Forum Activity for @studentofrhythm

Hi all,

I found this group after a few days of looking around the web for dulcimer stuff and practicing mine after taking it up again after - well, a few years, really.  Nine years ago I went to a yard sale and saw a cardboard-bodied dulcimer (the label on it says Double Eagle, Arkansas).  I forget how much they were selling it for but it wasn't very much.  I had seen one many years before, when someone came to my school and demonstrated folk instruments.  So I bought it.

Well, I soon found out that my dulcimer had some peculiarities: mainly, a tendency to break strings.  I went through several replacement strings trying to tune it right, and then I noticed that the pin for the melody strings was pulling up and not letting the string keep its tune.  So the poor old thing sat unused for years until recently I got it out again, replaced the pin, got new strings, broke a few, and realized that as long as I tune it 1-5-5 or 1-5-4 it'll be fine.  Currently I've got it tuned to GDD, which seems to be about as much tension as it can take.  It works for me.  I like the "Ionian" tuning and starting the scale on the 3rd fret, even though this one does have the extra 6th.  I also really really like the "Dorian" tuning - I love Dorian mode.

After fixing it up and looking at the book that it came with (Albert Gamse's Best Dulcimer Method Yet) I found Jean Ritchie's 1964 instructional record and when she started strumming and singing I felt like my soul was being welcomed back to a home it had lost.  I've been picking out hymn tunes and Christmas songs for the past couple of weeks; recently I started picking out some tunes that I've come up with on my own.  I'm excited about using it for composition and integrating it into playing in groups.

About groups: I started playing drums in 1994 and have played kit in several bands.  Recently I've joined an odd little acoustic jam band with anachronistic aspirations, playing frame drum and tambourine, and I want to work the dulcimer into it too.  I see a lot of possibilities - I particularly like Jessica Comeau's arrangements of medieval tunes.  I'm interested in learning to do chords and I'm playing around with them, but I like doing the drone style too.  I like strumming with a feather.

One of these days I'll get myself a good instrument; I'm also gonna get a strumstick.

I'm glad to find this site, I've been enjoying the recordings and pictures and discussions so far!

This has been an interesting discussion.  I have one of those "Perepelochka" (transliterated from Cyrillic) models - actually it belongs to my daughter but I like to play it a lot.  Has kind of that "toy" quality for being so small and high-pitched but I enjoy the delicacy of the timbre.  It's fun to pick out songs in different modes.

I've met Tom Fellenbaum several times over the years, and I know that he build excellent instruments.  I bought one of his bowed psalteries years ago, and it was wonderful in craftsmanship and in sound.  I don't know what he's up to now.

If my information is correct Fellenbaum is a builder in Black Mountain NC. He has slowed down on building dulcimers to keep in stock, but does build to order. His dulcimers are well crafted and typically have a bit wider and deeper body. There is no standard for dulcimer dimensions and builders have their own preferences. Like Ken said, tone is influenced by volume of the sound box.

The woods the instrument are made from won't make any discernable difference in the pitch of the sound.  The overall body dimensions (internal cubic inches) do.  How big is the body compared to your other "low tone" instruments?  

I haven't heard of Fellenbaum dulcimers ina quite some time.  My memory of them is that he builds a fairly deep/wide dulcimer for a 26-27" VSL.

Is anybody familiar with the sound of Fellenbaum dulcimers? This particular dulcimer has a spruce soundboard and sapele back and sides. I like dulcimers with a low tone.

I bet you’re correct. This instrument was a gift, and it sounds quite good . I may have a luthier friend add frets to make it a chromatic dulcimer.

Ron, it could have been built by a home hobbyist, not a renowned maker.  That seems more likely than a builder who is known by the dulcimer community.  The number listed is small, unlike a "known maker".

The writing in the sound hole appears to say George Gobele or George Zobele, I can’t decide which. A google search for both names turns up nothing.

I am saddened to learn of Terry's passing.We shared the same age. I met Terry and his daughter Corina in 2002 at his Kangaroo Valley home. He brought me into the dulcimer family, generously sharing of his musical  knowledge and creative skills. Generous, good natured, affable and hospitable. I will always remember him with much fondness, grateful for the time he shared with me, recounting his  life and his many interests and experiences. His daughter Corina and Terry posed for the attached photo on my first visit, each holding a dulcimer they had each created. A number of visits followed, and always he welcomed me with much hospitality. Regretfully, my visits ceased due to the aging process  and tyranny of long distance after I relocated to the State of Queensland.  With many I am much saddened by his passing, and I extend my sincerest sympathies to Corina and Christine. Vale Terry.

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Thanks Ken. 🙏 💕💕

Patricia and Wayne, I am sorry to see the Hearts of the Dulcimer podcast ending. I have enjoyed listening to them. Thank you for all your work in producing these and making them available to the dulcimer community. Best wishes for all your future endeavors.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 54
Fiddle Tune Stories with The Bach and Beethoven Experience

https://dulcimuse.com/podcast

In our final episode, we bring you the Chicago-based group The Bach and Beethoven Experience sharing stories behind some of the fiddle tunes they played on their album An Appalachian Summer . We spoke with fiddler Brandi Berry Benson and dulcimer player Keith Collins, who have their feet firmly grounded in the classical and traditional music worlds.

This episode is the last Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast episode. We’ve been bringing you the Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast for the last 6 and a half years. Although our listenership has grown, the financial support has not. Continuing the podcast is not sustainable.

As we end this podcast, we’re proud of the 54 well-crafted episodes that expand on the history, versatility, possibilities, and above all, appreciation of this wonderful musical instrument called the mountain dulcimer.

You can listen to all the  Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast  episodes directly on our website: https://dulcimuse.com/podcast  or in most podcast apps.

Every episode has its own resource page with photos, videos, and song lists.  Here's the resource page for this episode: https://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/054.html

Thanks for listening!

Patricia Delich & Wayne Jiang

Hope you all had a happy thanksgiving!  

Thank you, FOTMD folks, for the music and your friendship!  

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I am so grateful that I have mountain dulcimers, mountain dulcimer music, and friends of the mountain dulcimer in my life.

Wishing you all a peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving. Nina

Happy Thanksgiving. Among my many blessings is all my dulcimer friends here. at FOTMD and TTAD. Enjoy the day everyone.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well said John and Richard.

Grateful for the good things in my life. Hugs to all my FOTMD friends.

Happy Thanksgiving all. May we all be sure to reflect on all of our many blessings and truly be thankful from a grateful heart.

Have a very happy and meaningful Thanksgiving Day everyone!  Time to count our blessings.

That’s a really neat version of Brahms lullaby, what kind of amp and effects did you use?

The head design looks way off for an Amburgey.  Jethro always marked his, as far as I know.  It appears more  "modern" than Jethro's work.  And the fiddle edges are very wide.  Maybe somebody's interpretation of his dulcimers, with differences added?

I'm traveling over the next ten days, so I am away from my files. I'm working from memory here, but his looks like a kit that was offered in the late 1970s. I am going by the shapes of the peg head and the tail piece. Unfortunately I can't look through my files of dulcimer advertisements or old DPNs until after Dec. 4th.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Looking through the sound holes;  is there anything written inside?  Often the luthier identifies himself and the date.

It's lovely, nicely carved with great fiddle edges. If it is an Amburgey, it's best not mess with it- or it will drastically lose value and be ruined. Best not to strip it, paint it, or use heavy or dark varnish or put 'decorations' on it. I assume you are (hopefully) keeping its original pegs.

No identifying marks, anywhere?
What makes you think it was made in the 60s or 70s?

It is 60's to 70's very thin and light. The fret board appears to have been designed for staples but this has full frets and no evidence of the staples being replaced. Made of Walnut . The VSL is 28 overall 33. Has many features of an Amburgey but the head is different. The tuners are black ebony, and appear identical to an Amburgey. Had a peg stem for a hitch pin, which I am going to replace with brass pins. In many respects and Amburgey and in many respects not. I am making this playable again for the 21st century. Any ideas who built it? 

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I made small warming pillows (like rectangular beanbags really) of cotton filled with whole flaxseed. You can microwave them for 1-2 min (be careful not to heat too long or the cotton can scorch. They stay warm longer than rice bags or other fillings, because the flaxseed contains oil which retains the heat for longer. You can use one for several years and then replace the flax filling. I like the flax also because it has a nice gentle silky feel inside the pillow. You can also put the pillow in the freezer and it will be a longlasting cool pack too. I made a smaller cooling eye pillow with flax and keep it in the freezer for when I want a refreshing eye rest.

If you don't fill the pillow too firmly, it will wrap nicely around any area you want to warm or cool. I usually heat my larger pillow 1 min then squish it around a bit and heat another 40 sec.

That’s a great idea, having something warm to wrap my hand in will help a lot I’m sure. So,while I was out shopping today I looked for a warm pack. It’s usually filled with dried lavender or wheat husks that you warm in the microwave. Managed to find one in the British version of a dollar store, and tartan too ( I have Scottish ancestry and I married a Scot). 
I have a friend who now he has seen and had a little go on my dulcimer has fallen in love (is this typical when people hear a dulcimer?), now he’s going to get his own but he asked me if there are plenty of tunes that can be played with just a noter. He asks because he has a friend who has very limited grip strength due to a medical condition. I had to admit I didn’t know but I would ask the dulcimer community. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Someone with mild arthritis shared with me a trick she does before she plays.  She heats up a towel and then slowly kneads it with her hands.  The movement and the heat loosen up her fingers quite nicely.

Good warm-up suggestion, @lancashire-lass !

You pointed out:  One thing that I have been doing is exercises with a softish rubber ball. I start with a minute or so of gentle squeezing gradually getting harder, then pressing my fingers, in pairs, vertically into the rubber. The whole thing takes about four minutes or until my hand feels comfortably warm. I first started doing this because I was learning the ukulele (I still am). Think it keeps the old fingers agile.

I really need to get a ball & do this.  Can well believe it helps for any musical instrument. 

Glad to hear things are working out LancashireLass!

Hi, thanks to everyone who has offered advice on this topic. Lowering the action has certainly been the clincher so, up to now I think it’s fine where it is. As for the thumb it’s very happy now so I can practice a bit longer. I’m also trying to pay more attention to my posture as that really does help, allowing the weight of my arm to depress the strings. One thing that I have been doing is exercises with a softish rubber ball. I start with a minute or so of gentle squeezing gradually getting harder, then pressing my fingers, in pairs, vertically into the rubber. The whole thing takes about four minutes or until my hand feels comfortably warm. I first started doing this because I was learning the ukulele (I still am). Think it keeps the old fingers agile.

Hi Lorilee, this is why I'm not a therapist...poor instructions that are so much easier demonstrated!  I can understand the confusion.  Don't take anything backwards as I'm sure that would hurt without helping.  Even without talk of angling (which may have started the confusion) what you're doing is pressing against that index finger which is separated slightly from the other fingers & it's pressing back.  (To be sure & not be too heavy, you could make it index finger on index finger if that makes sense.)  The finger really doesn't go anywhere, except maybe a bit up & down, definitely not back &, while toward the palm's not a problem, it's not needed.  The reason I say "a bit" is because the pressure of the two fingers cancel each other out.  The idea is for the lower index finger to be a tiny bit strong in the muscle of that hand, strengthening your thumb which uses the muscle it shares with the index finger..

Hope that makes it clearer & not even more confusing.

Lois, in the 2nd exercise are you pressing the index finger toward the back of the hand or toward the palm? Since the other hand is resisting, I can see it might be in either direction. I have very painful thumbs, but it's mostly from arthritis. I will grasp any straw that might possible help!

Scrolling through recent posts, the "Painful Thumb" caught my eye as it's an issue I've faced, not due to strings but what @Dusty-Turtle & @ken-hulme meant about muscles.  This may not fit the problem starting this forum topic, but I hope it helps others experiencing thumb pain due to muscle problems.

I've had physical (or it probably was considered occupational?) therapy on hand problems & have learned it's especially common for women.  Apparently our thumbs tend to be weaker.  There's even a book, Caring for the Painful Thumb - More Than a Splint, written by Jan Albrecht, an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist. It's written so patients can understand with over 200 color illustrations, the book can be used by both patients and therapists. 

I bought the book, but nowadays tend to use 2 exercises I learned.  What they actually seem to do is strengthen the muscle between the thumb & index finger.  Can't give you 200 illustrations, but will try to describe what I do.  If more is needed, try your library to see if they can borrow the book for you.  (I don't expect them to own it, but inter-library loans give you access to more than they have.)  Failing that, you can find the book to buy online.

Take your hand or both hands & make a C (for the right hand it's a backward C).  Have all your fingers curled in that C formed by your index finger & thumb.  Lift the index finger & lower it a few times.  (I tend to do it about 10 times, then switch to the second exercise.)  For the second exercise, straighten your fingers out (not as straight as an L, but more of an angle -- 45 degree?); lift the index finger, press down on the index finger with your other hand, while the index finger resists the pressure; I hold for the count of 10.  If both hands hurt, switch hands & do the second exercise for the second hand.  If your hands are sore, you can gradually over time increase this until a time comes when they don't hurt. 

I'm not a doctor or a therapist, but these have helped me when my thumb gets sore.  Since, as the t-shirt says, "Old age isn't for cowards!", if anybody here or anybody you know has a recommendation of a general book of therapy exercises for various conditions, I'd love to know.  I've had various bouts for various ailments with therapy studios in the past & know there's a need for a DIY book.

Terry made instruments which can continue to sing.  I wish for comfort for all who knew him.  

Another one gone.... but not forgotten.

Terry Hennessy died yesterday, November 13, 2021, at his home. He was the builder who made Richard Farina’s dulcimer. He will be missed by family and friends and by many of us in the dulcimer world. My sympathy is offered to all. I was fortunate to be able to examine and strum the dulcimer he made for Richard.  You can read about Terry here .

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Due to this pandemic, many nursing homes have been closed down, and they no longer allow any kind of events or games for the elderly. My grandmother loved to go there with her friends and interact with others. Because this was no longer possible, she got quite depressed, and her she started feeling unwell, so we requested the help of an assistant from https://homecareassistance.com/palm-beach who now is taking care of her health.