To reply to Folkfan's question, I came to this music before getting a dulcimer. As a young person I was involved in a weekly square dance group. I want to learn more about the music which led to an interest in folk music in general. It was wanting to play dance music that I became involved in playing guitar, then banjo and eventually the mountain dulcimer.
This has been an interesting discussion and I have to say that it has gotten me thinking. As I've said in the past, I'm a hobbyist when it comes to playing the dulcimer and I don't jam, so I can't add much to the discussion as to why fiddle tunes are so important in the general music that is played on the dulcimer. Having been to a number of festivals, and heard many a jam, I can agree that they do seem to be a large part of the the jam repertorie along with hymns such as I'll Fly Away, and Will the Circle Be Unbroken.
I'm sort of interested in questioning as to how many people came to be playing this music before or after getting a dulcimer? Do they play it because they truly love it as Robin does, or play it because it seems to be the only way to participate in clubs and jams, or are there others (like me) who simply don't bother trying to learn the music since there are so many other songs and so little time to learn????? Recently, these are the sort of questions that have been popping into my head as I've been reading this thread and others.
Thanks Stephen and every one else for your comments.
I think that I have slightly miss-represented myself in my earlier posts. I would far prefer to play old fiddle tunes knee to knee with you Stephen than play the Beatles!!! I am just really interested why these tunes have found such longevity with the dulcimer. When I sit down to play banjo, mandolin, guitar or dulcimer, as I did yesterday, it is the old fiddle tunes that I'm drawn to.
I think that your insight Stephen into the fact that these type of old tunes are melody centered probably has a lot to do with their popularity among dulcmr players. In fact, that was just the sort of insight I was searching for when I asked my original question.
The 'play TUNES or PLAY tunes' allegory is actually a little in balance for me. In many contexts the tunes themselves are as important (play TUNES) as the playing (PLAY tunes). And itwas the Appalachian fiddletunes themselves that drew me to the dulcimer; in that I discovered old time fiddle tunes BEFORE I discovered the dulcimer. So in my case it was the tunes that led me to the instrument rather than the instrument's teaching materialleading me to the tunes. A lot of the sessions I attend are TUNE centered - for example they will be billed as an 'old time' session of 'Welsh tune session' etc so there is an expectation that not 'everything goes'. The TUNES are the focus and the hub of the wheel around which the players dance. The love of the tunes and the love of playing are intertwined, and it does matter WHAT you play as much as HOW you play it. There is a social context and connectivity, a tribe, that gels the participants. The Beatles or Aerosmith are not played at a Welsh tune session or old time sessionbecause in that context and moment in time it is notthe tribe'smusic. In some respects I think that there is an element of this tribalism amongst us dulcimer players regarding our repertoir. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all - it is just something we should notice about ourselves.
I enjoy playing a variety of music on the dulcimer but always return to Appalachian tunes and also folk tunes from other countries that have a 'fit' to the instrument. I love the tunes possibly more than I love the dulcimer, in that I will sit down and pick out the tunes on pretty much whatever instrument I have in my hands at the time. What I love about the dulcimer, particularly old style noter drone playing, is that it plays the tunes so well- with just the perfect timbre and feel I love to hear.
So thank you again for your insights. I felt it was a question worth posing just to generate a debate on why the Appalachian repertoir is still so interlinked with the instrument despite playing styles and players exposure to different music genera having moved on so far since the 1960s. It is good to think these fundamental issues through once in a while 
A big part of it is the books & tabs available tend to use public domain tunes. Copyright issues are not going away, so we have to live with that. When True Colors becomes public domain, it will be as outdated as Old Joe Clark is now. Another issue tied to this is limited sales. A lot of younger people may want guitar tabs for Cold Play songs, but there are way more young guitarists than young dulcimer players. Look around at dulcimer workshops, and see how the demographic shakes out. When I was in my 50's, I was still one of the younger people at dulcimer festivals. I'm not in my 50's any more, but how many teens and 20's do we see at dulcimer festivals? A publisher looks at how many copies they can reasonably expect to sell, and decides what books to put money into. If they see that certain books sell, and others don't, they look for more similar to the ones that sold well. If much of what sold was public domain, the publisher is going with more of the same. That's how the whole music biz works. That's why so many dulcimer recordings and books are self-published. But there still needs to be enough profit to make it worth while for the author. I don't write books, maybe someone who does can chime in here. I don't see myself spending my limited time listening to, and learning to play, songs I don't care for. Not for the purpose of writing a book, paying royalties, and hoping someone buys enough copies to allow me to make a profit. Life is too short to learn music I don't like, I don't have enough time to learn all the songs I do like.
Couple this with the twists & turns so much popular music uses.Going from one song to the next could easily require a new tuning. The club I was in refused to try new tunings. This is the main reason Old Time and Bluegrass jams are usually separate. We OT banjo players use multiple tunings, and tend to stay away from chord based playing. We stay in one key for a while, then agree on a new key for the next batch of songs. Bluegrass banjo players play chord-based music almost always using the G tuning, even when the key is C, D, or A, Bb, etc. They think nothing of changing keys at the drop of a hat, and the OT banjo player who tries to keep up is tuning while the other musicians are playing.
I tend to stay up late at festivals, because after the jams get somewhat sparse, those who like to sing do some really wonderful things. You can't sing over 24 dulcimers, 6 banjos, 4 mandolins and 11 guitars at a jam. But when a certain amount of the people have gone to bed, great fun is had by the half dozen who are still awake. That's when those other songs start to come out. I'll sit out the heavy metal dulcimer songs, the heavy metal guy will probably sit out my Hawaiian songs. We may all sit out the songs we don't know, and allow one or two players to entertain us with Mozart, or Cole Porter. If I think I can fill in some chords, I may try. If I think I'm messing it up, I will probably drop out and listen.
For the purpose of Stephens lessons, I think the basics are in order. For advanced lessons, branching out could be good, but royalties and demand are going to dictate to at least some extent. That certainly doesn't stop us from exploring other music on our own. As I see it, the ultimate goal of a teacher is obsolescence. The teacher should strive for the day the student can take over teaching themselves what they want to learn. A good foundation in the basics is crucial for this to happen.
Paul
I think you answered your own post with this paragraph:
So, why these tunes? I do think they fit really well on the instrument. In the long run, they're easier to transmit and execute than some other types. They're also great for traditional dancing and what it requires. The notes are just enough to keep folks busy and happy. The feel is just right.
They just are the "right type" of songs that fit I guess. Everyone seems to know a lot of them and it's just easier to go to them in a jam. IMHO
Stephen, interesting observations. I came to the dulcimer after years of playing country/folk/blues/jazz/classical guitar. I can't limit myself to any one genre of music either. I also had no other dulcimer players to influence me, except on recordings. Until 2011, I had taken one afternoon workshop with Leo Kretzner in 1989 (I think.) I wasn't interested in playing a lot of the things I heard on the available recordings. I changed tunings a lot and figured things out by ear to play what felt "right" to me. No one said, "you have to play in [pick a tuning]" or "you have to play [insert overplayed jam tune here.]" So now I've come to WV and am associating with other dulcimer players and jamming with them instead of just being a solo artist. 'Til recently, the dulcimer came out around St Paddy's Day for coffeehouse gigs and back in the back for another year. I didn't know many of the common "jam" tunes. I'm learning them and having a blast doing it. Sure it's sometimes the same tunes every jam, but that's ok, I need the repetition to learn 'em. Sure, I want to call out "59th Street Bridge Song," but I don't. Come on to WV and I'll cook up a big bowl of grits and make some red-eye gravy and if we can move afterward maybe we can find something we can pick around on as well.
On a more serious note, sorry to have missed you at Laura Elder's Spring Fling in Lancaster OH. Just couldn't make it. Hope you'll be close again!
Starting a new thread as was recommended: (The original discussion centered on 8 jam along videos .)
Robin Clark wrote:
"What intrigues me is why the dulcimer teaching repertoire is so regularly centred around old Appalachian tunes when there is such a wealth of contemporary music that would equally suit a contemporary dulcimer jam?"
and then,
"Wouldn't it be better to do tunes like this for Join the Jam on the contemporary mountain dulcimer, asthey arelikely to come up at a campfire jam?"
and,
"Shouldn't'True Colors'be an absolute contemporary dulcimer players 'standard' rather than 'Old Joe Clark'?"
First off, I haven't been able to dedicate myself to one kind of music. What works for me personally is focusing on a style, genre, or musician for 1 to 3 months at a time. I go through cycles. The holidays of November and December get me on Irish. When I'm stressed, I turn to jazz. Throughout the year, I pass through bluegrass, blues, electronic dance music, old-time, rock and roll, Indian, and others.
What I play in a Jam depends on the "campfire" and who's around it. I'm up for anything, but the jams I'm usually in include a bunch of dulcimer players who's shared body of knowledge and experience is, much more often than not, centered around pre-bluegrass Southern rural fiddle tunes or anything that's even a little like them.
When I get together with folks, I'm just not real focused on what style we're going to play. I'mobsessed, actually, with HOW we're playing. If I sit down knee to knee with another dulcimer player, I'm not there to play TUNES . I'm there to PLAY tunes. I'm looking for good vibes, clear communication, and creative risk-taking. It's really about community for me. The tunes are the vehicle for the expression. They're not the end goal.
So, why these tunes? I do think they fit really well on the instrument. In the long run, they're easier to transmit and execute than some other types. They're also great for traditional dancing and what it requires. The notes are just enough to keep folks busy and happy. The feel is just right.
A lot of music from the last 60 years has been more groove oriented as opposed to melodic. Take "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith, for example. It's one of my favorite songs but it's just too much about the rhythm to be the kind of material melodic jammers can embrace AS A WHOLE. There are exceptions.
Strongly melodic pop tunes over the last 100 years are often not rhythmically busy enough to work as dance music. I can play "Begin the Beguine" on the dulcimer but there's a certain density of notes that just doesn't fit the bill.
I'm not saying "Walk This Way" and "Begin the Beguine" aren't appropriate for the dulcimer or for a dulcimer jam. I AM saying they're less likely to show up because of the type of rhythm and melody they depend on. There won't likely be enough people who are prepared to play that kind of music.
Traditional type jamming tunes have certain features in common that lead to success with what we're going for. Consider tunes from the following traditions: Shetland, French hurdy gurdy, Irish pipes, German polkas, African singing and drumming, etc. In most cases, it's enough of the right stuff to keep it interesting and accessible and not too much of something else to ruin the communication and community. We're not talking about specialized show music; we're talking about group play along material that welcomes a wide range of abilities and levels of involvement.
There's also the fact, for me, that I had relatives who played Southern rural music. I also had relatives who came from the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky. The old-time melodies we play makes me remember folks I knew as well as folks I never got to know. I'm sure I look fondly back on agrarian ways. I have a heart for the pioneering type and it's centered around the rural and rocky parts of what's considered the South. (Yes, I was born in Cincinnati but I love grits and red-eye gravy so back off!)I even blame Hee-Haw which I grew up with and loved.
Why are we playing old-time even though we're not playing old-time with folks at old-time festivals? Part of the reason is we have become our own thing. We play dulcimer music. Through time, we've found the right kind of material to keep us together long enough to laugh and enjoy the eating. These tunes fit the bill. You also have to realize our versions of these old-time tunes have been somewhat simplified to accommodate the limitations of our instrument. Our versions don't always mesh. (Also, quite often, as a whole, we're not as mature musically as the folks we want to sit in with. I know there are exceptions and I find them exciting and inspiring.)
Basically, I just want to get together with some friends and trance out to whatever kind of music will work. I didn't know any of these tunes when I started. I just wanted to join the jam. I was looking for friendship and a common goal. These Southern American tunes we favor fit the bill pretty well.I really don't care what we're playing as long as we can do it well together and feel good about it as and after it happens.
There ARE different kinds of jams. At Dulcimerville in Black Mountain, NC, you'll find all kinds of jams at night. You've got the Don Pedi old-time crowd. There's the standard dulcimer fiddle tune jam. You've got the bunch who likes to sing. There's a doo-wop jam. There's the away-from-the-dorms building where all the electric players are plugging in. There's all KINDS of jams to suit your interests but when we all get together in one big room, you're going to hear the common repertoire.
One last thing. You can't get around the copyright issues. For me to publish a book of modern tunes legally is one thing and it's possible. John Sackenheim and Tull Glazener have pulled it off, just to name a couple. Putting out a package that includes a book, a CD, and DVD video is a whole other level of complexity. I've gone to a couple attorneys about this in Nashville. One department handles print publishing. Another handles video. Since your audio CD has 15 versions of the same tune, you sure don't want to go through Harry Fox or you'll be paying 15 times the statutory rate. It's all got to be magnificently coordinated. Add digital distribution to the mix including custom websites and it's enough to make you want to stick with public domain. I sincerely hope things change in the next few years and I suspect they will. (Please someone tell me things have changed. I'd love to hear all about it in another forum or privately.)
That's enough rambling. Back to jamming. Robin, when you and I get together knee to knee, let's play some Beatles tunes. I'm all for it.
First try pushing the pegs into the holes more tightly. If this doesn't work, someone familiar with violin and related instruments can look at them and advise you on the peg dopes. There are 2 kinds of peg chemicals, one to help them move, and one to help them stay still. I don't know enough to know the product names, but ask for the one that "makes violin pegs stay still." If the pegs need replacing, the tools for fitting them to the instrument are a necessity. This means take it to someone who works on instruments of the violin family. Some guitar shops may have these tools, but not all will.
Paul
Any decent music shop will supply Peg dope also called peg paste, peg stick, peg compound
Used by the fiddle fraternity for a century tuning pegs that are well fitted and properly doped will both turn smoothly and hold firmly
If your pegs are out of round grooved on the bearing etc Peg Dope will not be effective and you will need new pegs and a tapered ream to true the holes.
Good luck!
PS the old method was using talc and soap but avoid rosin incase it glues the pegs
Definately not a commercial instrument, although the builder was probably an experienced woodworker. it doesn't look like a first attempt. Older, probably, since it does not have a 6+ fret -- may date back to the 1960s or 70s. Whoever built it made the tuning peg holes too big, and too much of the shaft extends through the far side.
As Carrie said, look though the soundholes for any writing or a label.
It's no surprise to me that Bobby makes such a remarkable instrument. Coming from you, Ken, this is high praise indeed.
Just 15 minutes ago I unpacked the Sow model that Bobby Ratliff made for me, and I just had to force myself to make an initial report.
If you love traditional Noter & Drone style playing and sound, you REALLY want one of these! Shallow sides, narrow teardrop bout, mine is made from Holly wood, Butternut and Walnut. Light weight but solid feeling. His special finish is fabulous. Pictures were posted by Bobby last week.
This thing SINGS! Huge volume and high silvery soundfor such a small body. The narrow fretboard takes a minute or two to get accustomed to, but Bobby's string arangement makes it simple. There's the single Melody string, a wide-ish gap, and then what looks likea typical Melody couplet... but on the far side.The coupletis made up of the middle drone and the unwound bass string. Bobby set mine up for Gdd or Ggg tunings. Nice significantly large staple frets with a full width 3rd fret to facilitate tuning to 1-5-5. The full inch high fretboard makes keeping the instrument on your lap a snap with an occasionalin-flick of your right hand.
Ya done good, my friend. Many thanks!
Playing video will come soon, but don't hold your breath.
When I was waiting for my Autoharp to be made I kept having dreams that something like an autoharp would arrive on my doorstep complete with instruction book. Never an autoharp, but in my dream I could play it perfectly. Thanks for putting the uke/guitar hybrid into my brain, I wonder what my dreams will do with that little bit of info?
musicoutreach said:
Enjoy your uke! I recently purchased a Yamaha Guitalele - its a hybrid instrument that's a cross between a small classical guitar and a tenor ukulele. It has 6 nylon strings and I have it tuned in standard guitar tuning. The scale length is much more comfortable for me than a standard guitar and it gives me 2 extra strings which my baritone uke doesn't have. Another "odd" instrument for you to consider!!
Susanne
Congrats on the new instrument, Beth. I bought a Mahalo uke for my daughter for her birthday. It's painted pink!
I went into the store looking for a stick-on type of pick up for my dulcimer and walked out with a Mahalo Soprano Ukulele! I did not need another instrument, but she's totally won my heart and a whole new world of happy times are before me. If only I wasn't 20 year to retirement...when will I have time?! I already play the mountaindulcimer, autoharp, and Finnish kantele. I'm officially a collector of odd instruments.I've done well keeping it to Zithers, but this little thing was too cute not to take home.
Strings will break going up or down. It's possible a slight kink developed somehow.
Not to be picky, but are you sure the string was vibrating when you turned the tuner knob? I've seen so many people break a string because they thought the tuner they were turning was the right one (NOT) and/or the direction they were going was the right one (NOT).
I recommend tuning only a string that is vibrating so that as you turn the knob a quarter turn you hear the tone change (regardless of what an electronic tuner might say). If the tone doesn't change, STOP as you're turning the wrong knob...
Answer to your basic question is that a .012 string will work for your VSL and what you want to do. Like Robin I make those changes all the time and seldom break a string (although it does happen).
Hi Jeff,
Yes - I've had strings break tuning down. If they are old and have been in one tuning for a while then there can be a weakness at the tuning peg. Mind you I've broken strings, old and new, either simply through lots of re-tuning causing weakness (I use lots of different tunings) or because of another factor such as a burr on the tuning post. If your strings consistanly break then I would look for a specific cause - but if they justoccasionally break then that's just what strings do!!!!
You can do whatever you'd like. I would like to answer YES, use 12 gauge strings, because for most VSLs above 24", .012 strings will work just fine, ut a whole bunch of people will come along and tell you something else anyway.
The most correct answer depends on the VSL of your instrument and the note you want to tune a given string to. So measure your VSL (the distance between the inside of the Nut and the inside of the Bridge). Then plug tha number in the String calculator at www.strothers.com . You must use the lower case d, not D to specify the melody string octave higher D. The Strothers' calculator is notoriously "light" in its recommendations, but certainly gives you usable answers.
No problem Mal; that's why we're here -- to help each other flounder around The "scale length" measurement Paul is saying to make is also called the VSL (for Vibrating String Length). It always helps to know what that is for each of your instruments, because it will help you get the strings you want/need.
The .010 string will reach the same pitch as the.012 string at a lower tension. The .012 may be a bit stiff for D, depending on the scale length of your instrument. This is where the calculator Ken mentioned helps. Since we don't know the different dimensions of every instrument, we tend to check string gauges when we change tunings or instruments. Measure the scale length of your strum stick, from the nut to the bridge. A ruler or tape measure id fine, you don't need to be within 1/1000" of an inch. Within 1/8" is fine, then convert it to a decimal for the calculator. For the strings you have on it now, try tuning to DAA, or CGC The high C string will be noticeably tighter, but we tend to live with that when using multiple tunings on our instruments. If it seems too hard to play at that tension, use the string calculator to find a suggested string gauge to replace that one. Keep a record of what you put on it, so you can buy spare strings. They go dead before they break, in my experience, though sometimes they break before I replace them.
Paul
Mal - you need to have appropriate gauge strings for the VSL and the notes you want to tune the strings to. A given set of strings will only go so high before they break or so low before they flop. That 12 gauge string tuned up to G4 might be on the edge of breaking, depending on your VSL.
Use a String Calculator such as the one here: http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.htm You plug in the VSL and the note you want to tune a particular string to -- A, a, D, d, C, c etc. and high calculate.
In general though, I think dulcimer and other steel strung instruments are under higher tension than nylon/gut uke strings. As the creator says " The calculations are based on a string tension of 13.8 pounds-force and a string density value of 0.283 pounds-mass per cubic inch. Not many of us are using nylon or cat gut so the density for steel is OK.
Mal, I have one of those as well. With those string gauges, I highly suggest staying away from G and F using the 1-5-8 tunings. D or C should work just fine for you.
Recorded arrangements will follow the chord changes theoretically, but not always in identical fashion. The player you hear on a recording way use partial chords,for some or all of the song. If they are playing on a guitar, as Simon does, he has more strings available, which means he may have some notes duplicated in a different octave than your dulcimer can provide. There are also other instruments playing along on most S&G recordings. All this conspires to make your solo version sound different than the recording. Simon also finger picked a lot of songs, and sometimes used altered chords. He may have changed the key to suit his or Art's vocal range, as well. When I bought the first S&G song book in 1966, I had been playing guitar for all of 1 week. Several songs were in very unfriendly keys, such as Bb and Eb. These were a real problem, and I later found that to be common in published songs. Some composers "kept it all in their heads," and an arranger sat and listened to the recording, learned the song, and put it on paper so it could be published. But this arranger often worked it out on piano, in keys most folk guitarists tried to avoid. If you are using the chords as listed on sheet music for the song you are playing, you can keep on as you are. We can't always get a dulcimer to sound like a guitar, but we don't always want to, either. As Ken suggested, give us more details about the song, and we can try to make a better response. If you are playing along with a guitar, piano, etc, you need to match keys and chords pretty closely.
Paul
Dusty has given you The Right Stuff, Rachel. The dulcimer was never intended to be a chord playing instrument, but people do play that way. If you feel you must play chords, there are two sort of basic techniques used -- Accompaniment Chords, and Chord-Melody.
Accompaniment Chords are usually only one chord per measure of the song, with you singing the melody around that chord. This is like the guitarist who can only play 3 chords but claims that he can knows 500 songs!
Chord-Melody is where one chord is played for each note of the melody. This is a very common modern way to play the dulcimer.
In the traditional ways to play - Noter & Drone or Melody-Drone -- you play the melody on the Melody string(s) closest to you while the others just humm along. That too is a chord (3 notes sounded together), that some of us call a Drone Chord where two notes (the drones) stay the same in each chord.
As a beginner it is often simplest to start picking out melodies on the Melody string and adding Drone Chords as you get more confident with the melody.
Tell us which S&G song you're trying to learn, and we can probably help you better. Not every tuning has every note you may need for a particular song, and you may need to re-tune. Scarborough Fair, for example is best played in a Dorian or Aeolian modal tuning not the Mixolydian modal tuning you are using ( which does not have all the notes needed for that song).
Rachel, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "interchangeable," but a chord is a chord regardless of the instrument.TheC major chord, for example,is comprised of the notes C, E, and G. If you play those notes at the same time you are playing a C chord. It doesn't matter what instrument you are playing. Similarly, G major involves the notes G, B, and D. D involves the notes D, F# and A.
Remember that the chords only provide the harmonic structure of the tune and do not sound like the melody. If all you do is play the chords, it may be hard to hear what song you are playing. Only a few--like "The 59th StreetBridge Song (Feeling Groovy)"--will be easily identifiable.
Why not start with a simple, two-chord song? Play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" with the chords D (002) and A (101). Strum the chords while you sing (or whistle, or hum, or whatever). For the first line, strum your D chord. For second line, strum the A chord. For the third line go back to the D chord. And for the fourth lineplay the A chord until the end when you resolve to the D again. The first line of the melody is the note you make when you play the melody string on the second fret. Try playing those chords and singing. Do the chords seem to accompany the melody correctly?
Stephen Seifert's chord chart is an excellent chord chart, but you might not be ready to use it on its own if you are just beginning to play chords. Instead you need to gain practice fretting and strumming chords and understanding the role of chords in music. Once you learn that, then you can use Stephen's chart as a resource to learn how to play chords all over the fretboard and how to play some more complicated chords.
One way of playing the dulcimer is indeed to strum chords as backup to the melody or lead being sung or played by another instrument. But many of us who play chords do so in what is called a chord/melody style in which we combine chording with playing the melody. In that style of play, the melody is more easily identifiable than it is if you just strum chords as backup. Another style--in fact the traditional style--of dulcimer is a drone style in which the melody is played (either with fingers or a noter) on the melody string and the other two strings are allowed to ring out (drone). In that style of play as well, the melody is easily identified.
But if you are just strumming chords, you will likely not hear the melody from your strumming alone. That is why I suggest you hum or sing or whistle the melody and play the chords as backup.
I'd go with making a scroll or flat peg head an option. Another option would be to have some sort of geared tuner available.
Personally I prefer a flat peg head with guitar type tuners (2 to a side) over a closed bottom scroll with any type of tuner. Since my hands haven't aged well, I just can't handle the wooden pegs at all. Even the zither pin type tuners I have on a couple of instruments are almost impossible to accurately tune any more.
Leaving your options open gives you a wider customer base.
You're very welcome Robert. I believe elderly carries them. I got mine from a small private seller(can't remember the name now) but they took forever to get them. Good luck. BTW, do have a website that shows your dulcimers?
Ah, ha! Thanks Scott. I saw these tuning pegsonce and I wondered where I could find them. You lead me to them. I'm going to look into getting some.
I'm late into this topic but wanted to add my 2 cents. I love the traditional look of a scroll head but hate to see guitar style tuners sticking up on them. Just looks weird to me. I'd rather see the banjo style planetary tuners but I do like the traditional wood tuners. Anothercompany who makes wood look tuners but with modern gears is www.pegheds.com . I have a pair on an old ukulele and they work great.
Sor Robert - what are you waiting for? Get building!
Paul - that's why I think scroll head makers should open up the bottom of the scroll. Hate that needlenose plier stuff! Mine that have open bottoms are as fast and easy to change strings on as any flathead.
I've had some scroll pegheadsfor some time andIwanted to use them, cherry, walnut, sycamore and mahogany. I want to make those dulcimers with the sides and fingerboards from the same wood.
Offer it as an option. Some players prefer the traditional look, and many of them may want traditional carved wooden violin pegs as well. Others won't care how much is modernized. After they request several non traditional features it stops making a difference. Personally, it takes me almost as long to put 4 strings on my scroll peg head dulcimer as to put 12 on my 12 string guitar. Working inside that tiny peg box is a pain, even using needle nose pliers. But a choice will cover a lot more folks preferences for you.
Paul
