Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Alrighty all, I've been trying everything you all have posted, I think I'm finally catching on....here I am (YIKES, can't believe I'm sharing this!!LOL)
Forum Activity for @julie-semones
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Julie, I got my first dulcimer in '05 and I'm always working (playing) on my strumming. :)
Julie Semones said:
Thank you all for your responses!! I am going through reading them all. I've been trying to play since Aug 2013, which isn't really that long at all. I'm proud of myself for plucking out the tunes I have. My dad for Christmas made me some beautiful noters, and I've tried using those too...beautiful sound.. Please don't think I'm ignoring comments, I am just taking my time reading through them all!
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Thank you all for your responses!! I am going through reading them all. I've been trying to play since Aug 2013, which isn't really that long at all. I'm proud of myself for plucking out the tunes I have. My dad for Christmas made me some beautiful noters, and I've tried using those too...beautiful sound.. Please don't think I'm ignoring comments, I am just taking my time reading through them all!
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Many great suggestions here in everyone's answers- I think everyone's advice and approach is useful and good...check them all out, Julie, and you are sure to find an approach that suits your particular learning style perfectly. 
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
There are a couple of different issues being addressed here. Julie commented that she has trouble strumming while playing a song. Most of us have given advice on how to develop a better strumming technique. One specific piece of advice was to practice with a metronome.
Ken's advice is how to arrange a song. And indeed playing a song by replicating on the dulcimer exactly how you would sing it is one way to arrange a song. It probably is the most obvious for people who are used to singing, and for those folks it might be a good way to start. But there are others. You might develop a rhythm that you think characterizes that song, strum that rhythm, and fit the melody notes into that rhythm. Another is to play a harmony part on the dulcimer. Or a counter-melody on the dulcimer. Those latter two take a bit of practice, but not perhaps as much as you think. Strumelia has a wonderful video on how to play a harmony part to Go Tell Aunt Rhody.
But none of those ways of arranging a tune are incompatible with the use of a metronome. When you practice with a metronome you do not strum every time the metronome sounds. Rather, the metronome keeps time for you, and you fit what you are playing into that steady rhythm. A metronome is usually set to a quarter note or half note, meaning it sounds two or four times a measure. But you might play one note per measure, eight notes per measure, or whatever, depending on the tune. Practicing with a metronome helps you develop a steady strumming pattern that sounds smooth rather than choppy and is consistent throughout. If you want to start with Ken's suggestion of strumming the melody the way it would be sung, that's fine, and using a metronome will help you do that steadily and consistently.
In my post above I did not mention using a metronome, but I think it a good idea. And in the video lesson to which I linked I don't address how to arrange a tune; that comes in the subsequent videos. The first thing is to develop a steady strum that feels comfortable, stays on beat, and moves smoothly across the strings.
Most beginning players concentrate on the left hand. They think that finding the right notes to play is the key to being a good musician. But most of our playing is done with the right hand. How smoothly we play, how loudly we play, how fast we play, whether we play one string or all three, all those decisions and more are determined by the right hand. The fact that you are aware of the need to work on your right hand is a good sign. Just being aware of it and working on it will make you a better player, better able to express whatever it is you want to express through music.
updated by @dusty: 09/21/19 04:17:33PM
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Julie, once you discover your strum and become comfortable with it, I would highly recommend the use of a metronome when practicing. A metronome is probably the most valuable implement available to novice and professional musicians alike for developing rhythmic and technical accuracy. 
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
I'm gonna suggest something different, Julie: don't try to be a metro-gnome.
Strum in the rhythm of the words not a machine-like rhythm. Start with songs you already know how they sound.
Strum once for each note -- in the rhythm of the words. Melody string only or across all three courses, it doesn't matter.
One of my favorite teaching tunes is Frere Jacques, because 1. Nearly everyone knows how it goes; 2. It's a simple repeated string of notes; 3. It has a distinctive, but not 'flat' rhythm.
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Julie, here are some posts I wrote, along with videos, concerning getting your strumming rhythm to feel more natural:
Why is it taking so long?:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-is-it-taking-so-long-for-me-to.html
Strumming tips for beginners 1:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-tips-for-beginners-strumming.html
Strumming tips for beginners 2:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-tips-for-beginners-strumming_08.html
Muted strumming practice tips- fun!
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/02/many-new-players-understandably.html
Strumming patterns song 1:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-tips-for-beginners-sugar-hill.html
Strumming patterns song 2:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-tips-for-beginners-sugar-hill_19.html
Figuring out where to add the extra strums:
http://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-tips-for-beginners-where-to-add.html
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
I suspect you are using mostly wrist or finger movement, many beginners do. Try making the movement more like brushing something off your lap which is more movement via the elbow rather than the wrist. You can advance to the more controlled wrist/finger strokes later.
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Julie, not sure how long you have been on your dulcimer playing journey. I have only been at it for 4 months now. This forum had been of great help and encouragement. A month or two ago I described that my playing sounded like a series of rear end car crashes. Several members recommended that I practice strumming with a metronome and it really helped. After about 2 or 3 weeks of practicing strumming to a metronome things started coming together. I also practiced walking my fingers up and down the frets as I strummed to the metronome. This really helped with the strumming hand to finger hand coordination. Start off at about 60 BPM and work up to somethingyou are comfortable with. Occasionally you may need to take a day off to get the tick, tick... tick out of your head. http://www.metronomeonline.com/ . I had never played an instrument before and am 68 so my fingers to brain speed isn't what you would call fast anymore. After 110 days I posted a video of "Ode to Joy". It isn't Carnegie Hall quality but it is a great improvement over the Atlanta highways in the snow noises I used to create. See video below - I can strum in both directions but was nervous and just wanted get through it without dorking it up. Keep practicing, don't give up and things will happen.
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Julie, I would suggest putting your left hand entirely over the strings of the dulcimer so they are muted. Don't think about playing notes at all. With your right hand, hold the pick so that most of the pick is securely between your thumb and index finger, but hold it loosely, not tightly. Think of strumming as brushing across the top of the strings rather than actually plucking them. As you strum out, angle the top of the pick away from you and just barely touch the top of the strings. Do that as you count 1-2-3-4. Just take it slow. Once you have a nice, slow, even stroke going out on the beats, count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & and strum out on the numbers and in on the &s. As you strum in, you want to angle the top of the pick toward you.
Reminders: 1) keep lots of the pick in contact with your fingers; you don't want to just hold the end while most of the pick sticks out; 2) hold the pick loosely, not tight; 3) brush across the tops of the strings softly; 4) keep a steady beat even if you have to go very slowly to do so.
Carrie has already pointed you toward John Keane's excellent video on strumming . I also put together a three-part instructional video on using a flatpick . The first video covers strumming. You might find it helpful.
You might also keep a pick with you at all times. I sometimes practice rhythmic strumming on my leg, my stomach, the steering wheel, the arm rest of my chair, etc.
Just take it slow and don't get impatient. Good technique takes time.
updated by @dusty: 09/21/19 04:15:46PM
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Yes, please do be patient with yourself, Julie.For fun, put any music you like on a music player. With dulcimer in your lap, mute the strings with your left hand by laying your hand across them. With your right hand, strum to the music you're listening to. Don't even think about it. Maybe even close your eyes. Don't worry about which direction you're strumming. There is no wrong way to do this exercise. The point is to just get comfortable with strumming only. The musicians you're listening to are playing the song-- you're just adding some percussive sound. :) If you try this, have fun with it!Everyone is different-- to me, strumming is more felt than thought about. It's likely not the same for everyone, though.
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
Be patient with yourself, Julie. It takes a great deal of time and patient practice. Make sure you SLOW everything down a LOT! work slowly on small little sections at a time and don't worry about speed for now. Speed comes later. There is nothing wrong with you, it's just the nature of the beast. It will get easier and easier with time.
Strumming so frustrated
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
I LOVE my dulcimer, let me say that first, and I've learned a few tunes, and they sound pretty decent...however my issue is, I can't strum! Its gotta be a left brain/right brain issue, but anytime I try to start strumming, I stumble on the notes. I can get the notes playing clearly but can't strum. I have tried air strumming and that seems to go ok, until I try to actually play a tune. Can anyone offer some help?
I wish I were closer to people who play the dulcimer, but I don't; I tried dulcimerschool.com and while the lessons were great, I think I need someone in front of me, live, to teach me. 
updated by @julie-semones: 07/31/23 09:31:04PM
That's a tough one, Steve. Ukes being chromatic instruments they can play in many different keys without retuning. You need to know in what key the majority of their songs are played, then perhaps we can give suggestions about tunings which can accommodate most of them. For example, if they do a lot of tunes in C then CGc would be good for the dulcimer.
updated by @rob-n-lackey: 02/15/16 01:00:14PM
The installation of a pickup should have little to no effect on unplugged volume. The size of the dulcimer will. Each instrument has it's own voice, perhaps this one is just a bit quieter than your other dulcimer. Since it does have a pickup, you should be able to get the volume you need onstage, so I don't think I would be concerned. Over time, you will probably find you like both of them for different songs, or playing styles. Let them teach you what they like.
Ayup. String gauges, please.
And confirmation that your hearing is OK or that you've got new batteries in your hearing aids.
Tone woods would not make that kind of difference. With a Galax you should have plenty of volume.
Is this your first dulcimer? Some folks have unreasonable ideas about how much more volume a Galax will give.
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Well put Brian, that is more or less what I intended to say after checking all that had gone before, 'cepting I could'nt find the other thread ! IMO, all you need to do to influence any result is play midway down the fretboard, and then move closer to the nut and play, on as many dulcimers as you chose, the resultant sound will change ,and thus people's perception ?
JohnH
"Maybe we're all just using the same generic debate over and over to cover various situations" point I was trying to make agood time back !!!
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Who stated they could tell the difference between an hourglass and a teardrop "regardless of other variables"?
If the point is to distinguish between shapes based on sound, then all other variables must be held constant . If they are not, you do not have a test of shape's effect on sound. Period.
You are not testing what you think you are. :)
Ken Hulme said:
Ah, but you see, that has been the brag from several people all along -- regardless of other variables these people claimed they could distinguish an hourglass from a teardrop. So that's how I designed the test. Not a dozen McSpads of different shapes. Not trad vs modern volumes, not VSL. At least once a year someone says "I can tell an hourglass from a teardrop." Can you?
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Maybe we're all just using the same generic debate over and over to cover various situations, JH.
Could be easier that way!
John Henry said:
Well, I'm swearing! 'cos I've got it in my mind all this was argued over quite recently, other than on this particular thread, and for the life of me I can't find it. I am sure that I posted comment on it . Am I losing the thread ?
JohnH
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my ears are not that good to be able to tell. Best I can do is tell one instrument from another
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But Robin, you could bet, and you'd come out even since you'd be right half the time!
Robin Thompson said:
If I were a betting person, I'd bet against my ability to do so.
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Well, I'm swearing! 'cos I've got it in my mind all this was argued over quite recently, other than on this particular thread, and for the life of me I can't find it. I am sure that I posted comment on it . Am I losing the thread ?
JohnH
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Some swear you can and some swear you can't.....and some just swear. And now we can't agree on what constitutes a fair and equitable test! Funny!
Randy you got me laughing on this one. Too true!
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If someone else was doing the playing and I was in an audience and had my eyes closed, I likely could tell no difference between an hourglass and a teardrop. If I were a betting person, I'd bet against my ability to do so. Lol! If, though, I were blindfolded and could stand right in front of the player, maybe. . . It'd just be something to try for fun. :)
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This topic comes up every couple of months and always ends up as a stalemate. Some swear you can and some swear you can't.....and some just swear. And now we can't agree on what constitutes a fair and equitable test! Funny!
I've never weighed in on the subject but have some winter downtime somewhat random thoughts on it.
First off, I don't have a good ear for this type of thing and can't tell the difference between a teardrop and an hourglass.
But of course there are people who can.
A couple of extreme examples who come to mind are Antonio Stradivarius, in the 1700's, and Lloyd Loar, in the 1920's. They built violins and mandolins, respectively, and refined the shape and sound of their instruments and no one has been able to better their designs. I think they'd have the god given ability to detect acoustical differences in the shape of dulcimers.
But I don't believe you have to be a world renowned acoustician to tell the difference. Mark Gilston, John Keane and Ken Bloom are three who I think can. And there are others. I'd put a little bit of money on Dwain Wilder and Richard Latker.
Can a dulcimer builder adjust an hourglass shape to have some of the acoustical properties of a teardrop? Sure. And vice versa.
I remember when I got my first dulcimer after playing guitar for a few years and I thought "how can that thing work"? It has a big fingerboard running over the top of the soundboard. What a poor way of transmitting sound. But we all know it works. But we don't know how it works yet.
Someone will come along one of these days and figure it out, and hopefully will have the personality and communication skills to let us in on it.
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It doesn't make sense to me either way, in such a small test with other things not being equal in the two dulcimers being used. If only using two dulcimers, then all other factors really must be identical for it to mean anything (which is practically impossible). If using a dozen or more dulcimers that are very very similar, then perhaps an outcome might have more meaning. With all due respect...I just don't see how this particular test can actually prove anything one way or another. But hey, I hope folks have fun with it anyway!
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Ah, but you see, that has been the brag from several people all along -- regardless of other variables these people claimed they could distinguish an hourglass from a teardrop. So that's how I designed the test. Not a dozen McSpads of different shapes. Not trad vs modern volumes, not VSL. At least once a year someone says "I can tell an hourglass from a teardrop." Can you?
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I have to say I agree with Dusty on this. Too many uncontrolled variables.
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All these questions about VSL, wood type, instrument design, kind of noter, etc., get to the central point: given the vast number of variables that affect the sound a dulcimer makes, it is impossible in practice to identify the shape of the box as the sole reason for differences in tone.
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Yeah... well, unfortunately I don't have a dozen instruments.... Eleven dulcimers playing the same one tune would make an interesting test...
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Question is - can you tell from SHAPE alone.
Nothing to do with wood, builder, tune, player, home fret, size etc. etc.
The test is poorly designed if only two instruments are being used, there should be a dozen or more.
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And played in the same position along the VSL ?
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So....how's this going? Were the teardrop and hourglass dulcimers the same brand and same woods?
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It's a coded message from the Militant Manatee Coalition.... one of their representatives was down by my friend's boat that day!
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Yeah, just got some alien sound I didn't really understand, soundedlike 'salgro'. Probably means 'you're going to guess wrong' or 'gotch ya'.
Strumelia said: Skip, maybe that's just a subliminal message...like the Beatles' "Paul is Dead" thing... Have you tried playing it backwards?
You're welcome Ken, I was interested in the comparison.
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Ayup. There's a glitch there... Gotta have my tech guy look into it.... Only supposed to be one tune per cut and no talking! I checked all the other cuts and they only have one song per file. Thanx for listening, Skip!