Forum Activity for @pondoro

Ken that looks beautiful and also would not clash with an "Appalachian vibe" the way brightly painted or sit on cajons might.

I've been a table-thumper, thigh-slapper, doumbek player and Scottish Bass drummer.  But I was challenged by my friends of the local band Pine Island Sound to come up with something more suitable to play along with them.  So I created my first cajon from dulcimer and Anglo-Saxon lyre construction scrap.  I didn't want a "sit on" cajon, but something I could hold on my lap, or in my arms like an autoharp or a musical washboard.  I also didn't want a deep bass sound or high treble sound.    So here's what I came up with:

10" x 18" x 2-1/4".  Two tones from two different wood species and thicknesses on the two faces.  The one-piece side is a 3/16" slice of Oregon Myrtle leftover from a lyre project.  The divided side is 1/8" Sitka spruce salvaged from an acoustic piano soundboard by some guys I know who are doing that.  One of the pieces already had a hole in it.  As internal and external joint braces I added 1/8" x 2'' strips of Ash leftover from an archer's bow build I did a couple years back.  The sides are maple piano frame salvage.  

 Cajon1.JPG - 81KB

Right after the turn of the century, I got a friend request on Myspace from a fiddle player named Saskia Tomkins.  Her family was moving to my part of Southern Ontario and wanted to meet some musicians and find out about venues.  We became good buddies and I met her family.  Her husband, Steafan Hannigan was a multi-instrumentalist and a whiz on the bodhran.  Steafan and Saskia had three pre-teen kids who were also starting to become fine musicians.  Their son, Oisin, has becomea very talented percussionist.  He's all grown up now and is a married man living in Montreal.
Here's Oisin demonstrating some bodhrans.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!  I thought it translated as Amigos del dulcimer de la montaña hee hee!

This is fascinating to me! Thank you for explaining this :-D

Just for info- I clicked on the .M4a file showing in the post, it downloaded to my laptop, I then opened it in itunes and it played fine for me.

I'm starting to think the tune could have been something David pieced together from various 'Irish-y' phrases. Good musicians can do that and spontaneously create a 'new' tune from snippets of existing tunes in their mind. This tune is pretty, but it also makes me think of tune snippets artfully strung together.
Old-time musicians do this as well, especially when sitting around in a jam and doodling, or searching for a tune to play while in a jam session and people are trying to figure out a next tune to play.

That's a Ukrainian tune called Фриендс оф тхе Моунтаин Дулкимер.

No not at all. I'm joking. It sounds Celtic to me, too, but Ken may be right that there are pieces of a couple of tunes there.  Part of it is a melody I know, and I may pop in in the middle of the night when I remember it's name.  But I don't recognize that descending ending/turnaround.

By the way, that Cyrillic up above just says Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer.

Thank you for trying, Robin. :-D I will see if I can figure out another way to send. 

There are phrases from at least four Irish tunes which I know that are in there!

I took the liberty of converting it to mp3

help-with-identifying-a-schnaufer-tune-forum-file.mp3 - 1.4MB

Not sure, but it sounds to me a bit like an Irish tune. Perhaps if you post it on thesession.org they will know right away what it is.

Hi, Linda!  I've not had luck with downloading the file.  I hope some knowledgable person can and is able to identify the tune!  

Greetings to all on FOTMD. During the course of some research for a book project I was sent some very early (1974) recordings of David Schnaufer playing the dulcimer. I'm wondering if anyone here can help me identify this tune for the Schnaufer archives at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music? (It now belongs to the archives.)

Thank you, Linda

04 4. Unknown.m4a - 1.4MB

This red fox positively loves clawhammer banjo music:

Fixed 'do' and movable 'do'.

Fixed,'do' always = C.

Movable, 'do' depends on scale used. 

Eric, I would like to know that as well. I'm just guessing here, but I think he is referring the do re mi as a diatonic scale (seven notes) compared to a chromatic scale. I don't know how chromatic becomes a "European" scale.

Ken

"The dulcimer player sings a sweet song."

I enjoyed this video. This kind of video is helpful for us brits to get a sense of MD history & culture.

I have one question though. What did Mr Clemmer mean when he said that the Do re mi is different to the European scale?

Regards

Eric

Lucky Dave, if you enjoy hearing deep sounding dulcimer playing blues, be sure to watch @christine-shoemaker 's videos !

For the ultimate in pure acoustic volume, you might consider having someone build you a Tennessee Music Box with modern full-width frets rather than the traditional half-width frets.  My friend John Knopf just listed one of his fabulous TMBs here the other day, but it only has the traditional frets so you couldn't play Chord-Melody style.   I have seen Big Box dulcimers with rounded ends (and different soundholes), so a custom Box would not have to be rectangular...

Ken,

Good to hear this from you, as I respect your opinion.  What I am looking for is a dulcimer that has that deep guitar sound, loud so I can play blues on it that won't break my bank account. I just shipped a lady one of my short scale Dulci's because my hands are too large for it. My go to's right now are my old FolkRoots and a TK O'Brien.  I am also drawn to unique designs and not fond of the heart shaped sound holes ( this is simple personal preference).  And I am open to suggestions.  Thanks again!

Dave

Tom's unique designs have been around for many years.  I understand that he is only making a few dulcimers these days, and not taking any special orders.  He makes a few and if you like one you can buy it...

Yocky's are not something that appeal to me, but I have heard them being played, and they do have more "California" sound than "Kentucky".  If you can find one, I'm sure you would appreciate it.   Personally I'm partial to the 'high silvery' sound of the traditional "Kentucky" instruments.

Hey Folks,

Happy Holidays!  I just discovered this builder and was wondering if anyone has ever owned any of his unique instruments. I like my dulcimers to have a nice bold sound, more like what Howard Rudd refers to a a "Califonia Sound" as opposed to a Kentucky sound.  This one seems to fit the bill, and in my price range. 

Thanks in Advance!

Sunhearth dulcimers are indeed special.  They were the direct ancestors of the Bear Meadow dulcimers and are known for their exquisite intonation and warm tone.  Although my personal preference is an instrument with geared tuners and a 6+ fret, I would not suggest making any major changes to that beautiful dulcimer.  It looks to be in great shape.

Thanks for fixing that Ken. I see there is a space in my link that shouldn't be there. And thanks for the compliment on the kids. The oldest is now a freshman in college. Where did the time go?!

I wasn't able to open that link; even after copying and pasting in my browser. Here Is another link which works.

https://tennesseecrossroads.org/mike-clemmer-dulcimers/

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

P.S. I enjoyed your daughter's family at the end of the video. Very talented group there.

A Sunhearth dulcimer is a treasure!  I know because I owned one (a different model than yours).  I passed it along to a young dulcimer player because I'm reducing the number of instruments I own and I wanted a particular young person to have it.    Enjoy your Sunhearth!  

Here is the link to the video.

http://tennessee crossroads.org/mike-clemmer-dulcimers/

Thanks for sharing the video of Mike Clemmer. I have never had the privilege of visiting his shop, but some years ago my daughter's family happened to be vacationing in the area and had stopped to visit Mr. Clemmer's shop. A local television crew happened to be recording a program about Mike's dulcimers. After the filming was complete my young grandchildren were asked to fetch their musical instruments from their van and were invited to join in a jam. Part of this was included at the end of the film. I guess they were in the right place at the right time, and were thrilled by this special time.

It’s has 3 of the 4 fine tuners. I’ll need to whittle another. 

That's a beautiful instrument. Does it have the fine tuners between the bridge and end pins? They are small pieces of ebony the string goes through. I have one of the Sunhearth teardrop dulcimers.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks for follow up….I have a few decisions to make based on your expertise.

 0D75EBB5-C34D-4F0A-A37D-F5A63A895520.jpeg - 172KB

Bravo Mike!!!

I really enjoyed that, thanks so much for sharing. I had one of Mike's Tennessee  Sweeties a while back. He's so talented and has quite a history in the dulcimer community. 

I came across this video of Mike Clemmer. I thought some folks might enjoy watching it. https://www.voanews.com/a/6346682.html

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks for the addition Strumelia. I was going to mention that, but I guess I got lost somewhere along the way. That's what happens when you reach three quarters of century.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Great info from Ken.

I do want to add though- you said this dulcimer has no 6.5 fret. That would make it a little hard to play in DAd using chord style playing. You'd frequently get frustrated not having that note on the melody string. 
However, if you try a 1-5-5 tuning (DAA or CGG) you would have most needed notes on the melody string. You can try out playing mostly on the melody string and leaving the other strings unfretted, sounding as drones. That's a very pretty older way of playing and this dulcimer might be perfect for giving it a try. The 'home' or tonic note of the tune is then located at the 3rd fret of the melody string.
For DAA/CGG tuning, you could use .010 or .012 gauge for the melody AND middle strings, and then as Ken suggested a .020 or a .022 for the bass low string. The thicker the string, the tighter it will be, so you don't want to go too tight/heavy on an instrument with wooden tuning pegs.
If you are used to fretting with your fingers, you can try 'finger dancing' style, where you fret the melody all on the melody string and play the other strings open and unfretted. It's a pretty way to play! You get the ancient sound of the drones.

Does your wonderful Sunhearth have the typical sunburst sound holes? We'd love to see a picture of it, it must be beautiful!

Ken,

thanks for sharing your knowledge on my instrument. Very helpful. I’ll give your string gauge suggestions a try. 
Dennis

Your Sunhearth dulcimer made by Walt Martin in Roaring Spring, PA is a great instrument. These instruments were originally meant to be in a 1 - 5 - 5 tuning (DAA or CGG primarily) and using a noter. You might have to lower the action a little if you choose to play chord/melody style.  You should be able to tune up to DAd using  0.010 for the melody strings, a 0.013 for the middle, and 0.020 for the bass. If those are too floppy, you can increase to 0.11 or 0.012, 0.014, and 0.022. Increasing the size of the strings will increase the tension of the peg and if they are friction pegs you may have trouble keeping them in tune.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."