I think I'd treat it as a Bowed Dulcimer -- play it with a bow, upright in your lap like a cello. Ken Bloom is the "Godfather" of the modern Bowed Dulcimer... www.boweddulcimer.com
The old site was not mobile-responsive, so it could be zoomed-in/out all as one picture of each page. Of course that would mean endless scrolling on a smartphone, so not good. Dan, can you maybe post a screenshot here of your menu area taking up half the screen? What hapopens in vertical orientation for you?
Ken, thanks for your take. I don't have much control over the virtual keyboards on people's devices, Im afraid. But glad to know otherwise you are not having a problem.
I'm writing this using my Nook Tab4 in Portrait Mode.
In Landscape Mode the virtual keyboard hides the text area and I can't see what I'm writing. Other than that, no problems zooming in or out or resizing.
my favorite is usually my latest acquisition. But I do like to play the others also - some sound better in different tunings than others so the tune I am playing sometimes decides which gets played. Also I have my 42 year old project dulcimer that I keep messing with that is starting to sound pretty good after the addition of metal tuners from wooden pegs bridge/nut adjustments.
Penn Alps in Grantsville, MD has 2 or 3 hanging in a local mountian craft shop. It in a artisian village with a restaurant. Just off I68 in western Maryland
Kevin, we did stop at Tamarack. Yes, he had a few there too. The sales lady at the Travel Plaza says a man comes by at least once a week to play the dulcimers. She says when he comes to play them they sell.
Another picture of the Jim Good dulcimers along with Psaltries. There were lots of thumb pianos too.
Jim also has them at the Tamarack, near Beckly.
On our trip to West Virginia we stopped at the Travel Plaza off the I64 West Turnpike. What did I see when I went into the gift shop? I saw a couple of Jim Good dulcimers for sale. Is it only in West Virginia that someone can see dulcimers for sale in a travel plaza gift shop? Has anyone seen dulcimers for sale in places other than a music store?
So, my go to is the June Appple Cellomer, It is so unique, Has such a big voice. It doesn't just speak to you, It preaches to you, so smooth, clear, but almost overpowering. Yet it keeps it in check. A great stage instrument, but sounds even better on the back deck in the evening, here in the Rocky Mountains.
'
Everytime I build one I have a new favorite. But I don't usually get to play them long.
My "favorite" seems to change with my mood, have 14 altogether so it gets hard to choose, I guess the go to's would be McSpadden 6 string, ebony fret board. Dan Doty 6 string, Bonnie Carol 4 string ebony fret board, or my newest June Apple Cellomer, really BIG sound.
I own a variety of standard dulcimers,4 string,6string,ginger model,banjo dulcimer etc.
I recently found a used June Apple Dulcimer, it is really oversized, it is 45 inches long, 12 inches wide, 2 1/4 deep.
Would this be considered a bass dulcimer? Or is it not really classified because of the odd size.
It has a great big sound, I have experimented with different tunings and it seems to be very fond of minor tunings, I have it tuned in a really odd tuning right now but it is a great haunting ethereal sound to it, C-G-CC.
Here is a photo of the instrument and the possum board I built for it, anyone else ever played one of these? they seem pretty obscure but really nicely built, came out of a traveling musical instrument museum. (At least that's what the salesman told me) :-)
I find myself picking up my McSpadden all walnut hourglass most of the time.
JohnH- we,re suppose to "tune" them? Who knew .That changes everything! 
My GoTo dulcimer for Open Mic nights is my Bobby Ratliff Hogfiddle tuned Bagpipe B -- Bbb, which suits my voice better than C or D. It's fitted with a stick-on pick up.
My GoTo for un-amplified playing is my John Knopf Thomas replica with its new 1/2" thick balsawood Possum Board. The dulcimer has 3 feet so the possum board is just a flat plank, and the balsa is super light!
The one that might be in tune, lol !
JohnH
As you can see in my avitar my 2 treasured dulcimers in which I go in between to play sometimes I choose one for a certain song, sometimes it is the one I want to play.
Both are fabulous to play and I love it!
... siiiiiiiigh ... yeah ... I know ... still sometimes think abortion should be an option into the 27th tri-mester ..............
Oh, I've been tempted.
... maybe ... except th' hang 'em on th' wall part .........................
Isn’t that a bit like having a favorite child?
Many of us have more than one. If you do, do you enjoy playing one more than the others? It seems that I take this one down off the wall more often than any of the others.
Do you have particular reasons for your favored dulcimer?
A 1.5" wide fingerboard set up with three equaldistant strings should be more than enough. You don't need four strings. When I got my fiddle I was shocked because the 4 strings are only 9/16" appart at the nut and .75 at the octave. Where there is a will there is a way... Robert
Here's the article I wrote back in 2006 about getting started playing in the Noter & Drone style -- techniques, types of noters, and much more...
The width of a fretboard is not a critical dimension for 99.99% of players, where VSL and body dimensions are of major importance to the sound of an instrument.
Most commercial (McSpadden, Folkcraft, Blue Lion) fretboards these days are 1.5" wide or 1.25" wide. That's pretty standard for most custom builder too, unless you ask.
If you have a custom dulcimer built by someone like Harpmaker Dave Lynch or any of the other custom builders here, you can specify how wide you want the fretboard.
The fretboards on my traditional dulcimers are considerably narrower than 1.25"; but then, I play Noter & Drone style and don't need huge spaces between strings.
I recently purchased a McSpadden M8 and was surprised at how narrow the fretboard was. I wear men’s 2XL gloves.
Except for Blue Lion, I found no dimensions listed for width of fingerboards. Most were centered around the VSL and body dimensions.
Can anyone suggest models/makes with more “roomy” fretboards?
Like Travis, I learned melody first on MD and chords on uke and guitar. True story: some years ago when I had just figured out how to chord on MD, I was jaming with a uke-playing friend. I was frantically grasping at the chords (would have helped if I knew the song better). We finished singing the first verse and chorus and I thought thank goodness, now I can take the instrumental break and I started playing melody which was so much easier. And my friend said, "oh that's right, unlike me you really know how to play!" The easy beginner stuff for me was the hard stuff for him, and vice versa.
I take this as proof that we're all meant to play together.
I don't necessarily have an opinion about whether one should learn melody or chords first, but I can corroborate Travis's assumption that most guitar teachers start with chords. I think the reason is simply that with a few chords one can quickly accompany one's singing. It is also the case that most single note work on the guitar is built out of left-hand chord positions (I am not joking that it took me 15-20 years of playing to figure that out, but I am almost entirely self-taught).
I certainly wish you the best, but I do agree that a guitar player who is not familiar with the dulcimer may not be the best teacher. You might consider Skype lessons from a dulcimer teacher. Just the fact that you are asking about rare chords makes me think your teacher may not really "get" a diatonic fretboard.
Yep -- that listing says Actual Weight = 10 pounds, Shipping Weight = 70 pounds!
Thanks Robert and Ken - I am checking out my options now to see if I should make or buy one!
Melody, melody, melody. If you don't have the melody correct there is no need to add chords. Were I to teach a beginner on either guitar or dulcimer scales would be the 1st thing I'd cover. I know a fellow here in WV who carries 7 Jim Good dulcimers in a cabinet tuned in 7 different keys. I agree with Travis, you have to approach them differently.
Angela-- No dulcimer tuning really has a wide range. That's part of it being a dulcimer, not a guitar -- it is not chromatic. If you want to play a lot of minor chord music, you might be best off having two dulcimers -- one tuned in a minor tuning like DAG or DAC; the other tuned in a major tuning like DAA or DAd. Otherwise re-tuning is your best option. Usually you only have to re-tune the melody string....
This is a lovely possum board indeed, and really suits Robert's dulcimers. It did not fit any others I have, so guess you'd have to send him the right measurements.
Thanks everyone for your comments. I build and sell mountain dulcimers and thought it would be nice to offer a possum board to fit my instruments. I mostly play off a table top and use the possum board to keep the dulcimer off the table. Makes a fancy way to display them as well. I used to use scrap wood sticks to support the dulcimer but a possum board looks and sounds much better.
It generally does not slip around on my lap. On my newer models I added two holes to attach a strap. I play up to the last fret so I need a board that can be shifted left and right real fast. Gale, I would be happy to make one for you, I charge $35.00 plus shipping. But Kens point about building your own is a good idea if you got the time... Robert.
Sitting a lot may cause poor circulation and weight gain. Hence the standing or treadmill desk craze. I sit at my desk all day at work, so I find I just need to stand sometimes.
Why is standing better for your health?
Last night while playing on the screened porch table and competing with the cicadas for sound, I discovered that two coasters turned upside down (cork up) worked pretty well as a way to increase the volume, and protect the back of my dulcimer. That is if you like to play while standing, which is better for your health. You can stack several coasters to see if you like the sound better. They don’t slide because of the cork backing. If you still want to make a possum board, this will help you decide how high you want your dulcimer to rest on the board. That said, that’s a beautiful board Robert, and I wouldn’t turn it down. You can only stand for so long.
How do you keep it from sliding off your lap?
Get Noterized.pdf - 82KB
