Forum Activity for @buzz

Hello everyone,

 First off I am a newby to this forum and dulcimers and if I am doing this post wrong please let me know. I ran across my first dulcimer at a thrift store and was amazed by the instrument as I have been playing guitar for many years and even played violin back in school for a few years. Anyway the dulcimer I was lucky to find is an hourglass 38 inch 4 string made by North Country Dulcimers built in 1985 according to the tag inside. My problem is that it is missing the bridge..It is a beautiful instrument and I really can't wait to give it a try. My question is where would I find a bridge and where the placement of the bridge should go. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Buzz

Does anyone know what happened to the dulcimer program at Vanderbilt?

Hey @fharlm, I would think a Fluke would be a great beginner ukulele.  They are made with a composite body, which keeps the cost down and also makes them almost indestructible.  The wood top ensures good tonality.  And they are made with excellent intonation.  There are lots of cheap ukuleles out there, but a lot of them are unplayable.  The Fluke is reliable.  And hey, you don't need a stand since it can stand up on its own!

Although they cost a little more, I prefer the models with wood fretboards.  The sound is noticeably warmer than those with the polycarbonate fretboard.

Even if you continue playing and eventually want a fancier, solid wood instrument, the Fluke makes a great travel instrument-- something you can be comfortable taking camping, for example--so it will always have a use.

Do you recommend Fluke to beginners like me? I don't post much, but I read a lot on this forum. I am asking now because there are many options and I am confused.
for starting the process to make a UKULELE selection for purchase. I wouldn't want my wife to buy something that won't
even stay in tune long enough to get satisfactory learning from. Four-string is what I expect
makes the most sense. 

Crosspicking is a specific type of flatpicking.

Flatpicking is merely the technique of playing runs of single notes using a flatpick.  (Technically we also strum with a flatpick, but usually flatpicking is seen as an alternative to strumming.)

Crosspicking involves the use of flatpicking patterns across several strings.  Check out this demonstration of Molly Tuttle crosspicking "Wildwood Flower."   You can see that by imposing her picking pattern across several strings, she adds rhythmic complexity while not only carrying the melody, but also offering harmony (chords) as well, without strumming at all.

If you are just starting out, you will want to master the basic back-and-forth picking of flatpicking before getting into the more complex rhythmic patterns of crosspicking.  If you search these terms on the internet, you'll find lots of stuff for guitarists, a little for mandolin players, and almost nothing for dulcimer players.  Among dulcimer players, the most prolific at both would be Aaron O'Rourke and Gary Gallier.  Stephen Seifert is clearly capable of the technique as well, as is Erin Mae, but they tend to strum a lot more than is usually included in crosspicking.

Edit: In that Molly Tuttle video, she doesn't play the song until 12:52.  She begins teaching it at 7:48.  The first 7+ minutes is her explaining the crosspicking pattern she uses.

Is there a difference between cross picking and flat picking? If so what is the difference and when would you use one over the other? 

Susie Thank you so much .  I am looking forward to getting better on getting better on my playing mountain dulcimer 

There's a group of us here with interest in Native American Flutes. You fit right in with your growing collection of them, along with your growing collection of dulcimers.

I own 3 guitars one which I got as a gift in 1978 made by Eagle and two Taylor’s.  I am learning Native American Flute…..I have too many to count.  I have a McNally Stick, Djembe. I was given a mountain dulcimer for a my birthday and I bought another mountain dulcimer while on vacation .  I am not sure if I have enough mountain dulcimers.  Lol 😆 Along with miscellaneous musical instruments 

Thank you so much! You are blessed as well to have your grandpa’s fiddle…Wow! Awesome! There is nothing more special thank to have these family heirlooms! 

Lol…Bob has many special guitars, but he has one that he loves the best! He thinks it is the perfect guitar to accompany the dulcimer and I agree… he is one with this guitar! He loves his other guitars, but he is connected to his Taylor! ❤️🎶😁

Wow Kendra, thank you for sharing. Impressive, to have have so many heirloom instruments. I have one.....my grandpa's fiddle, that he got when he was 16 (1914). I also wondered about Bob's guitar stable. I was up to 7 at one point, but have thinned the herd to 4. Bob needs to catch up to your collection, haha.

Hello, my most precious dulcimer is my Grandmother’s dulcimer, made in 1894. My second most precious dulcimer is one made by my dad in 1925, when he was 16 years old. My third most precious dulcimer is a courting dulcimer that my dad made in 1975 to play with my mom. (My husband and I still play it all the time) I grew up playing the dulcimer, so I have many dulcimers…probably 60 or more. Every one of these instruments have a story and almost every one of them are regularly played. 

As far as other instruments, I have many family heirloom instruments because most my family were all musicians. I have several banjos, including my grandmother’s and my uncle’s. I have several fiddles including those that my dad played and other family members. I have my mom’s accordion. I have my grandmother’s pump organ.

Other instruments include my upright bass that I purchased when I was in high school. I also have two pianos, several autoharps, several bowed psalterys, various band instruments that I played including flute and clarinet, ukes, misc. rhythm instruments, misc. instruments in general, and more.

Now, let me tell you about the guitars my husband has…he has 14+! Some are one of a kind and some are from my family! 

I am blessed! 

Interesting solution, although I usually stab myself on the other end when using homemade loop end strings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Nothing wrong with that....it's all about having fun and making it your own. You may even start a trend in the dulcimer community.

I didn't think of your simple solutions. I think the beads are pretty. Maybe I'll get some rainbow beads and really dress up my headstock! 💐

I bend them back like Strumelia and make sure the cut end is inside the tuner hole.

Cute idea. I cut my string ends to about 1/8-1/4" which keeps them out of harms way. But, with  (currently) 4 guitars, 7 dulcimers, and 3 other stringed instruments, I have had my share of string pokes while changing strings (since I started playing 49 years ago). 

That's pretty cute Sheryl! Clever.

I usually take a small needle nose pliers and bend the very ends right back on themselves like a little loop.

What a good idea

Kept stabbing my fingers on the ends of my strings. Glued beads on the ends. No more pokes.

 IMG_20220828_104003~2.jpg - 70KB

Yes, you can. I think the gauges (from melody to bass) would be 0,012, 0.016, and 0.025. If those are a light, you can go up to 0.014, 0.018, and 0.026, 0.027, or 0.028.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Can I change strings to make it into a baritone mountain dulcimer.  I am just curious because I love the sound of it 

You can tune a dulcimer any way you want to. DAd or DAdd happens to be the most popular tuning at the moment.  In the groups I play with we also play in DAA, DAC, DAG, EAA, CGG. and a few others. I play mostly three string dulcimer hence the references. If you play with 4 equidistant strings you have many other tuning possibilities. One caution is that you may need to change string gauges to reach some tunings. You'll know if you start breaking strings that you'll need another gauge.

Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Then I have a question.  The person I bought the mountain dulcimer from says the tuning is Dadd.  On acoustic guitar you can change the tuning.  I am wondering on a dulcimer if you can change the tuning or if you have to leave it with the tuning it came with?

If the tuning is A2E3A3 [lower than DAd] or similar it's a baritone. The physical dimensions won't be an indicator.  

When I went on vacation I bought a mountain dulcimer Length 36” Height 2” Width 9.5” VSL 28.5-29” Width of strings 2” I am wondering if it could be a baritone mountain dulcimer.  The picture is on my member page.  Thanks for all your help 

Sounds like a magnificent triip.  ENJOY!

Yeah that does sound awesome Ken. Have a great time!  Don't catch covid.

Teddy, it's a great time for you!  That dulcimer will probably smell like fresh wood and lacquer-- the "new dulcimer smell", not unlike the "new car smell" that everybody knows.  

At least you won't have to wait an hour after delivery for the box to warm up, like you do in deepest winter!

My new Clemmer Mountain Dulcimer is 'Out for Delivery' scheduled to arrive sometime today (that usually means afternoon/evening) - I think time has been broken...  I checked the clock an hour and half ago, and it read 8:52AM - I just checked now, and it reads 8:53AM.   lol.  I am SO looking forward to seeing and getting to know my new (first ever) dulcimer!

Safe travels, Ken!  I hope you have a delight-filled visit to what sound like magical places.  

Off to the UK tomorrow morning early.  Spending four weeks seeing old friends, Lady Sally's sister, The Ring of Broca on Orkney and other archaeological delights,  plus spending 4 nights at Wedderburn Castle attending the Clan Home/Hume Gathering for the first time and visiting/revisiting many of the Clan sights around the Scottish East March.

Chord playing does not require a 6+ fret.  Nor does it require D-A-D tuning (or other 1-5-8 tuning).   If you choose to play chord-melody style, you can do it without the 6+ fret.  And you can do it out of D-A-A (or other 1-5-5 tuning).  The use of D-A-D tuning and its association with chord-melody style is a matter of choice, not necessity. 

You said you would like to probably experiment with chord playing, so i strongly suggest adding at least the 6.5 fret. (And it's 'octave companion' 13.5 fret if you get up that far)

Thank you Dusty - that's the book I need. I'm getting that tunings is a big part of dulcimers, not generally a thing I've done much with in life (the occasional drop D, that's about it!).

Off to explore the making area now.

cheers, Douglas

Thanks for the responses. I am building this for my own use and am coming from a background of finger style guitar so I may be best building in flexibility. If I never used the 6+ it probably wouldn't matter to me (?).

I shall read Dusty's 'what are half frets?' thread. This is all an explore for me, don't even know how this first build will sound! My guess is rather bright - I've done some things that are not traditional like a graphite reinforced floating neck... sorry!!

Briefly... (maybe). The 6 1/2 fret is not necessary for chording or playing more modern music.  Check out the playing of Robert Force, Dan Evans and the late Roger Nicholson, none of whom use/used a 6 1/2 fret. Is the 6 1/2 convenient?  You betcha. I have more instruments without the 6 1/2 than I do with (I think) and tune to 1-5-8 as much as 1-5-5.  BTW, If you're in 1-5-5 an interesting tuning is to raise the bass string a whole step giving you a 5-1-1 tuning in the Mixolydian mode. Now, after saying I would be brief, I must go practice and try to figure out what I'll play on Sunday.

Douglas -- the dulcimer isn't "fretted for a mixolydian scale".  As Dusty says, a dulcimer is traditionally fretted Diatonically -- does not include the half intervals of a full Chromatic fretboard like a guitar. As he also says,  back in the 1970s builders started adding the 6+ half interval to allow them the play both a Mixolydian Modal scale and an Ionian Modal scale from the same tuning.

If you are building this dulcimer for personal use, then the question of whether to include the 6+ fret depends on your playing style and musical choices.   

IF you tune DAd (or any Mixolydian tuning) and play Chord Melody style -- fretting across all courses, THEN I would include the 6+ fret (and possibly the 1+ fret as Dusty suggests).

IF you play Noter & Drone or Fingerdance style -- fretting only the melody string, THEN I would forego the 6+ fret and learn to quickly change the tuning of just the Melody string to switch between all of the Modal tunings as needed. 

Alternatively you can forego the 6+ fret and tune to a Unison or "dropped Unison" tuning (ddd or Ddd for example).  This does for those of us who do not have the 6+ fret, what that half fret does for people who only tune DAd -- that is allow us play more than one scale from the same tuning.

As far as an appropriate place for your question -- it's always better IMHO to start a new thread with a new question rather than "riding the coattails" of someone else's Q&A.  That way others who have your same question can more easily find it and our responses to you.