Here’s a link to my great grandpa Bill Graves telling a story about his grandpa Mawhee describing the dulcimer he made.
https://open.spotify.com/track/6puYCNvYzWdKHKPseNvZ17?si=82-ifo3SSpuwG0eL_dpDVQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7xwCkNFcI0jMSSQydtalDw
I’m thrilled to join this community and connect with others who share a love for the dulcimer. I’ve recently rekindled my passion for this beautiful instrument, which has deep roots in my family’s history. I’m especially hoping to someday find a Mawhee dulcimer, a unique version of the instrument that my great great grandfather, John Mawhee, carved and played in the mid-1800s. He learned the craft from Cherokee traditions and carried it with him as a Union soldier during the Civil War. To me, owning or even learning more about one of his dulcimers would be an incredible way to honor that legacy and share it with my family.
I grew up hearing the dulcimer played by my great grandfather Bill Graves, who called it the “walking cane dulcimer.” He recorded his music with the Missouri Historical Society, and now—24 years after his passing—it’s surreal to hear his songs on Spotify. (He would have been so tickled by that!) Back in the day, our whole family was buying his CDs and gathering around as he played with a turkey quill. His children joined in with singing and guitar, and those memories of music at family reunions—at Grandma’s house with all my cousins—are some of my fondest.
Unfortunately, I never learned to play when they encouraged me to, and that’s a big regret. But now, I feel inspired to dive in, learn the instrument, and maybe continue the family tradition. The dulcimer’s sound, to me, feels like a family reunion—it brings back so much joy and nostalgia.
I’m hoping this group can help me find my way as I learn to play and possibly locate a Mawhee dulcimer. Where should I start? I’m also eager to learn more about dulcimer music, history, and techniques. My favorite song is “Turkey in the Straw (ha ha ha)” and I’d love to someday be able to play it just like my great grandfather did.
Thank you for welcoming me into this community—I’m looking forward to learning from you all and sharing in this wonderful tradition!
That's wonderful, Anne. Glad you enjoyed it and a lovely time. Have a great 2025.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
It's beautiful! I think about things like this and that $980US is a great price, but then realise that that would be $1,577.68AUD, before shipping...
Well, I worked on playing as ambient music...I haven't busked for a while, but about 2 months ago I was busking at Aldi, and someone asked for my card. They asked if I'd be interested in playing for a Christmas gathering that they would be hosting. I confessed my lack of Christmas repertoire, and that I'd not done such thing before,but they said a couple of Chrissy pieces and just whatever else would be fine, and that they'd be in touch. Having heard this before, and not receiving any messages up until the weekend before Christmas, I was surprised to hear from them on the Saturday, apologising for the short notice, but saying they'd lost my card and only just found it, and wanting me for Monday night. Well, I went along, was made very welcome, had a lovely time and got paid as well. I guess busking can have extra benefits. Here's the lovely tree I was stationed beside.. I hope everyone had a lovely end of 2025 and happy, auspicious start to 2025.
Very true, Dusty. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year.
Maddie, thank you so much for donating to help keep us running. Yes, that name is me. (I don't use my real name online when I can avoid it.)
Your donation was received! 
(and thanks John, for clarifying)
.
Maddie, Lisa is her real name. It's OK!
Maddie
Maddie, thank you so much for donating to help keep us running. Yes, that name is me. (I don't use my real name online when I can avoid it.)
Your donation was received!
(and thanks John, for clarifying)
Maddie, Lisa is her real name. It's OK!
When you work on a song, you get better at that song. But when you work on your technique, you get better at every song you play.
Hi, Strumelia - I just tried to donate US$20 with PayPal and it was to be donated to a Lisa ____(??). Then said there was a problem and try again. Until I know who Lisa ____ is, I await your response. Otherwise, happy to donate. Thanks, Maddie in SW Western Australia.
Happy New Year to all. And wishing for each of you a year of health and blessings beyond measure. And lots of beautiful dulcimer music.
Happy New Year everyone!
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
And a Bonnie Annie to you as well, Strumelia! Your old illustrations are wonderful! 
Thank you for the good wishes, Strumelia!
I hope the coming year is filled with many pleasant surprises for us all!
New Year's Eve, December 31 2024....
Here's hoping all members have a safe, healthy, and productive new year for 2025...full of personal joys like music and also the joy of kindnesses to others.
@patrick If you punch your VSL into a fret calculator for guitar, the third fret is the same as the 1.5 on dulcimer
Does anyone know of a fret calculator that gives the measurement for the 1.5 fret?
Good point, Wally.
As a builder, I want my tuner to be as precise as possible to make sure that my instrument is as precise as possible. If the tuner is off, then the bridge will be off, and the frets will be off and the whole instrument will have a compounding error.
If I were to place my bridge using a tuner that considers 9 cents sharp to be "in the green." and then also tuned my string 9 cents sharp, that could lead to terrible intonation near the end of the second octave.
I also think that our pitch perception is only as precise as the data we give it, so it's just good practice to get as close as I can, unless I have some reason not to.
Well said Wally, well said.
As to the old saying however.....
Actually........ Rocket Propulsion Altitude/Ambient Pressure Adjustment • Can use variable frequency expansion ratio nozzles -extendable, two-step nozzles e.g., RL-10B-2 on Delta IV 2nd stage..............
Why are you worried about tuner precision? Electronic turners are great for many reasons, including letting folks "tune up" backstage to the same note, instead of devoting a minute or so of on-stage time, but in my opinion, a few cents difference doesn't really matter.
In the real world when you take your dulcimer out of its case and try a tune it may sound fine, but the happy person next to you sounds out-of-tune. You get out your tuning meter and find you are a bit off because your strings are at a different temperature than they were the last time you played. In the old days, you would have said to the leader "Play me a D," and tuned to that, the group being more important than you.
Tune your middle A string as precisely as possible (in the green) and then test the tuning when you finger at frets, 3, 7, and 10. On many, perhaps most, dulcimers you will find you are a few cents sharp, but when you play music it sounds fine.
If you put your finger on the string and check the tuning, you may even find that it makes a difference where and how you place your finger.
On large organs, pairs of pipes are tuned with one a few cents sharp to produce a voice called Celeste, or a few cents flat to produce a voice called Humana. Slight dissonances make music more interesting.
As the old saying goes, "This ain't rocket science."
I use the D'addario Nexxus 360. The display is very clear and can be read in any lighting conditions unlike others that i have used in the past. As for comparative accuracy I don't know where it sits, but it's quite good enough for my use.
Tuners Hi kids, I hope everybody is doing well and had a good Christmas. I have a question about tuners and what your experience is with the one that you have, or the one that you can recommend. I have the Snark tuner, mainly because I don't know any better. It seems to work okay I guess. But If I compare it to the one I downloaded on my phone the phone app says that I'm a little flat compared to the Snark. I have heard that the Peterson strobe Is a better unit what is your opinion out there. THANKS
my favorite was a cheap violin tuner that showed which octave you are in and how many cents off you are. I wish I could say what brand it was, but I've misplaced it lol.Hi John. I think there are a few different issues with tuners. One is the accuracy of the gizmo inside. My guess is that all of the common tuners are more accurate than our ears are. However, a second issue is how information is presented to you. One tuner, for example, might have 5 lights in between a C# and a D. But another tuner might have 10 lights in between those tones. So mathematically, the one with 10 lights will be able to display the tone twice as accurately. That means what your Snark considers "in tune" might be twice the range of another tuner, making it less accurate functionally.
If you poke around the internet, you will generally be told that the most accurate tuners are the strobe tuners. Second are those needle tuners (which is probably what your app is). The best small strobe tuners are made by Peterson. The original was the Peterson Strobo Clip, but that is pretty big. I actually have one for sale in the For Sale Forum . Then Peterson came out with a smaller version, the Strobo Clip HD . The smaller one is slightly less accurate but is much easier to read. I also have one of those.
But I personally think the best tuner out there in terms of accuracy and display is TC Electronic's UniTune Clip On . It is not as flexible as the Snark, but its display is much more accurate. It's hard to describe why that's the case, but basically there are two sets of lights to follow. One is probably about as accurate as the Snark, but then there is another fine tuner set of lights to get you even closer.
For guitarists, TC Electronic also makes a PolyTune tuner that can assess all your strings at once. It's pretty wild. I have one of those on one of my guitars, but to be honest, I think the UniTune is all that anyone should need.
It's also worth mentioning that I use several of the D'Addario tuners, both the headstock tuners and the violin tuners , the latter of which can straddle the dulcimer fretboard. Both of those have a lower profile than the Snark, Peterson, and UniTune, but they are probably no more accurate than the Snark. They're just small. You can probably see one next to the nut on most of the videos I've posted.
Tuners Hi kids, I hope everybody is doing well and had a good Christmas. I have a question about tuners and what your experience is with the one that you have, or the one that you can recommend. I have the Snark tuner, mainly because I don't know any better. It seems to work okay I guess. But If I compare it to the one I downloaded on my phone the phone app says that I'm a little flat compared to the Snark. I have heard that the Peterson strobe Is a better unit what is your opinion out there. THANKS
What a beautiful dulcimer. I love the contrast of the ebony fretboard overlay and the cedar top.
For sale a premium custom made 2024 Folkroots H series dulcimer, made in June 2024 in Indiana by Folkcraft, one of the most widely regarded dulcimer makers. Solid Hickory body, solid Western Red Cedar top, 25" VSL (25 inches scale),1&3/8" fretboard, Ebony fretboard, has 1.5, 6.5, 8.5 &13.5 frets, Galax performance back, scroll head, extra nut and bridge included for 4-string setup, Folkroots case. Strap included. Like new, no scratches, cracks or any kind of wear. Sounds beautiful with a full tone, loud clear and warm. This wonderful dulcimer, including all upgrades (ebony fretboard, additional frets, Galax bottom) costs over $1450 new. I am asking for $890.00, Folkroots soft case included. Local pick up in Oakland County, Michigan, or shipping to Continental United States with UPS for a flat fee of $50.00. Thanks!
As others have said, the instrument looks very nice and was likely very well made.
To determine if the instrument is good for a beginner, I would like more information about the action and the VSL (vibrating string length). If you plan to play in a noter/drone style, those issues may matter little. But if you play to play with your fingers, then the action or height of the strings is very important. And if you plan to play chords, then a shorter VSL will be easier (though anything in the 25"-28" range should be OK). And as @Nate says, you will likely want to string it as a three course instrument rather than a four course instrument. It is hard to tell from the photo whether the notches exist in the nut and bridge to facilitate that.
It is hard to find a well-built dulcimer for less than $300, so the price seems fair for such a pretty instrument, but if you will be required to spend more on repairs and other modifications, it may not be worth it.
The instrument has really cool decoration and definitely seems like a good deal at that price, though I'm not sure how much it would cost to repair the soundboard, per what Ken mentioned. For your question about if the instrument is well suited to a beginner, a four course equidistant setup can often be considered more difficult than a three course setup. Four string equidistant is not necessarily the easiest for a beginner, however if you are ambitious, it might be a fun challenge. Four string equidistant definitely works great for finger picking!
Wow, beautifully made! It’s worth doing what Ken has suggested and if intonation is good (which I am sure it is having been built by a good luthier), this should be a great investment.
It is a beautiful mountain dulcimer! With a bit of work from a luthier, it could be nicely set up to play.
That's a very nice looking dulcimer and appears to be well constructed which I would expect from a violin maker. A concern I have 's the cracked sound hole on the treble side, lower bout. It looks like it needs to be repaired. Wittner tuners can be put on this instrument. If the holes are too large, they can be plugged and re-drilled. If too small, they can be made larger. The dulcimer does not have a 6 1/2 fret which is popular with finger pickers, but one can be added. I think it would be a good instrument for any player with a little attention to things I mentioned. It might need an adjustment to the action and I have no idea if it is fretted for equal or just temperament. Something I would do if it were my instrument would be to get rid of the current string anchor and replace it with four screws or brass plated nails, one for each string. That will make replacing strings easier.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I'm sorry. Your photo is too large to see the dulcimer. I can't even read all of your post. Can you resize the photo and then repost it so we can help you with your question?
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I play with a local mountain dulcimer club and we were discussing adding rounds to our music. If you play rounds, please respond with the title(s) of your favorite rounds. Thanks in advance.
I play with a local mountain dulcimer club & we were discussing adding rounds to our music. If you play rounds in your club, please respond with the title(s) of your favorite rounds. Thanks in advance
Sorry, one other question-- I have had this dulcimer hanging on my wall for years. Picked it up at a barn sale for a couple bucks 20 years ago. Made by Tony Ascrizzi in 1978. Any thoughts or insights. The top is cracked and always has been. Worth repairing?
Hello,
I am considering purchase of my first mountain dulcimer (well second if you could the one I bought at a barn sale for decoration, cracked top...)
I am new to the instrument. I currently play cape Breton style fiddle, and my primary violin was made by Canadian luthier Otis Thomas.
I love his work, and the dulcimer I am considering was made by him as well. He thinks heade it about 50 years ago but doesn't recall who commissioned it.
Asking price is 300 plus shipping which seems reasonable I think. I'm not too concerned about the price.
I do want to make sure it's the right set up for a beginner. I'm interested in finger picking but more generally at working towards proficiency. My wife is also interested in learning but doesn't have much experience with stringed instruments.
I don't know much about dulcimers and the various set ups. Will this one work?
I'm not too worried about compression pegs though I do wonder if they can be changed to whitener internal time tuner pegs.
Thoughts and insights appreciated!
Warmly,
Michael
@dwain-wilder, Yep, his dulcimer had both scallops and jumbo frets. To oversimplify, it think high end dulcimer players can be separated into two types, the mashers and the dancers. The mashers slam down the strings into the fret board, the dancers press the strings down so they touch the frets, but try not to push the string into the fret board. I can't say which is better as either type has a much better playing skill set than I do. Good idea about the fret slots. Scallop will weaken the top.
@ken-longfield Ken, I was considering cutting a string of wood with chamfers on both sides and gluing them to the fret board and then cutting the fret slots. Should accomplish the same thing.
@skip Skip, agreed, Any fret higher than the eight fret will need files.
Thanks all for your thoughts. I doubt I will get anything done for a couple months, but will post what I do, if I choose to work at it.
Matt, the other thing to consider is the string tension. If the dulcimer strings are under too much tension it will be hard to get them into the sweet spot. I have an excel spreadsheet that calculates the tension of any string at any pitch for a specified scale length. If you have that info send the sizes and pitches of each string and and I'll run that through my String Tension Calculator.
BTW, that excel spreadsheet is freely available to any who wish it.
I purchased a fretting slot saw blade from Stewmac. I went from dreading the fretsaw to gliding through cutting frets.
@ken-longfield Yea, cutting a dowel down sounds like a good plan.
