Forum Activity for @skip

Here's how I string: Put the loop[ball] on its pin, pull the string snug to the tuner, clip the string 2-2 1/2 inches past the tuner [longer], bend the string 90* about 1/4" from the cut end. You can then insert the bent end into the hole , apply a little tension and turn the tuner to tighten, maintaining a little tension on the string as needed.

The scroll head is very nice, I have a flat head Mcspadden and It is not as nice but yes easier to change the strings. 

Good luck

You are my hero, haha! I'm kinda kidding but I do hate to do it. My ducilmer has the scroll head and it very much reminds me of the game Operation! where I'm digging around with needle nose pliers. My next dulcimer will for sure have a flat head! (first timer mistake 'oooh the scroll is so pretty!"

I'm planning on 'going in' today and getting the strings on. Pray for me. 

    I hope you get your dulcimer taken care of but on the off chance it is still needing a string by next Wednesday, I will be passing through Atlanta on my way to Asheville. I have changed my own strings but they never look like someone who knows what they are doing has done it, more like a beginner but it works. I will be staying at the SpringHill Suites Atlanta Airport Gateway - if it is anywhere near you, I am surprise Atlanta doesn't have more dulcimer people. I am also amazed Asheville area doesn't have more shops where I can look for a NC dulcimer. Black Mt. seems to have a store but that is all I have found so far and they only seem to carry T K O'Briens and Mcspaddens.

   The image attached is how someone in my group winds his string, I would like to try this as it looks snug and neat. Info. for guitars but work for dulcimers also.

 restringing (1).jpg - 279KB

Hi Anne,

Beth Lassi and Nina Zanetti have done a series of four lovely duet books.  The Dulcimer Association of Albany has played some of them at meetings I have attended.  I recommend them highly.  Check them out at http://www.ninazanetti.com/.  Enjoy!!

I include two duets (Morning Has Broken and Scarborough Fair, and a round, Oh How Lovely is the Evening, in my instruction book, Beyond the Basics .  Details and sample tab at www.cabinhillmusic.com.

Best wishes,

Linda

Consider playing with your thumb and/or finger(s), too. The tone is different and you might like it.

I haven't checked the dulcimer since I got back last Christmas, so I'm not sure if the buzz is still there.  If it is, I will try your suggestion @jan-craig. I was thinking of getting a different travel dulcimer with regular tuning pegs instead of one that requires using a tuner wrench. However, money is tight this year, so I if I can easily fix the problem, I'll give it a try.

Seeing I've recruited a player with whom there exists a possibility of playing dulcimer TOGETHER!!!!

I'm looking for recommendations for tabs for dulcimer duets. We have Dona Nobis Pacem to start with, but all suggestions gratefully received... please...

heavier picks and heavier strings will help.  also moving the mike closer to the peg head away from the pick

Michael, what you are referring to is called pick clack. It is more pronounced with thinner picks, so you might try heavier picks.  Heavier strings, and a softer strum. 

And make sure you are not hitting the fretboard with your pick.  Just strum or pick across the top of the strings.

When you strum you don't want the pick to get down into the strings but merely skim the top of them.  Angle the pick ever so slightly so that the tip points toward you when you strum out and away from you when you strum in.  Also, angle the pick ever so slightly so that it is the edge of the pick that hits the strings. Assuming you are right-handed, the left edge should hit the strings when you strum out and the right edge should do so when you strum in.  These techniques minimize the amount of the pick that comes into contact with the strings.

One final question.  Where was the microphone when you recorded yourself?  Conventional wisdom is that pick clack sounds louder to the performer than it does the listener.  You can test that by putting the mic right in front of the dulcimer and recording yourself, then moving the mic progressively further away and seeing what happens. Presumably, the notes will ring out louder than the pick clack, so that the further from the instrument the listener is the less noticeable is the pick clack.

See "Always tune a vibrating string..." above...

Though this is a bit late for Coleen, I have fixed a buzz with a tiny bit of computer paper in the string slot.  That was after I checked the frets and the string still buzzed.  In the end, it did the job and did not show.

Thank you both!

Just this past weekend, I was retuning from CGC back to DAD and was all puffed up and patting myself on the back from my tuning confidence, my sheer bravery as I tightened the tuner. In fact, IN FACT, I would dare say I was almost cocky as I came to the melody string, amazed that me and both dogs were not only still alive, but the birds were still singing and all. was. right. with. the. world.

It was that last tiny turn towards the straight upright D that did it. That string broke with the ferocity of a precision-guided munition system, and flew over ten feet, seeking eyeballs or wet noses on its trajectory path. Both dogs had to leap out of the way and barely got away with their fuzzy lives.

And there it sits. My cherry Mcspadden. Nary a word and shamefully wearing only two strings. 

If anyone is in the Atlanta area, I'll be happy to meet you for a coffee and some restringing fun. :) :) (just kidding. Not really..no, just kidding. Sorta...)

*happily accepting names of counselors dealing with restringing-phobia* :)

There is nothing "special" about dulcimer strings. They are the same little looped-end beasties that are used on mandolins and banjos and all sorts of other instruments. A really well-equipped shop will stock single strings in various gauges and, in the case of the wound strings, windings. 

The "little nut" on guitar strings is called a ball end. Some dulcimers use them instead of looped end. 

I'll let more experience experimenters suggest gauges. 

A string is a string is a string...  There only a couple of manufacturers in the world who produce "music wire" in a wide range of gauges and types (plain steel and various kinds of wound strings).  They sell this music wire in HUGE (miles long) spools to companies who make and package strings -- both branded (D'Arco, Martin, etc.) and private label (like JustStrings).  These are the people who have machines to put loops in the end or little brass eyelets.  Guitar strings, banjo strings, mandolin strings, dulcimers string and more all come from the same place.  The only thing special about dulcimer strings is the package and perhaps the length (mandolin strings are not as long as guitar or banjo strings).

The appropriate (or favorite) gauges of strings for specific tunings always depends on the VSL of the dulcimer, and the open note to which you will tune that string.

To cure RestringingPhobia and avoid DeathMissile injuries:

When re-stringing, only ever mess with one string at a time.  Off comes the Bad String.  On goes the Good String.   The new Good string has to go around the post the same way the old string did (clockwise or counterclockwise).  It only needs to make a couple turns around the post and through the hole -- trim off the excess string.  Turn the tuning knob until the new Good string makes at least a dull twang.  Tune the new Good string as below.  Rinse and repeat with the other strings.

Always tune a vibrating string.  Grab what you think is the correct tuning knob.  Pluck the string you want to tune.  While the string is 'singing', give the tuning knob a quarter turn one way or the other.  If you do NOT hear a change in the singing string, STOP! (because you have the wrong tuning knob).  If you DO hear a change in pitch, continue, a quarter turn at a time, plucking and turning the knob, while watching your electronic tuner.  The closer you get to the right note, the smaller your knob-turnings should be until you zero in on the right note. 

This weekend I was out and about in the mountains and went by a music shop  I needed some strings. The shop I visited had a huge selection of just about every other stringed instrument's strings but not for dulcimer. 

A very well known luthier told me once that dulcimer strings were just guitar strings without the little nut at the end. 

So my question is...is there anything special about packaged dulcimer strings? I'm wanting to experiment with different gauges but I have RestringingPhobia. :)  I'm all squinting and leaning away, just waiting for the string to break PIIIIINNNG!! and attack me like a death missile. 

What are your favorite gauges for a standard vsl when typically using DAD, CGC, DAA? 

I saw this old post from everything dulcimer discussion, have you seen it:  http://everythingdulcimer.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19803

A SHOT IN THE DARK !!

by  billhoward1  » Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:01 pm

Just wondering  if anyone knows anything about a luthier in  Australia  by the name of  Morgan McKay . I know that he was still building dulcimers in the  late 70's , and is still living, in Victoria I'm told. Beyond that, I know nothing. I would welcome any information you might have. I have a nice rosewood and redwood dulcimer that he built, and would like to have more background for it. I'll get around to posting a photo soon. 

Take care, 
Bill         

Richard, 

Guess I gave up too soon. I found McKay, the author, but didn't pursue it enough to find "the dulcimer". Thanks for the information. 

Jim, 

Thanks for your information. Good to hear from someone who own another McKay Dulcimer. However, I'm having trouble getting the sound bite to open successfully, but maybe eventually. 

I had a PM from a gentleman in Australia, one of our ED family, who knows McKay, and lives in the same area. He also has a McKay dulcimer. He will be seeing McKay sometime soon, and may try to put him in touch with me. 

Thanks to all, 

Bill :D  :D  :D  :D  :D

I'd like to hear some opinions, as well...

Looking for your take on the TK O'Brien walnut creek dulcimers. Any info or a review of them would be most welcome.

Chuck, first remember that there is a difference between single-instructor events and larger festivals and gatherings.  To add an Event, you start from your home page and click on "Events."

Once you are on your Events page, you click the "+" sign to add a new event.

Then you will get to a screen where you can put in all the information for your event. When you are done, don't forget to click "Create Event."

Hi! Just wanted to get a new event on the "Festivals/Gatherings" page. How do I do that? Thanks!  :)

 Thanks, Brian, for that link to the Great Canadian Tunebook. There are loads of great tunes there.

Kristi, "Four Strong Winds" was written by Ian Tyson in the 1960s and is surely copyrighted, so Ken cannot post his tab here.

You can easily find lyrics and chords for it on the internet, though.  And just noodling around I was able to find the melody pretty easily. In DAA the melody ranges from the open A string to the 6th fret.  You can also play it in DAd on the melody string if you have a 6+ fret.

If you want tab for Four Strong Winds, I have it. I play it with my Open Mic guitar buddy.

Hi Susan,

Barry Taylor's traditional tunebook used to be a great resource for folk tunes. His site appears to no longer be on the Web, but you can still find parts of it.  This page will take you to a mirror of the Canadian Tunes section, where you'll find about 156 tunes in MIDI format. 

The Great Canadian Tunebook

If you have a program like Noteworthy Composer, TableEdit or similar, you can use those MIDI files to create dulcimer tab or standard notation if you wish.

Brian

As Ken suggests, FOTMD member Marc Mathieu  is the one to contact here.  Check this out:

I think I remember him sharing some information, including tablature, for this song somewhere.

There are also plenty of fiddle tunes of Canadian origin that have entered into the standard old timey and bluegrass traditions.  " Saint Anne's Reel " is one that comes to mind.

And it shouldn't be hard to create tab for the Ian and Sylvia Tyson classic "Four Strong Winds," a tune I would consider the Canadian "This Land is Your Land."

Lisa...cool beans on the 3 black cats!   We have our big greyboy Teddy, our big redboy Rufus, and our graceful modest brown tabby girl Sheba.  (all three from the local shelter)  

Rock star, hahah... well I'm getting a bit long in the tooth to be in that category. But I'm sorry to have caused that you to need to explain it to folks repeatedly.        
Funny thing is, last few times i was at a dulcimer festival and a couple other music fests, nobody asked me nothin'.  Go figure.   lol

Henry Martin, Which Side Are You On, Wreck of the C&O, Few Days, Oh! Susanna, Camptown Races, Hard Times Come Again No More, Van Diemen's Land, Red River Valley, Paddy West, The Constitution and the Guerriere, I Don't Want Your Millions Mister, Napoleon Crossing the Rhine, Battle of the Somme, The Last Flight of Amelia Earhart...to name a few.

Hmmm.... O Canada comes to mind...must be tab for that somewhere....

3 of my 4 dulcimers were bought online...Folkcraft, Johnny Pledger, and John Knopf...all great dulcimers! The only way I have to purchase a good-quality dulcimer is online...the closest music stores (about 50 miles away) tend to only sell cheap, foreign-made, mass- produced dulcimers.

It was at Willcutt Guitar shop in Lexington, KY, that I saw the machine.  I figured if they were using it, it must make some sense.  Should have known you would have one, Kristi!

I have not had any problems buying online from eBay sellers.  The items and descriptions were fine, and they all arrived in good shape.

For the most part my Internet buying has been good. I did buy one off eBay where the seller did not disclose that one side had a crack in it, but I was able to fix it without any problem and the price was right. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, I've only had 2 that were unplayable; Kevin Messenger has one of them, but I haven't decided if it's worth a new fretboard.  The other is here at the house as a reminder to "be careful."  I've bought off ebay, goodwill, here, and if it wasn't for a lack of money (since I haven't worked since June) I've seen a couple recently I would have had to try.

The best might have been a John D Tignor, one of his larger, later ones.  The picture was way too dark, but I thought I knew what I was bidding on, and sure enough, I did.

My friend says I have DAS. Dulcimer Acquisition Syndrome.

I am playing two now, have a third that is falling off my fav list and a fourth that has been delegated to the guest room. I would like to find a shorter vsl. In watching goodwill, ebay, this site and others, I sometimes see a piece that catches my eye. 

But not playing said instrument...that's a risk for sure. I'm curious if yall have any tales, tall or not, about buying a dulcimer sight unseen and how it ended up.   

I've seen vibrating machines in guitar shops...kind of reminded me of those exercise belt things you sometimes see in cartoons....

Apparently it is only a myth that nervous people are thin because they shake so much they vibrate off all their fat.  Some sure sing pretty, though!

Lisa, I don't hit the dulcimer clubs and festivals much, but when I do there's usually someone who asks if I'm on FOTMD or ED (yep) and then asks if I'm the Lisa who runs FOTMD (nope).  A couple years back at the festival Folkcraft runs in Indiana, I had to explain several times to Steve Siefert that no, I am not the Lisa looking out the screen door in the userpic!  You are famous!  A rock star among us dulcimer players! 

Nick is shiny midnight black. He was born on June 13, 2013 (which, sadly, was not a Friday).  Our household has three black boycats, which makes us very lucky and confuses visitors.  Our late Beatrice was solid silver gray and beautiful... too bad she hid under the bed.  

This is what I wake up to every morning :)

When people talk "Barbara Allen," this is the tune I think of:

The first verse on this track is from a French manuscript c. 1475.  Then a German manuscript dated 1619, then as published in England in 1859, then a version collected in Tennessee in 1937, then a Georgia hymnal 1855, and a Sacred Harp arrangement collected in 1931 in Virginia.

I've played the English and Tennessee versions and I think the latter sounds much better with drones on MD. Coincidence?  I don't think so!  The English tune starts on Do (3rd fret in Ionian tuning) and never dips below that note.  The TN version starts three frets lower (open fret Ionian) and doesn't go as high.  Maybe this is the difference between Ionian and Hypo-Ionian mode?  Whatever.  I love the idea that someone in the mountains was playing the song on a dulcimore and decided it sounds better this way... leaving future scholars to ponder why.

Everybody should buy this album, by the way.  One of my absolute favorites. 

Cecil Sharp's book of Appalachian ballads collected around 1910 contain many many regional versions of Barbara Allen- more versions in fact than of  any other ballad he and his assistant collected.  The ballad was very popular and the versions can sound very different from each other, even back then.  I'd wager that multiple versions came over here from Europe and were different regionally there as well even before they got here.  We're talking 1600s and 1700s now.

"Every so often I have to explain to people that yes, I  am  a dulcimer-playing Lisa on the internet, but not the one you had in mind "  :) 

Lisa, is that really true?   

I do remember some years back when a new member was applying to join FOTMD and had picked the username "Strumella".   It surprised me, and I felt it would be way too confusing for everyone.  I asked her if she wouldn't mind terribly picking some other name instead, which she graciously did.  Now I can't remember what else she picked or if she's still here.  I felt a little embarrassed at the time because it sounded kinda like I had a big ego, but I really just thought it would lead to people asking her for site help and endlessly getting all confused.   lol

Lisa, is Nick a grey cat or a black one?  -I've sometimes wondered.  Hard to tell from the vintage-y photo.  I have a beautiful grey boy cat named Teddy.   :)

I agree that myth is probably not the best choice of words here. They don't call it 'tone' wood for nothing. I've had subtle but noticeable changes in tone from an instrument as it ages and the wood settles into its new configuration.

Contact member Mark Mathieu, our resident Canadien Errant, who is from Hearst, Ontario, he had a real repertoire of Canadian tunes...