I hate to throw cold water on this wonderfully thoughtful idea, but, have you given any thought to the inport/export duties to be paid upon your friends return to the UK?
Soon, hopefully in March, we have two London friends coming to visit. Last year, Lianne, picked up my dulcimer and just started playing...as in chords and intermediate songs. I was shocked and loved hearing her 'go to town' on my celtic songs, having had no lessons and no prior experience.
I have purchased her a Little Mule soprano dulcimer so it will be easy to take back on the plane.
I'm wanting to put together some things for her to get her started. I'll get her a capo, some picks, some strings, but what else? Trying to find a Larkins book. Any particular accessories I'm not thinking of? She's going to be so excited!
A tuner! Forgot about that!
Anything else?
I have one, love it, but find I don't take it many places because it is so much larger and heavier (in its special case) than the small Gallier A-frame I usually use. Because you lay it on your lap like a dulcimer and play it from above, you avoid the need to wrap your hand around the head of the instrument, as you would do with a guitar. When you have arthritis, this may be a movement your hand can no longer do--such was the case for me. I like that it sounds like a guitar, and I like that I can do fingerpicking on it so easily and I could never do fingerpicking on a guitar! Yes, it's a hybrid--but so's my Prius! As far as I'm concerned, it combines good things from both instruments. Here's a rough recording of Loch Lomond showing how it sounds.
https://soundcloud.com/willowgreen-1/loch-lomond
I have one. I love it... It does have the 1 1/2 fret added, and was set up by a luthier to make the action at the right height. They have a very full sound. They also have a pickup (at least mine does) and so you can plug it into an amp as well. They are much larger on your lap than a regular dulcimer. OVerall, fun to play. I nice addition to your collection, (if you don't have one, you probably will have a collection!)
Gale, you may want to check fellow member, Christine Shoemaker's page. She has posted numerous videos with her Gold Tone. In fact, it may have been Chris that you saw at Evert.
Gale,
Please keep in mind that, just because an instrument has a diatonic fretboard, it does not automatically become a dulcimer. The dulciborn is really an instrument called a Weissenborn to which a diatonic fretboard has been added and two strings removed. The Weissenborn and dulciborn are very solidly in the guitar family. The main difference is that, being in the zither family, the dulcimer has its strings all the way across the soundbox. A Weissenborn/Dulciborn, being in the guitar family, has the string attached to the soundboard and does not stretch across the entire soundbox.
Musicians who can play the dulcimer will find the transition to a dulciborn easier. However, as with those who play the Gallier "dulcimer" (actually a three course lap guitar), you will find that your instrument sounds like a guitar, even when playing dulcimer songs.
As most of our ear are very used to hearing a guitar, this instrument may sound more familiar to your ears. Instrument sound is a choice a musician makes. If you like the sound, play it.
Matt
Hi -
Just looking for some reviews, thoughts, etc of the Gold Tone Dulciborn. I heard a women at the Evart Funfest last year play one and thought it was pretty neat. She did say she purchased it used and had to have some adjustments done due to some warping of the fretboard( I believe). Volume was impressive. Any Dulciborn owners out there that could share their experience with this instrument? Thanks!
Also, does it look like walnut wood? Thanks
How about violin tuning pegs? IMHO, they would look real nice on that dulcimer. StewMac has them for $2.99 each.
Steven
"Playing Dulcimer With A Ukelele"
Really, a proper noter is what you should be using.
Very nice. I had one with full width staples. Made in PA by Keith ???. Played & sounded great. Sold it to another member here who loves it as much or maybe more than I did.
Nice looking dulcimer! Good luck with the "restoration"...I'm sure it will play and sound great!
Steven
So I'm guessing this is a one-off? It's kind of sweet; I think I am going to put UKE tuners on it, given the space available. Clean it up, and sell it. I need to clean up the mess at the end-pins, any advice? I just didn't want to mess with it before checking on historical value.
Thanks, Joe. My memory isn't what it used to be (like other parts of me.)
ihave lived in branson since 1969. i have never seen these instruments around here
Very nice looking dulcimer. You don't see many with staple frets under all the strings. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the wood may be mahogany. There's no label inside? Do you know what kind of tuners it had on it originally?
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I've seen soundholes like those on some inexpensive instruments which (I think) were made around Branson, MO. I don't remember the maker.
Looks to be all walnut construction. It has a 21" VSL, and a floating bridge. If you have any information about who might have made it, please chime in. There is no signature anywhere on or in the body.
I shouldn't interrupt my own thread but Rick, that is the best clawhammer banjo/mountain dulcimer duet I've heard. Thank you for bringing that gem to my attention.
Robin Clark and Nick Reece made a CD (The Cadair Idris Sessions) where Robin plays dulcimer (noter/drone) and Nick plays clawhammer. I have a copy and listen all the time. Here is a link http://fotmd.com/robin-clark/uploaded_audio/385/the-cadair-idris-sessions-track-samples to samples on the FOTMD site. I don't know if he has any more for sale, but if he does, I recommend it. Highly.
I recall a song about the musical instruments: "The clarinet, the clarinet goes doodle, doodle, doodle, doodle det... The violin's singing with lovely ringing... "
My dad used to sing us a song with the lines "Hush, hush, whisper, Who dares? Christopher Robins is saying his prayers." when he was putting us to bed.
In the car, he'd sing The Whiffinpoof Song, St. James Infirmary and Frog Went A Courting. He ended the song with verses I've not heard anywhere else:
They paddled off across the lake uh huh,
They paddled off across the lake uh huh,
They paddled off across the lake
And were swallowed up by a big black snake
Uh huh, Uh huh, Uh huh.
Well that was the end of him and her, uh huh,
That was the end of him and her, uh huh,
That was the end of him and her
Now we won't have tadpoles covered in fur,
Uh huh, Uh huh, Uh huh.
I taught school for thirty some odd years and some of that time was spent teaching music to kindergarten to grade eight students. Some songs that went over very well with kids were Pete Seeger's Abyoyo, Carl Martin's The Vegetable Dance, the old jug band tune Boodle Am Shake, a song I learned in Scouts called The Watermelon Song and Hopalong Peter, a tune I learned from The New Lost City Ramblers.
My first dulcimer, made in about 1970, before I knew much about building instruments, stated in my classroom and kids were welcome to use it. The diatonic scale made it easy for kids to pick out tunes or invent their own. This old dulcimer, made from a the wood from a hollow core mahogany door and model railroad plywood for the top, has a lot of battle scars from kids playing it, but has given a lot of kids a lot of fun.
hugssandi, do you realize that every minute you spend reading Younger Next Year, you're getting older? Ironic.
LOL, Jan! ~and it is taking me a while, too~
I do have a Wren, which is smaller than the Sparrow, and I love it! I'd be happy to answer any questions.
ETA I did also post a vid that is still on my page.
hugssandi, do you realize that every minute you spend reading Younger Next Year, you're getting older? Ironic.
I'm reading The Birds of Opulence, by Crystal Wilkinson, for book group next week.
I think it was member @hugssandi
Some time back a member posted a video of them playing one of these I think, can't remember who it was. If anyone knows who it was, or has feedback on these as far as the usual intonation etc. I remember hearing the recording and being fairly surprised by how nice it sounded
I'd begin by finding a Key that fits both instruments well. The banjo is frequently played in the Key of G (Open G Tuning), so a good tuning for a dulcimer playing with clawhammer banjo would be Reverse Ionian Tuning D-G-D, which has the G major scale beginning at the 3rd fret. The dulcimer player could play background chords to accompany the banjo's melody line. or the dulcimer player could play the melody line accompanied by the banjo's rhythmic playing of chords. To hear both instruments distinctly, the two instruments can play an octave apart.
Two dulcimers playing together can utilize the same techniques as suggested above, one playing melody and the other playing chords. In a local dulcimer club, I used to use a "banjimer" (dulcimer with a banjo head) to back up a friend playing the melody line on the melody string. He flatpicked the melody strings avoiding the drone strings, and I added rhythm and chords with the "banjimer". It was simple yet very effective due to the percussive nature of the "banjimer".
The banjo or banjimer can be overwhelming and drown out the melody, so care must be taken to allow both instruments to be heard.
Of course, the two instruments can also alternate parts with one taking the lead while the other accompanies. Then switching parts the second or third time through the song.
You have the option of not playing the drone strings when playing with an accompanying musician. Let your partner carry the rhythm and harmony while you focus on the melody line.
Finally, listen to Don Pedi. He has several recordings where he plays with fiddlers and banjo players. David Schnauffer also had a recording where he played dulcimer accompanied by mandolin. I think Butch Baldasarri (sp?) was the mandolin player.
Hi everyone, I'm hoping to bring these two instruments together. Does anybody have any advice or experience in this field? Not strictly from a dulcimer perspective either, but also happy to hear from any banjo players.
The dulcimer is flexible, all tunings on the table.
Decide what price you want to sell for. Add 10% to cover those 'fees', and that's the price you sell at. When selling, you don't really care about the 'outbid' things that some people use, and there's no sense in sitting and watching the last hour -- if it sells Ebay will tell you the details in an email. Then you wait for the winning bidder to contact you.
Ruth -- a hukilau is a hula and song and a beachside ceremony for group fishing using nets edged with ti leaves which help frighten the fish as the nets are hauled ashore.
Y'all have such great memories! I remember one about building a bungalow and one about stirring stuff in my witch's brew at Halloween.
Loch Lomond.m4a - 2.7MB
