Forum Activity for @matt-berg

Definitely agree with Ken and Andy.  Fret board width and VSL is not an absolute.  What one musician finds ideal, another may find unplayable.  Play many different instruments and find what works for you, or, if you build to sell, make a few different models and give musicians a choice.

As far as wood, same advice.  Find the model of dulcimer you enjoy building, then find the wood that you believe sounds best,..., and ignore the people who think otherwise.  Music is in the ear of the hearer, build what sounds good to you.  Best example, cherry.  Some say it produces a sweet sound and others say it over emphasizes the treble.  Does it sound right to you? Then it is.

The 1/8" difference in width means the melody course and the bass course are that much farther apart.  Most Chord-Melody players don't have an issue with fretboard width affecting chording ability, although those with "chubby" fingers find the wider board more useable.  C-M players do have issues with longer VSLs (28" to 30" making it harder to fret some  chords.  Smaller-handed Chord-Melody players seem to prefer shorter VSLs (25-26")

There are many, many factors of dulcimer construction which effect the tonal quality of an dulcimer.  Wood species is pretty far down the list.  My advice, as a player for many years is to ignore wood species except for the æsthetic effect.  A cherry carcass with a butternut top will make a visually striking instrument, especially as the cherry darkens and ages over time.  I think you would be very happy with that wood combination.   Several of my dulcimers have butternut tops/backs, and I love the grain structure and patterns which the wood gives..

I play mostly 4 equal-distance strings on a 1 3/8" fretboard with larger than average hands - no problem.  Three strings just allows for more space.  So everything I build is 1 3/8" with no complaints.

Wood combinations should be fine.  Not to negate wood contribution, but how they pieces are laid out and joined affects overall sound more than wood type.

What would the advantages/disadvantages of a 1.5 inch wide fretboard or a 1 3/8 inch fretboard? I have just slightly smaller than average hands if that has anything to do with it. Also, what are your thoughts about back and sides of cherry and a top of butternut? What might that produce tonally? Thanks for any input.

@mr-woolery Patrick, I liked seeing your videos.  I have a fretless instrument so appreciate the learning involved in what it takes to play notes accurately.  

How about a couple more tunes played like a total beginner?

First up, Paholaisen Marssi, Devil’s March. 

And then the tune that made me want to play jouhikko in the first place. Nyykytys, pronounced “NOO-koo-tooss”. I have no idea what the name means. 

Taking video like this is important. It gives me some merciless feedback on the playing.  I think I get the “musical ears” effect, where I’m enjoying the playing and it sounds musical in the moment.  But later, I recognize that it isn’t ready for public consumption yet.

You ever want to really appreciate having frets on your dulcimer, just try to play in tune on an instrument without them!

Patrick

I have an awful lot of respect for that sophisticated modern bodhran technique.  So far I just play the old-fashioned way, "Kerry style" I think it's called.  I still get a fair bit of tone variety by using my left hand and I like using the momentum of the back end of the tipper for triplets.  But it's wonderful to watch the modern players with their loose wrists!

I thought of Rod when I did The Friendly Beasts for our Tuesday evening Zoom group video. Even after 11 years I have fond memories of all the conversations I had with Rod.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

So fondly remember Rod. May we never forget those dulcimer friends who have gone on before.

Well said KenH.  To all our fondly remembered friends! 🎄🛷🕯

  To Rod... and our other Absent Friends.

Remembering our dear friend Rod.  

Fond memories of the Deputy, I received my copy of his small booklet of tunes while recovering from my first heart procedure, it helped !

I, too, enjoyed the video and found it a good pairing with the song. Thanks for posting it. I've got 5 of her albums and love them all.

I enjoyed the video and think it expresses the song very well. Thank you for sharing it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It's a tastefully done video. My daughter and I watched it together a few times yesterday.  We both appreciate how it moves to the exact beat of the song, doesn't try to do too much by adding meaning that is not there in the audio, and how it captures the sad tenor of the lyrics.  It's so nice.

My understanding is that Graham Nash had proposed to her and she declined ("I made my baby cry") leading to an end to their relationship ("I made my baby say 'Goodbye.").

Several songs on the Blue album are just so honest and personal.  It feels a little awkward to know those emotional details about someone I've never met.

One of the saddest 'Christmas' songs ever written. Joni's "River" is about regrets of a lost love. She says it's about sadness or loneliness around Christmas time.

Joni is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors this year. 
Her song River (which was on her Blue album) has just had a wonderful new animation film created to accompany it:

https://youtu.be/OLHxxBTl71I 

Sorry for the financial loss and the loss of an irreplaceable instrument.  I like Ken's Sono Tube approach.  Cheap, easy and very sturdy.  Also available in 8, 10 and 12 inch diameters to suit just about any dulcimer, with or without a case.

Yes, a tad west of me :).  

Lucky Dave, that's really wrong of UPS.  Very disturbing.

And I'm not in North Carolina, but Northern California.  Only about 3000 miles away! 

Sorry to hear that Dave.   I use that super hard aterproof cardboard  "Sono Tube" you find at Home Despot and Lowest; which is used as a form to cast concrete piers and posts.  Comes in a variety of diameters.  I roll the dulcimer in bubble wrap until it's a snug fit in the tube, saw the tube off a couple inches long than the dulcimer, and make 1/2" plywood ends which I tape in place with LOTS of duct tape.  I also use it when travelling, as a check baggage dulcimer box, as you can see in the photo attached.

 Sonotube case.JPG - 138KB

Dusty,

It had UPS insurance on it, but they denied me that as well, due to "insufficient" packaging.  Also, just curious, I am over near Lake Norman, where in NC are you?

Sad story, @dulcimer-dave.  What a shame.  It's a good lesson in why we should always insure our dulcimers when we ship them.

I saw a video once which I can't seem to find now that showed the boxes the New Harmony Dulcimer Company builds to ship their instruments. They use a wood frame inside the box, and in the video, someone stood on top of the box with the dulcimer inside, demonstrating how strong it was.  The box design was similar to but less bulky than @bob-stephens's very carefully designed boxes.

I should not have sold that one. But it was a heartbreaking experience, and a cautionary tale for others. Thankyoun folks for the empathy.

Sorry to hear that Dave. No matter how careful we are packing instruments for shipping, shippers will find ways to destroy them.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Dave that is truly heartbreaking. Thank you for posting it here as a good reminder for others.

Just sold an antique Cherrywood dulcimer.  I THOUGHT I'd packaged it well enough, lots of bubble wrap and cardboard. What I did not factor in was the gorillas at UPS.  The customer received it crushed, and I was devastated. All I could do was refund the persons money. It was a heartbreaking experience. Going forward I will Use Bob's method of packing.

Wow, very nice playing. Thanks for sharing.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Looks good Kenh. I like the simple design.

That's a creative design Ken and should do the job you intend it to do. Nice construction. Thanks for sharing.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Ken that looks beautiful and also would not clash with an "Appalachian vibe" the way brightly painted or sit on cajons might.

I've been a table-thumper, thigh-slapper, doumbek player and Scottish Bass drummer.  But I was challenged by my friends of the local band Pine Island Sound to come up with something more suitable to play along with them.  So I created my first cajon from dulcimer and Anglo-Saxon lyre construction scrap.  I didn't want a "sit on" cajon, but something I could hold on my lap, or in my arms like an autoharp or a musical washboard.  I also didn't want a deep bass sound or high treble sound.    So here's what I came up with:

10" x 18" x 2-1/4".  Two tones from two different wood species and thicknesses on the two faces.  The one-piece side is a 3/16" slice of Oregon Myrtle leftover from a lyre project.  The divided side is 1/8" Sitka spruce salvaged from an acoustic piano soundboard by some guys I know who are doing that.  One of the pieces already had a hole in it.  As internal and external joint braces I added 1/8" x 2'' strips of Ash leftover from an archer's bow build I did a couple years back.  The sides are maple piano frame salvage.  

 Cajon1.JPG - 81KB

Right after the turn of the century, I got a friend request on Myspace from a fiddle player named Saskia Tomkins.  Her family was moving to my part of Southern Ontario and wanted to meet some musicians and find out about venues.  We became good buddies and I met her family.  Her husband, Steafan Hannigan was a multi-instrumentalist and a whiz on the bodhran.  Steafan and Saskia had three pre-teen kids who were also starting to become fine musicians.  Their son, Oisin, has becomea very talented percussionist.  He's all grown up now and is a married man living in Montreal.
Here's Oisin demonstrating some bodhrans.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!  I thought it translated as Amigos del dulcimer de la montaña hee hee!

This is fascinating to me! Thank you for explaining this :-D

Just for info- I clicked on the .M4a file showing in the post, it downloaded to my laptop, I then opened it in itunes and it played fine for me.

I'm starting to think the tune could have been something David pieced together from various 'Irish-y' phrases. Good musicians can do that and spontaneously create a 'new' tune from snippets of existing tunes in their mind. This tune is pretty, but it also makes me think of tune snippets artfully strung together.
Old-time musicians do this as well, especially when sitting around in a jam and doodling, or searching for a tune to play while in a jam session and people are trying to figure out a next tune to play.

That's a Ukrainian tune called Фриендс оф тхе Моунтаин Дулкимер.

No not at all. I'm joking. It sounds Celtic to me, too, but Ken may be right that there are pieces of a couple of tunes there.  Part of it is a melody I know, and I may pop in in the middle of the night when I remember it's name.  But I don't recognize that descending ending/turnaround.

By the way, that Cyrillic up above just says Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer.

Thank you for trying, Robin. :-D I will see if I can figure out another way to send.