Thanks Dennis, it's sweet of you to post this.I too am happy to see dulcimer people of all different levels as members of our community here- running the gamut all the way from the very newest beginner to the most experienced professional musician.
I am finding that the tone and format here at Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer is enabling me to get to know people who for years were merely anonymous names to me before. As I get to know them more as people here, I find I am learning from them in many small unexpected ways. I bet a lot of members are finding this to be true for them as well.
It reminds me a bit of something I wrote in my noter blog back in April of this year, 2009:
"As I look back now over my own limited experiences and see them from the standpoint of having myself been a total beginner not very long ago, I realize that all the musical learning experiences in my journey, the moments and realizations that were most intense and profound, were not learned through books, workshops, & classes. Rather they were quiet and slow and small moments of musical sharing and learning and realizations. Perhaps I happened upon a beginner fiddler sitting alone under a tree scratching out a tune at some festival, and I stopped to play for just a minute with them- and wound up figuring out something amazing and simple in trying to play with them, something that I had never thought of before.
In trying to solve a problem on my own, I learned in a meaningful way...even if I couldn't solve the problem! Perhaps I played a few tunes with someone who was just learning banjo, or with a very old player, and they gave me some fascinating story from their life that forever effected the way I think about music for myself...or perhaps I said something silly about music that really impressed my 9 year old banjo student. And perhaps all these small moments of wonder made me somehow feel like the best musician in the whole world.
When I think about it, all the most memorable and enriching learning experiences in my life as a whole have been during quiet moments of listening or reflection or experimentation, or through non-rushed personal interaction with another person. I think of music as a living thing- it needs to be lovingly nourished, and it needs to breathe."
I too look forward to hearing more from the accomplished musicians we are honored to have as FOTMD members here. But I also look forward to hearing more from every single one of the 158 members here! Even the newest beginner players with absolutely no musical background at all are inspiring me and teaching me new things here every single day . Isn't it wonderful that we can all inspire and encourage each other? thank you Dennis. :)
WOW 158 members. Your idea of a home for Mountain Dulcimer folk has blossomed and attracted some of the biggest names in the dulcimer world to become members. RF and BF are two of thw biggest. Can't wait to hear what they have to say on this forum.
Glad to have helped out, just sorry didn't catch it sooner but I was playing my dulcimer (new one that is)...
Aha! SO pencil marks are a clue to your genius then Randy!!Fretless dulcimer works for me b/c I seldom play above the 4th or 5th fret....& almost never above the 7th....& play across the strings..with a noter....tuned DAd most of the time but also DAde, DAdf#, DF#Ad or DGBd.
It is difficult to play the melody up & down the melody string...starts sounding like one of them slide whistle things.....I need to bounce off open strings. I have ordered another fretless box dulcimer from Gary Sager that will have frets 4 thru 8 under the melody strings only and think it will open up new ways to play for me.
I actually prefer the sound & playability of a fretless dulcimer & with a little practice ...& a pencil mark or two.. : )...where the notes are comes automatically.
...the sound will just have a different quality than if there were a physical fret there...assuming you were able to hit the right spot,,, I have seen some youtubes of people with finger slides on cigar box instruments, and they look like a lot of fun.
Yep that is it in a nutshell. A string with no frets is capable of producing any note within its range from one end (nut) to the other (bridge). In western music our ears are trained to hear whole notes (called tones in formal music theory) and half notes (semitones). (Other music traditions have quarter and eigth notes and maybe more- in Persian classical music they have 12 different steps between our half notes -i.e. 12 different versions of A ranging between A and A flat!!)Western music relies on these more limited steps in the infinity of musical possibility because it is easier to harmonise, and so it is important to play those half notes and whole notes accurately, especially when playing with others. So frets or position markers are an easy way to show the player where the notes are. The dulcimer does this the most simple way by having the frets positioned to give a "Do Re Mi" scale as you go up the frets, made up of whole notes and half notes. Most other more modern string instruments (guitar, banjo, mandolin etc) have their frets laid out in semitones rather than a pattern of tones and semitones.I used to play double bass, which is fretless,and the hardest thing was learning all the left hand positions, and the precise distances between my fingers in order to get the semitones accurately.Of course they get closer together the further up the neck towards the bridge you go, so I had to learn how to make the necessary adjustments to my hand position as I moved to higher positions. Frankly, it was much harder work than the guitar and I never progressed very far. Besides, it aint the most portable of instruments to just casually take along to a party or jam session!Frets are not necessary, but I do believe it makes an instrument easier to play, plus the fretboard lives much longer if the strings are not constantly wearing it from contact.
Roger
I found this too, however, it works like a charm if you use a harmonic.
David Swanson said:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the little Intelli or Tune Tech clip-on tuners that seem so popular. I have a TT500 and while I prefer my Korg, the TuneTech is very convenient. The Korg works great but the cord is a pain. The display on the TT seems to be slower, and for some reason it is less sensitive to the A string than either D strings (tuned DAdd).
I had some string buzz on one of mine and my string-things friend adjusted my frets (with a little hammer - I was so worried watching that) and sanded down the bridge some and it fixed it right up. Lowering the action really helped with finger-dancing too.
Then he worked on the sides of the frets - seems they were hanging over the edge a little and was causing some discomfort since I do mostly noter and use my finger to guide along the side of the fretboard. Spent about an hour with a fine file on those.
Oiled my machines, conditioned the fretboard, totally tweaked it up for me. Cost me a dinner is all.
Your mileage may vary though - I trust this guy to know his stuff. You need a tweaks strings-things friend.
Ha! Ha! John Henry!
No the Bobbies did not leave us a tip!!!! :-(
We always busked in Bath because that was the best place and Bob's family was there. We once heard a great Bluegrass band playing and we went to hear them and talk to them thinking they were American's because they were playing "Grandfather's Clock". When they stopped they had the English accent-we were surprised because they sang with an American accent! Hahaha
Gosh! We love England! It's been too long since we have been there!
Another funny story is that I broke some strings on my HD and I forgot to bring my extra strings with me! We went to a piano store in Bristol to get some extras but they kept breaking too. I had enough from them to keep up, but the funny thing was we couldn't find our car! We were so lost and turned around! We parked in a "car park" but found out there were lot's of them with the same name in Bristol and we were so confused and turned around!!!!! It took us about 4 hours to find the right "car park". Hahahaha
Bob's family came from England (Bath) and we visited them and had a wonderful time! I love it there! We are considering moving to England for a while because of the crap that is going on here in the states with OBAMA. I guess we would just have to rent our farm here???
Anyway, we love England and it's very cool!
Oh yeah! I will have to tell you about the time we were almost arrested in a laundry mat in Oxford for changing strings while we were waiting on our laundry. I was called a "tory!" :-)
Kendra
Hi ya'll,
I love to busk! Bob and I have been busking many places.
I wanted to share my best all-time busking story with you. It's pretty funny!
Bob and I were on tour in the British Isles and busking is a big deal there. Me, having red hair and being very Irish, and Bob having family in Bath, found that if we did not open our mouths we were thought of as natives. (all the rich Americans would throw us money haha)
Anyway we were busking in this little town in northern England, doing a pretty good job of collecting money, and we noticed the local "bobbies" (policemen) were watching us closely. While we were playing they seemed to get a little closer and a little closer. We were sure they were going to make us quit or ask for a permit or something, so we were getting a little nervous.
Finally they walked up to us and said, "You are better than the usual lot that play here!" and walked on.
We were really relieved and thought that was one of the funniest things that ever happened to us.
We were mostly playing the "other" dulcimer that you play with hammers, and guitar, but we did have the mountain dulcimer and played it some as well.
Thanks for reading,
Dulcerina aka Kendra
some people would say that playing a dulcimer through an amp is nothing short of blasphemous.
Wow, Strumelia, I must admit that I covet your limberjacks. In only have one made of walnut and without any decoration. I, too, adore that little pig of yours. I maintain a fantasy that I'll build some of my own, but that elusive free time I keep expecting has yet to materialize.It is amazing that in this media-saturated age when plastic novelties abound in all sorts of bright colors with lights and computer-generated noise, a simple, centuries-old, clog-dancing doll made of wood can create so much joy.Keep smiling,D.T.Dusty Turtle said:The hit of the day, though, was the limberjack. He danced around while I sang "There ain't no bugs on me" and the kids couldn't get enough. Whenever I tried to stop they began clapping their hands in unison and chanting "more, more, more." Finally the teacher had to bribe them with blueberry muffins to allow me to escape and get on with my day.
I had the same experience playing my limberjacks at farmers' markets and such.
Yes, there are some small children who seem jaded and uninterested, but then you get the other ones who make it all worth while. Last summer, a group of four children, ranging from age 4 to 7 or so, stopped dead in their tracks and came running over to watch my limberjack dance. You wouldn't believe how HUGE their eyes got, like dinner plates!, and then they all started laughing and pointing in delight, and the more he danced the more they laughed. Then they started trying to dance like the limberjack, and they laughed even MORE, finally collapsing right there on the ground in a heap of child glee and belly laughs. It made me so happy ! I think that was the very best audience i ever had . :)
I love playing my limberjacks. I have five of them, all different. I may wind up with more eventually, I love them that much. Plus, they are way cheaper than banjos! ;D Here are photos of three of them.
I had the same experience playing my limberjacks at farmers' markets and such.Yes, there are some small children who seem jaded and uninterested, but then you get the other ones who make it all worth while. Last summer, a group of four children, ranging from age 4 to 7 or so, stopped dead in their tracks and came running over to watch my limberjack dance. You wouldn't believe how HUGE their eyes got, like dinner plates!, and then they all started laughing and pointing in delight, and the more he danced the more they laughed. Then they started trying to dance like the limberjack, and they laughed even MORE, finally collapsing right there on the ground in a heap of child glee and belly laughs. It made me so happy ! I think that was the very best audience i ever had . :)I love playing my limberjacks. I have five of them, all different. I may wind up with more eventually, I love them that much. Plus, they are way cheaper than banjos! ;D Here are photos of three of them.The hit of the day, though, was the limberjack. He danced around while I sang "There ain't no bugs on me" and the kids couldn't get enough. Whenever I tried to stop they began clapping their hands in unison and chanting "more, more, more." Finally the teacher had to bribe them with blueberry muffins to allow me to escape and get on with my day.
The Korg CA-30 has an accessory clip-on. The GA 30 has trouble because it's made for the dynamics of the guitar rather than a range of smaller instruments.
