I'm not sure how many are familiar with the Wright family from Texas. Jerry Wright passed away on March 12th. He had been ill for a while. He played music with his wife Margaret and sons Hollis and Lloyd.
I have a friend who deals in used jewelry. He sometimes gets Amerindian or psuedo-Amerindian pieces. Many of those use bear claws. I keep trying to tell him they are eagle talons and he needs to give them to me so he won't be arrested. No, I haven't been able to convince him to do that yet.
Seriously, there are some who claim Amerindian ancestry who have boasted of having eagle feathers. Some of us who are members of Federally recognized tribes have been trying to get the Guv'mint to enforce this law, but for some reason they haven't done it, at least not yet.
Thanks to all for your valuable input......I ended up purchasing a Sweet Woods possum board and am happy with it - however, I don't use it as much as I thought I would and I'm not really sure why!
Lately I've been using the solid wood case I made for my Knopf Thomas replica as its' "possum box". Take out the dulcimer, latch the lid, turn the box over (latch side down), and I have a perfect sound box for the instrument. I made the box from four lengths of 'craft wood' from Home Depot -- I think it cost me $15 all up.
The Thomas has integral feet, which makes it simple. You could do the same thing by attaching a couple of 'stand-offs' across the outside width of the bottom
Basically possessing eagle parts of any kind is illegal unless you are a registered member of one of the recognized NA tribes.
"The Eagle Feather Law provides many exceptions to federal wildlife laws regarding eagles and other migratory birds, to enable Native Americans to continue their traditional spiritual and cultural practices. Under the current language of the eagle feather law, individuals of certifiable American Indian ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers. Unauthorized persons found with an eagle or its parts in their possession can be fined up to $25,000."
I've done a bit of looking because I love finding quills to use for plectrum.
http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2015/05/if-i-find-an-eagle-feather-can-i-keep-it.html
It is sure I could not pick up the feather of a bald eagle. It seems much less clear about a golden eagle.
@ravenmadd-garcia A quill does make a wonderful plectrum! I, too, find feathers on the ground. And I know nothing of Golden Eagle feathers being off-limits.
EDIT on 3/18/16-- Important information, including info regarding eagle feathers here:
http://www.gpnc.org/raptors1.htm
i used an old ironing board at various venues for years.......demonstrating and selling dulcimers. i think i still have it in the shed. anyone close
who would like to have it let me know
I have never suffered any problem what so ever with my shoulders. I did have some hand, wrist and elbow pain in my strumming arm (I'm a righty) until my arm got used to the idea. I think they call that 'muscle memory.' I make my own picks from plastics from household items or packaging from various products. The only commercial pick i would use is the Fender triangle (large). At least that is the only one i have used that I way comfortable with.
Yes, well I had a brand new looking 30 year old one - at least until I started using it as a possum board lol. Robert also makes a good possum board - and much better looking than the ironing board.
I'll second Cynthia's ironing board. Off course finding an ironing board today is almost as hard as finding a possum board. Playing standing up allows you to swing with the beat.. Robert.
I was so saddened to hear about this yesterday. He was a gentle soul, and mentor to many of us!
Vicki, I used a small ironing board with a couple of pieces of wood which worked great. Also a walnut board with a couple of pieces of wood with rubber bands around them to hold them on. Frankly the ironing board worked better lol.
Ahh - one of my favourite topics! My advice would be to try every material you can get your hands on. Try every type of grip. Try every strumming style/direction.
I'm constantly looking for the right tone and feel for each piece of music I play and each situation I play it. Before I record a piece of music I'll have gone through at least half a dozen right hand options for picks and strumming styles to find THE tone for that piece of music at that time. I think that developing your own tone is fundamental to learning the instrument.
I have a number of 'picks' in my box including off-cuts of boot leather shaped and sanded in various ways, thick goose quill ends in various cuts or uncut, pieces of wood made into strummers, long 'whipping' quills and, of course, the thumb strum. I also carry a few guitar picks of various grades but rarely use them (although I do in some situations, particularly when playing chord melody tunes in DAd).
Leather can give a nice rounded tone but it all depends on how the piece is shaped (as with all picks). I get free off-cuts from our local shoe repair shop.
The three right hand techniques I use the most because they usually give me the best tone for my style of playing are the vertical quill butt, the horizontal whipped quill and the thumb strum. A good percentage of early dulcimer players used these techniques a lot too - because of the tone they generate for noter drone playing.
So I would recommend spending a lot of your practice time trying different picks and strumming styles.
Try this experiment: Put your right hand behind your back and hold down a note or chord with your left hand - listen to your dulcimer. Then put your left hand behind your back and strum your dulcimer with a pick in your right hand - listen to your dulcimer. From that you can decide which of your hands it is that actually makes the sound come from your instrument - and that's the hand you want to spend 90% of your time developing 
(You've got it! In general we spend all our time focussing on the wrong hand when we practice!!!!!)
Robin
Jessica Coumeau has some great instruction on how to avoid the clack on her video, How to play the Mountain dulcimer, that is posted under her profile. Anyone can benefit from listening to her instruction, especially those of us who try to avoid the clatter and clutter that we usually get caught up in. In my own experience, I have always tried to play using a guitar sort of methodology, which simply does not do the dulcimer justice. Any way, check out Jessica's videos, you won't be sorry..........she is an amazing player and top notch musician. It's all in the technique......and we are all still working to improve it.
Have used a big very thin Fender pick since I started playing, tried Herdim and now Tortex. The Fender does clack!! and the Tortex not so much, but danged if my shoulder doesn't start to hurt after one or 2 songs with the other 2!! So yeah, better sound, but not worth wrecking my shoulder...trying to work it up gradually...might give the leather ones a try...thanks.
It's a little confusing that we have both a Profile page picture and an avatar picture...and they can either be the same or different. On the other hand, it adds variety. :)
Ah, Got It!! Lisa you are da bomb!!!
Dan, could be you changed the image on your Profile page, but not your actual user avatar.
Go to your profile page Settings and check the avatar image that shows when you go to your "Account" TAB in your settings. Then once that's changed too, SAVE your settings and also clear your browser cache to see the new results.
Every member has both an Account picture and a Profile picture. Oe shows up only on your profile page, and the other shows up next to every post you make. When in your Settings, be sure to go to both TABS and upload your chosen avatar picture: your Account TAB, and your Profile TAB. Also remember to SAVE your changes at the bottom of each page before leaving the page, after uploading your new picture.
I changed my profile image. It is current on some pages but has the "old" image on others? What am I missing guys?
'No Man is an Island' John Donne
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Just a few thoughts here.
First, thinner picks have a lot more pick clack than stiffer/heavier picks. In general, beginners start with thinner picks and as they get more experience and control they move to heavier picks. Anyone annoyed with pick clack might simply try heavier picks. Your playing will become a bit more precise in the process.
Second, you can minimize pick clack (but not get rid of it entirely) with a different technique. Hold the pick loosely, not tightly in your hand, and think of it as gliding over the top of the strings rather than getting into each one and really plucking it.
Third, some folks claim that pick clack always sounds louder to the player than it does to the audience. I supposed you could test this by making a series of recordings with the mic in different places, but I've never tried myself.
Fourth, a leather pick (or those felt picks that some uke players use or even rubber picks that I use for an acoustic bass) would all have less pick clack than a plastic pick, but that doesn't mean they are equally versatile. Although I think you could probably strum OK with a leather pick, I am not sure you would have the control to flatpick, meaning playing long single-note runs. So if you always strum across all the strings it might work OK, but if you want to play a fiddle tune or a filler lick the leather might not provide enough precision.
I encourage everyone to experiment with as many different types of picks as possible. Eventually you will find the one for you. I use a standard guitar pick (the Dunlop Tortex picks) and the only ones that I prefer more than those are way too expensive (like the BlueChip picks that range between $35 and $75 for a single pick! 
).
Is there a way to play many with out clicking on each one. Have them play one after the other?
woah, I live on Sycamore Haven Drive in Nauvoo, Illionis and there are soooooooooooo many Sycamore trees here. hummmmmmmmmmm. I'll be learning more about that wood FOR SURE. thanks for the photos.
Yep, that's quarter sawn Sycamore. Very often it will appear to look like snake skin.
