcimer promises more but delivers less as a creative tool.

I bought a Sunhearth!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

My dulcimer hung on the wall for years and years because of how frustrated I would get with those "dreaded" friction banjo tuners.  I committed to replacing them with a set of 5-star planetary tuners as a present to myself last Christmas. They were spendy, and took some modification to install, but what a joy it is to be able to finally play and try different tunings. I don't miss the money at all!