Forum Activity for @lancashire-lass

Hi, thanks to everyone who has offered advice on this topic. Lowering the action has certainly been the clincher so, up to now I think it’s fine where it is. As for the thumb it’s very happy now so I can practice a bit longer. I’m also trying to pay more attention to my posture as that really does help, allowing the weight of my arm to depress the strings. One thing that I have been doing is exercises with a softish rubber ball. I start with a minute or so of gentle squeezing gradually getting harder, then pressing my fingers, in pairs, vertically into the rubber. The whole thing takes about four minutes or until my hand feels comfortably warm. I first started doing this because I was learning the ukulele (I still am). Think it keeps the old fingers agile.

Hi Lorilee, this is why I'm not a therapist...poor instructions that are so much easier demonstrated!  I can understand the confusion.  Don't take anything backwards as I'm sure that would hurt without helping.  Even without talk of angling (which may have started the confusion) what you're doing is pressing against that index finger which is separated slightly from the other fingers & it's pressing back.  (To be sure & not be too heavy, you could make it index finger on index finger if that makes sense.)  The finger really doesn't go anywhere, except maybe a bit up & down, definitely not back &, while toward the palm's not a problem, it's not needed.  The reason I say "a bit" is because the pressure of the two fingers cancel each other out.  The idea is for the lower index finger to be a tiny bit strong in the muscle of that hand, strengthening your thumb which uses the muscle it shares with the index finger..

Hope that makes it clearer & not even more confusing.

Lois, in the 2nd exercise are you pressing the index finger toward the back of the hand or toward the palm? Since the other hand is resisting, I can see it might be in either direction. I have very painful thumbs, but it's mostly from arthritis. I will grasp any straw that might possible help!

Scrolling through recent posts, the "Painful Thumb" caught my eye as it's an issue I've faced, not due to strings but what @Dusty-Turtle & @ken-hulme meant about muscles.  This may not fit the problem starting this forum topic, but I hope it helps others experiencing thumb pain due to muscle problems.

I've had physical (or it probably was considered occupational?) therapy on hand problems & have learned it's especially common for women.  Apparently our thumbs tend to be weaker.  There's even a book, Caring for the Painful Thumb - More Than a Splint, written by Jan Albrecht, an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist. It's written so patients can understand with over 200 color illustrations, the book can be used by both patients and therapists. 

I bought the book, but nowadays tend to use 2 exercises I learned.  What they actually seem to do is strengthen the muscle between the thumb & index finger.  Can't give you 200 illustrations, but will try to describe what I do.  If more is needed, try your library to see if they can borrow the book for you.  (I don't expect them to own it, but inter-library loans give you access to more than they have.)  Failing that, you can find the book to buy online.

Take your hand or both hands & make a C (for the right hand it's a backward C).  Have all your fingers curled in that C formed by your index finger & thumb.  Lift the index finger & lower it a few times.  (I tend to do it about 10 times, then switch to the second exercise.)  For the second exercise, straighten your fingers out (not as straight as an L, but more of an angle -- 45 degree?); lift the index finger, press down on the index finger with your other hand, while the index finger resists the pressure; I hold for the count of 10.  If both hands hurt, switch hands & do the second exercise for the second hand.  If your hands are sore, you can gradually over time increase this until a time comes when they don't hurt. 

I'm not a doctor or a therapist, but these have helped me when my thumb gets sore.  Since, as the t-shirt says, "Old age isn't for cowards!", if anybody here or anybody you know has a recommendation of a general book of therapy exercises for various conditions, I'd love to know.  I've had various bouts for various ailments with therapy studios in the past & know there's a need for a DIY book.

Terry made instruments which can continue to sing.  I wish for comfort for all who knew him.  

Another one gone.... but not forgotten.

Terry Hennessy died yesterday, November 13, 2021, at his home. He was the builder who made Richard Farina’s dulcimer. He will be missed by family and friends and by many of us in the dulcimer world. My sympathy is offered to all. I was fortunate to be able to examine and strum the dulcimer he made for Richard.  You can read about Terry here .

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Due to this pandemic, many nursing homes have been closed down, and they no longer allow any kind of events or games for the elderly. My grandmother loved to go there with her friends and interact with others. Because this was no longer possible, she got quite depressed, and her she started feeling unwell, so we requested the help of an assistant from https://homecareassistance.com/palm-beach who now is taking care of her health.

Calvin, I assume this is the song you're referring to.  It was made famous by Glen Campbell, but Carl Jackson wrote it.

The bad news? The song is under copyright, so you won't find free tab anywhere.

The good news?  The song is definitely do-able on a dulcimer with a diatonic fretboard.

The version I link to above is played in the key of E.  My advice would be to tune your dulcimer to EBe.  You will still be in a 1-5-8 tuning, so all the chords and fingerings you know for DAd will still work.  Then you can play along with the song.  Once you have the basics of the song down, you can tune back to DAd and play it just the way you had been.

You can probably find chords and lyrics by searching the internet.  I just did a quick listen and the chords in the key of D are D, G, Bm, and A.  The structure of the song is simple, with a verse and a chorus.  The melody seems to have no accidentals, so you'll be able to get it on the dulcimer.

If we could meet down at the pub, I'm sure we could figure it out together.

One of my favorite songs is Arkansas Farm Boy. I'm searching for the DAD tabs for this song. Anyone know where I may find it or is there anyone willing to create it for me? TIA Cal

A beautiful fall day.  Sunshine. Crisp wind.  It was a joy to spend a few hours raking leaves.

Hi Dusty, thanks for your advice. I have been considering changing the strings because when I look at them closely there appears to be rust spots on them. Who knows how long my instrument was lying around in a warehouse in Romania.. I have lowered the strings, courtesy of Ken’s very clear instructions. The strings are better and my thumb is thankful 👍 for the relief, and, I have the beginnings of a cute little callous. Buzzy Strings? yes I’d go to see them too!

There might be two kinds of "soreness" we're talking about here. One is a function of the friction of the metal wire against your skin.  The second is muscle soreness from having to push down on the string.

For the first kind of soreness, I would suggest first that you use new strings.  New strings are softer and less like hard wire.  Second, I would suggest turning your thumb sideways a bit to use the edge of your nail.  Using your nail will allow you to slide up and down the string much like a noter and won't cause any pain.

For that second kind of soreness, lower the strings as @ken-hulme has suggested and rest assured that the muscles in your fingers will get stronger over time.

If you are playing mainly in a drone style, though, I would suggest using either a noter or your fingers.  Either of those techniques will allow you to play faster and also avoid the soreness that seems to be a hurdle for you now.  (I sometimes use my thumb like a noter in the way it appears you are trying to, but I am a chord player who sometimes just breaks into drone style for a verse or two. It is not my primary playing style.)

Electric tape is smooth and you can wrap a little around your thumb, slides easy & protects your thumb

Hi Ken. So I took your advice and lowered the action of my dulcimer. It’s not perfect, but it is a LOT better. I think I can remove a little more off the nut but, for now I think I’ll let the strings settle into their new position. I admit that I was nervous to do it so I’m glad to say it wasn’t as scary as I thought. If I need to do it again I won’t be so fearful 😊.

 Thank you so much.

Sounds to me like the noter is a good idea. While the thumb is used by some players to fret the strings, I'm not sure it is the best finger to start with.

To lower the action is simple.  You'll need a hard flat surface and a piece of approx. 100 grit sandpaper,  You will also need a 1p and 10p coin.  I checked the measurements of UK coins and those two will work best.  The 1£ coin is 2.8mm -- 'way too thick!  The 1p coin is 1.5mm thick and the10p coin is1.85mm.  Those are much closer to the thicknesses of a US dime and nickel.

Here's what you do:  
1.  Set the 1p coin next to the first fret.  See the gap between the strings and the coin.
2.  Loosen (but don't remove) the strings and slide the Nut out of it's slot.  It may be slightly stuck and need a sideways tap to get it moving.
3.  Put the sandpaper on your hard surface and sand the bottom of the Nut about 10-15 strokes.
4.  Put the nut back in place and tighten the strings (tight but not up to tune).  Check the gap between the coin and the strings.
5.  Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 until each string just touches the coin.

Once that is accomplished, it's time to move down to the 7th fret.  Balance the 10p coin and see the gap between coin and strings.   Follow Steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 above, checking the gap each time between the balanced 10p coin and the strings. 

Finally bring the strings back up to tension and play!

Hi Ken, thanks for the information. I tried it last night and the action does seem a bit high. I might just have to ‘bite the bullet’ and try to adjust it myself.

"Buzzy Strings" would be a good name for a musical act.

At the 7th fret (not the 6+ fret if you have it) rest a pound coin on top of the frets under the strings.  The strings should not be any higher than the top of the coin.   Here in the States we use a nickel coin, and a dime setting next to the first fret as gauges for decent string height.

Thanks for that. I have wondered about the action but I’m reluctant to adjust it myself in case I end up with buzzy strings. I have tried slightly over tightening the melody strings, then re-tuning then, but it didn’t seem to make a lot of difference. I have a friend who knows a local luthier, someone who he takes all his guitars to. So if things don’t improve, say in a month or so, I’ll see if he will alter it for me.

Also, if the string is too high over the fretboard then that can make it much harder to press the string down with the thumb. 

Thank you for all your advice, I’ll probably try them all in combination. And yes, it is my fretting hand. I’ve seen some players use a noter so I think that will help so, when my poor thumb gets too sore I can still practice the beginner tunes. Thanks again.

Using a thumb, be it the left hand thumb for fretting or right hand thumb for picking, will always make the thumb feel sore when you do it for the first time or after a long break from playing. It will feel even worse if you continue to play while the thumb is sore. 

The following solution works every time for me. When the thumb starts to get a little bit sore, then stop playing for the day. Then for the following week or so, just play gently for about 5 minutes on the first day, increasing the time by about 5 minutes or so each day. Keep it gentle and do it every day for about 7  to 10 days. It's very important to immediately stop playing if the thumb gets too sore during this period, then maybe give it a two day break.

By the end of that one to two weeks of playing the skin on your thumb will be much harder and you should by then be able to play for quite long periods with no pain.

Ken i was getting the impression that this poster was referring to using the thumb when fretting with the left hand- not the right hand strumming.

Lancaster- you just have to be patient. The callus and toughening will take a couple weeks to start to develop. Don't overdo 'too' much at first. The pain gets less after the first few days. :)

Thumbs are all very nice and natural soft sounding and all that.  But.  If you insist on rubbing it on those metal strings, it's going to hurt!

Yes it will take some time to develop a callus.  You may find that a coating of New Skin or Liquid Bandage or a similar product will protect the area.  A dab of Rubber Cement or CA glue (superglue) will also work. 

The simplest solution, IMHO is to use a pick rather than bare thumb; or in addition to the bare thumb while your callus develops. 

If the clicking of a plastic or wooden pick bothers you, look in acoustic music shops or on line for the thick felt or leather pick often used by ukulele players,  A heavy felt pick sounds almost as good as a bare thumb, without the pain...  Leather picks can be easily made from thick belts found at charity shops.

Hi, I’m very new to forums so if I don’t thank you for help please understand that I haven’t got the hang of it yet.

my problem is my thumb. I’m doing what I’ve been advised to do, which is use it to get to notes on the melody string 

but I soon get a fair bit of pain. Is there anything I can do to speed up the development of a callous (?) or do I just have to be patient?

 Thanks for any help or advice.

I hope Terry Hennessy's days go as well as possible and are brightened by hearing from folks he's known throughout his life.  

The following was sent to me by Richard Troughear:

=================

I visited Terry Hennessy yesterday in his little village of Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales, Australia.  As you know Terry made the mountain dulcimer played by Richard Farina in the 1960’s, fixing his place in the modern history of the instrument.  In 1965 Jean Ritchie thought it was “the jazziest dulcimer I ever saw!”.  Terry has continued to make dulcimers of high quality up until recent times.

But after a life as a stone-mason, a theatre set designer, a puppeteer, a jug band player, a television presenter, service in the Royal Air Force, a story-teller par excellence, and a world class dulcimer luthier, he is now 88 years old and in the twilight of his days.  His health is rapidly declining.

Terry has always loved to talk to dulcimer makers and players about the instrument, but in Australia there are not many of either.   For those players and makers in the wider dulcimer community who know of Terry, and would like to make contact with him, now is a good time to say hello and wish him well.   I know he would appreciate the thoughts. 

Terry’s email address is:  

hennessydulcimer@iprimus.com.au  

His long-time partner Christine might need to read emails to Terry.

regards,
Richard Troughear

We met Sam at a dulcimer festival. A real nice guy for sure. Sad news.

Sam died just one day after entering a hospice program. He was a good player in addition to being a builder of hammered dulcimers. His work, especially with the group Trapezoid, helped revive interest in the HD. He was a contributor to Dulcimer Players News writing a column on "Technical Dulcimer."

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I just heard that Hammered Dulcimer guru Sam Rizzetta passed away on Tuesday, October 26.  No other details at this time...

Sorry, Nathina, but I've never heard of it. I will watch this thread to see if you receive an answer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Trying to find the hx of the Dulcimer Guild out of Colorado. Seemed to have dropped away from any information.

Strumelia,
It has a 16.25 inch scale.

It reminds me a bit of the Puerto Rican cuatro (which I used to play when I lived there many years ago). They both have ten strings, but the cuatro has 5 courses, arranged in pairs. It too is rather small, but your tiple looks as though it's even smaller, judging from the proportions with the tuning gears.

Very interesting Jim.  Seldom see a tiple, but I love the mandolin-uke sound they deliver.

What is the scale length on your tiple? Looks to be quite short, maybe close to violin/mandolin scale?

I bought a ten string Regal tiple, made in Chicago, at a yard sale a few years back.  I haven't used it much till COVID locked me in and I started taking part in a weekly ukulele get together.
The tiple has 4 courses of strings and I tune them gG-cCc-eEe-AA.  The saddle is not compensated, so playing far up the neck causes some sour notes, so I stick to the first 5 or 6 frets.
Any other tiplers on this site?

I'm not sure how to add a photo.