Here's a link to one of my blog posts that might be helpful in figuring out how to tune your dulcimer:
https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-notes-do-i-tune-my-strings-to.html
In the blog post there's a link to a real online keyboard where you can HEAR the notes D3 and D4 for example. You'll want to e sure to tune to the notes in the correct octave so you don't break your string.
Venni, how to start will depend on a few things, most notably whether you have any experience playing music.
I would suggest you start by tuning to either DAA or DAd (check out Get Tuned for help) and then just trying to pick out melodies on the melody string (the string closest to you when you lay the instrument on your lap.
And yes, the Beginner Group that Robin points you to is the place to start here at FOTMD.
There is tons of beginner stuff available here at FOTMD and elsewhere online, and there are also lots of beginner instruction books available. If you want formal lessons to help you get started, there are lots of folk who give lessons via Zoom or similar platforms. But nothing can beat just exploring the instrument on your own and watching lots of videos of other people playing.
I had no heard of John Frazier before reading your post. I have been unable to find out anything about him. I'll be interested to see what others come with about him.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Its always nice to learn of different builders. I have not heard of this one. Let us know when you find out more information.
Kevin, I am not familiar with the maker. Perhaps, over time, you will be able to learn more about Mr. Frazier and his instruments.
He describes what musicians do as delivering 'the pleasure of sound." That's a nice concept.
Some great points made, Robin!
Thanks for the responses and insight into this. I will tune the strings according to the meter and then just tweak it to my ear.
Well, I just tested 8 dulcimers of various VSLs and tunings, and I can say YES -- at the very end of the sustain, the needle wiggles a little to either side of 'spot on', usually less than 10 cents worth. I suspect it's an artifact of the volume of the sustain falling off as much as anything.
Leny-sue, that's what is called "decay" of the note, and is normal. It tends to be more noticeable on strings at looser tension and also wound strings, and more so when the strings are plucked hard. Most of us pick the first part or middle part of the sounding note to tune by, not the ending 'decaying' tone.
Hi Folks. I have a question concerning my dulcimer strings fluctuating in pitch while tuning with an app on my mobile device. Is it common for them to "go flat" while sustaining after plucking? The pitch actually moves lower then sometimes back to nearly what it should read on the meter. Is the sustain suppose to remain constant to the end? Thanks for your input.
I think the basics of what Chick Corea had to say about music applies to porch players, too, in many ways.
Venni that's good news for sure. I hope you've been looking in the Beginner Group here to learn about how to tune it for example... lots of good starting out info to be found there!
I hope it arrives safely and brightens your day!
That's an original, Dusty, except from the quote of Vocabulary.com.
By the way I have painted a turtle to go along with this and I will post it
under photos soon! Take care, John
Thanks, John. I like that a lot. Did you come up with that yourself or is that some ancient Chinese saying or something?
To "Dusty Turtle" & all of my friends at FOTMD:
"Like the turtle may you float in the hard times
and bask in the good!"
"To bask in something is to take it in, receive
its warmth, or bathe in its goodness."
Vocabulary.com
Great post from @Lisa-Golladay. I particularly agree with her thoughts of: "I suspect that newbies are overwhelmed by the usual festival offerings. It's one thing to navigate a busy festival in person; online everything looks harder. The website, the downloads, the class schedule grid, how will this work, do I need a webcam, will my internet connection be up to snuff, am I a "beginner" or a "novice" and can I trust this site with my credit card number? Really it's a lot to handle.
I believe LisaG is so right in that. Dulcimer festivals are intimidating to begin with in person/pre-pandemic, ...and full pandemic/zoom festival online scheduling and commitment is enough to scare away many potential beginners would are not absolutely determined. Note my use of the word potential. Beginners who have not yet bought a dulcimer can join FOTMD and learn a gazillion things and get encouragement from dozens of people before they even touch or order an instrument. So much to explore, learn, listen to, watch, and ask!
But in an online dulcimer zoomfestival, potential beginner players (some of whom may not even have dulcimers yet) would have pretty much nothing to actually do. I would think the experience would be confusing and discouraging.
I've always noticed that the majority of new members here on FOTMD tend to be brand new beginner players. As a lark, I just now explored the 12 most recent new members' profile descriptions as of today Feb 21 2021.
Of the 12, only 3 had been playing mtn dulcimer for a while already... and of course they all owned dulcimers.
That left 9 others. All of those described themselves as either a new beginner or had not even gotten a dulcimer yet. Of those 9 beginners, 7 already had a dulcimer or had ordered one and were looking for help in learning to play. Two did not make clear whether they had a dulcimer yet but they still said they wanted to learn to play and were beginners.
So, of the random sampling of 12 new members, 3 were already dulcimer players with some experience, and 9 were beginners new to the dulcimer and looking to learn to play.
The most critical thing is getting their attention in the first place.
Marketing always boils down to three questions:
Who are the people ready and willing to become your customers?
Where/how do you find them and get their attention?
What can you offer to meet their needs/wants?
You want to target beginners, but that's a big group and not clearly defined. Let's do some market differentiation.
Total newbies: Do not play an instrument, do not own a dulcimer. They show up at festivals or club meetings because a friend brought them, or they stumbled across an event that looked interesting. Where are they? Everywhere, but it's hard to find a lot of them at once. What do they want? They want to see, hear and (ideally) get their hands on a dulcimer. They haven't fully bought into this, so they can be scared away if you make dulcimers look too difficult or too expensive.
What can you offer them? Maybe an online concert. Maybe a 1-hour class where you show a few dulcimers, play a few tunes, talk a little about how to play, and answer questions. Make it free and easy to register. This audience is not motivated to scroll through a half-dozen web pages about festival schedules, workshop descriptions and registration forms. The kiss of death: "This is too hard, I'll just skip it."
Folkies: Whether they play, sing or just listen, we know they are actively interested in folk music. Where are they? Folk festivals and websites. What do they want? They probably have a vague idea what a dulcimer is. The message they need to hear is 1) they can learn to play one and 2) they can use it to play music they like.
What can you offer? They might pay to attend online concerts, especially with name performers and a mix of instruments. I've met a lot of folk music fans who profess no interest in dulcimer because they think it's too limited and can't play with other instruments. I would be sure to show them a wide range of playing styles and mixed ensembles. After the concert, point them to an online festival where they can learn how to play. The kiss of death: "I should learn guitar instead."
Musicians: They already play other instruments. Where are they? At the music store, the coffeehouse, online forums for their instruments and music genres. What do they want? A new instrument that's fun to learn... or expands their musical horizons... or ideally both.
What can you offer? As noted, the usual beginning dulcimer class isn't a great fit. At the Old Town School of Folk Music here in Chicago, they offered (pre-Covid) a popular one-session class called "Fear of Commitment Mandolin Workshop" for guitar players. Attendees borrow a mandolin for the duration of the workshop -- and they can buy mandolins after class ;-) Lots of people sign up because what have they got to lose? A few bucks and an afternoon, and it might be fun. The kiss of death: "This is a waste of time."
Unfortunately, all of these groups share a big problem: They Do Not Have a Dulcimer. What can they gain attending an online workshop? In live classes you can provide loaners, but how do you put a dulcimer into their hands over Zoom? It's relatively easy for people to find a guitar to borrow, and a beginner ukulele costs 50 bucks. Dulcimer availability is a major issue that limits how much outreach you can accomplish online. This leaves one more group of beginners who are, I believe, your best target audience:
People who have a dulcimer but aren't playing it. They bought it on a whim, they inherited it, or a roommate has one that looks good on the wall. Where are they? Could be anywhere, start with the folkies and musicians and maybe retirees. Contact sellers and ask who their buyers are. What do they want? Encouragement and a path to follow.
What can you offer? Super-easy classes and a supportive environment. Not a huge time commitment; if they were motivated to spend time on dulcimer, they'd know how to play by now. A single-afternoon workshop? A four-week introductory session? Drop-in play-alongs that do not require advance signup? The on-ramp can't be steep or they'll go away. The kiss of death: "Nah, this is for real musicians, not a duffer like me."
If you've managed to read this far, you're probably noticed I didn't recommend a full online festival for any of these audiences. I might be wrong, but I suspect that newbies are overwhelmed by the usual festival offerings. It's one thing to navigate a busy festival in person; online everything looks harder. The website, the downloads, the class schedule grid, how will this work, do I need a webcam, will my internet connection be up to snuff, am I a "beginner" or a "novice" and can I trust this site with my credit card number? Really it's a lot to handle.
I think it's possible to design a beginner-friendly online festival. It would need a super-simple website and registration process. Heavy promotion on well-targeted social media and websites. Great instructors (of course). At ukulele festivals, full membership can be expensive but there's usually a beginner class that's free and does not require advance registration. Just show up and we'll get you started. That's probably the best promise we can make.
For those who haven't watched, this show seems to be a continuation of a series on making your own "dulcimer" sandwiched in between a few songs by the second incarnation (1970) of Steeleye Span just before release of their second album Please To See The King.
The hosts idea of a dulcimer was to make a fretboard stick that would use a table top for resonance. I seem to recall this being reported as being done in Appalachia with standard dulcimers on occasion.
I only know Garry from our phone conversations over the years when I placed orders with him.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Who has experience with virtual, multi-instrument folk festivals today? Are there instrument specific "booths" or tracks? To me, and I'm pretty sure the younger generations agree, virtual festivals can provide exposure to new sounds. To be a "newbie", you have to have heard a dulcimer and want to make that music, too. After that decision is made, the internet makes the rest of the journey much easier.
Many members who were on Bruce Ford's EverythingDulcimer forum will remember Richard Troughear's sound experiments with mountain dulcimer. The following is a link to a photo and information about the first mountain dulcimer Mr. Troughear built while in military service in Vietnam. (Thanks to Anne Bowman, who shared the link on Facebook!)
Ken and Robin, thanks for your comments.
Ken, that's cool to hear you have a history with Legacy Straps. Do you know Garry, then?
Other points in response to others:
@dan, isn't it interesting that even around the turn of the twentieth century, the dulcimer was viewed as a disappearing instrument that represented a romanticized past? The dulcimer had only been invented a few decades earlier and was already seen as 1) very old; and 2) disappearing. Both assumptions were wrong.
@sgarrity, your experience at Quarantune mirrors my experience when I first attended a dulcimer festival. I had only been playing a few months and could not wrap my head around the diatonic fretboard. But because I had played other instruments, I did not need instruction on how to strum or how to fret the strings. It was really frustrating to find a workshop that fit my abilities. But those in-person festivals had something that Quarantune lacks: a chance for socialization. In between workshops, during lunch, and at the end of the day during the long jam circle, I was able to just meet other people, learn about their different playing styles, ask questions about the various instructors, and more. Quarantune lacks the social networking that is usually the most fun part of in-person festivals. There are ways to approximate that social experience at online festivals, though perhaps not at festivals as large as Quarantune. Anyway, to your original point, now that I teach workshops on my own, I often attend workshops not expecting to learn some new technique, but to see how other people teach. Most dulcimer players very quickly become informal teachers, as the many discussions here at FOTMD demonstrate.
@ken-longfiled, your experience is similar to mine. My monthly dulcimer club has grown online, but by picking up experienced players from around the country (and even a few from overseas) rather than gaining any newbies.
There are ways to approximate informal social interactions at online dulcimer festivals. Some of the smaller, regional ones have been doing this. At the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering we thought very hard about how to do this. We had a Zoom "homeroom" where everyone gathered in the morning for informal chitchat, and Erin Mae Lewis was the "homeroom teacher." She broke us into smaller groups of 4 or 5 and let us interact a bit. I think that happened three times, so everyone got a chance to meet some of the other attendees. Then we also gathered in that same space at lunch time for an open forum when people could ask questions or just make comments. And at the end of the day, we gathered in the homeroom for a "jam" which, because of the limits of distance technology, was more like an open mic song circle, with different people taking turns playing songs. Others could play along, if they wished, and I certainly did. That homeroom was also open all and each time I popped in there were a few people chatting. At one point someone asked me a specific question about how I played a tune, and Erin Mae just moved us into a private room so we could have our conversation without forcing everyone else to listen to us. It's certainly not the same as being able to sit down with someone with dulcimers on your laps and share music, but I found the social interactions--even online--to be the most gratifying part of the event.
I found this discussion interesting. Since the pandemic I have had no orders for dulcimers from beginners, but I have made several for people who already own dulcimers. I have two folks waiting for instruments and once I get the go ahead from my cardiac surgeon, I will be back in the shop working on them. Over the last year I got together several times with dulcimer friends where we could social distance outside and still play together. Once a week I get together with a group on Zoom from another website. The leader plays the tune and the rest of us mute our microphones and play along. Leadership changes depending upon the song we are playing. So far no beginners.
I have not participated in any of the online festivals mainly because I don't go to festivals to take workshops but to jam and for the fellowship. I have stacks of tab from previous festivals and am no longer interested in attaining more. My interest has changed over the years from chord/melody style to noter/drone and exploring the history of the dulcimer. In other words, I'm more interested in interacting with people at festival, then participating in workshops. At in person festivals I have spent a good amount of time informally teaching beginners about their instruments. I don't think that can happen at online festivals, but having never attended on one, I may be wrong.
I agree that in this pandemic we need to be creative in attracting and teaching beginners. There are not many at the moment, but people continue to pick up dulcimer playing.
While not a total beginner player, I’m certainly new to the dulcimer world. I easily found info on the Quarantune festival. Facebook, love it or hate it, is a good place for sharing that kind of info. People will find you if your info is out on the web.
So then you are wanting to reach newbies while the quarantine is in effect? Maybe contact some social media influencers. If you can find one that supports the idea that a musical interest is good for people maybe they will put the word out. Maybe they would do a video of them getting some lessons showing how easy it is to learn.
Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts on this. Perhaps I should have specified more explicitly that my concern is about recruiting newbies while our festivals and club gatherings are online. I agree with many of the suggestions about setting up booths at other kinds of musical events, and we should do that once social distancing guidelines are no longer needed. But when we were able to meet in person, every festival I've ever attended had a decent crop of people who had never played before but were given a loaner instrument to use for the beginner workshops. Some of those people became enamored (as are many of us, I assume), eventually buying their own instruments and joining the community.
When my local dulcimer club was meeting in person, I almost always had a least one newbie every month. I specifically offered the first hour for a free beginner lesson, which allowed us to incorporate new people. I would always bring an extra dulcimer for them to use, too. Since we met at a music store there were often people who would see me setting up or playing a tune and ask about the instrument. I would sit them down, put an instrument in their lap, and show them a tune.
As my original post explains, similar spur-of-the-moment decisions could get newbies to come to festivals. I remember one newbie who borrowed a dulcimer I had brought as a loaner, completed her first workshop, and then asked me if she could buy it from me. I didn't sell it to her, but pointed her to a table where there were indeed dulcimers for sale. She bought one and is now a regular at regional festivals. That kind of experience could happen with in-person festivals, but it is not apparent how to replicate it online.
If we are all isolating at home and not interacting in music stores or town squares or the campus quad or the local coffeehouse, how can we reach people?
My fear is that the large, successful dulcimer festivals like Quarantune are great for providing the professionals an opportunity to make some money, which they badly need given the lack of gigs, and for allowing the many existing dulcimer enthusiasts to share their love of this humble instrument. But they do not appear to be good vehicles for the recruitment of newbies. Only people who already know about the dulcimer and already have an instrument would even know to register.
I've got to go now to send out an email about my dulcimer club's meeting later this month. No newbies will be getting my message.
sgarrity, i think a lot of the desire to encourage new players is due to how easy it is to teach someone the absolute basics. As a beginner mandolin player, my fingertips are always in pain and i struggle with anything past the most basic chord shapes. Practice is brutal and I've often been told it's considered to be a relatively difficult instrument, I'm only learning due to a strong desire to eventually have it in my repertoire.
It is a great feeling to speak to someone who is sure they just don't have the skill or talent to make music and just by sliding one finger around get them having fun making beautiful music on the dulcimer. So many times I've shown it to a friend or family member, got them messing around with it, and next thing I know every time I see them they are wanting to mess with it, until I eventually just give them one.
This seems to be a uniquely dulcimer related question. I’ve been playing mandolin since college, so 20+ years now. I’ve attended camps, workshops, and festivals across the country. And while I’ve helped new players many times I’ve never tried to get someone to play the mandolin. Or guitar, or banjo, etc. In the dulcimer world there seems to be a desire to spread the word about the instrument.
I attended the recent Quarantune online festival. Overall it was really well done. But for me personally the quality of the classes was kinda meh. One instructor was excellent. Another really good. The others seemed focused on just walking you through tab. I could have taught the stuff in the beginner and novice classes.
I think the untapped market is people who are already musicians of some kind.
There’s no real polite way to say it but dulcimers have a bit of a stereotype in the music world. It’s seen as the “easy” instrument for retirees to take up. I’m 42 and I was the youngest person by 20-30 years in most of those classes. I’m 100% for everybody making music however they can. But it needs a wider audience.
I agree that, when other multi-instrument festivals exist, there should be dulcimer workshops for beginners, possibly linked with an opportunity to loan the "cardboard dulcimers." (I remember attending a festival where that offer was made. I also remember thinking it was one instrument I wouldn't be trying!)
Beyond that, possibly dulcimer festivals would offer at least one FREE beginner workshop.
...as for newbies, I don't know.....
The dulcimore is a unique survival of antique musical instruments, and needs explanation. It is oblong, about thirty-four inches in length, with a width at its greatest of about six inches, becoming smaller at each end. Three strings reach from tip to tip, the first and second ones tuned to the same pitch, and the third one forms the bass string. Two octaves and a quarter are marked Out upon the three-quarters of an inch piece of wood that supports, and is just under the strings on the top of the instrument. The Mountaineer "toilers pickin'" it by means of a quill, with which he strikes the three strings at the same time with his right hand, over the gap at the larger end, at the same time using in his left hand a small reed with which he produces the air, or his "single string variations." The music of the dulcimore resembles that of the Scottish bag pipe, in that it is weird and strange. Under its spell on,e finds himself mysteriously holding communion with the gossamer-like manes of the long-departed souls of the palace of Lady Rowena Trevanion, of Tremaine. The dulcimore is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, because the Mountaineers are becoming ashamed'of the musical instrument that stands, with many other things, on the dividing.line between two civilizations. Only a few of them are extant. Within a few more years and this strange old relic of by-gone days will pass, to keep company with
The harp that once thro Tare's Halls
The soul of music shed,
Hangs now as mute on Tara'a Walls,
As if that soul were fled.
The Kentucky Highlanders from a Native Mountaineer's Viewpoint
By Josiah Henry Combs;
J. L. Richardson and Co.,
Lexington, KY 1913
