I am thinking of getting a walnut possum board to increase the volume on my 2 McSpadden Dulcimers. Does anyone have one of these? I will be playing acoustically in groups mostly and am not ready to think of external pickups and amps. Thanks!
You tune a stick more or less "backwards" from a dulcimer. Holding the stick in guitar style playing position, the top string is the bass string and the bottom is the melody string; middle of course is the drone. I would say most sticks are tuned DAd, some are tuned DAA, as are most dulcimers (or CGc/CGG if you like a lower key).
I did a few different searches and knew what I wasn't looking for (McNally, Merlin, etc.) in the way of a strum stick.
EDIT: Funny, until seeing your reply to me, I hadn't seen the photo with the stamp on the headstock-- I missed a few of the photos.
That's it, Robin, thank you! Same stamp on the side. I had searched and searched--how did you find that?
There are elements of an eBay instrument which remind me of your instrument, @boingercat:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Strumstick-Handmade/174043907074?hash=item2885d34402:g:nTYAAOSwcJVdj~Ot
*Note the mention of maker's initials at the tuners.
Yes, I know it's not old. Just was hoping to find some info about how to tune it, etc., because the strings are very different gauges, and I wasn't sure if that was correct.
Not heard of BFM and can't find anything on-line about them or their instruments.
It depends on what you mean by "old"... but none of these stick instruments (not really dulcimers) are much more than 10-20 years old.
It's hard to see in the picture, but it actually is a "B," where it says B.F.M. music. "Handcrafted By B.F.M. Music." I thought it was an S at first. It has great projection. Thanks for any help you can offer!
Do you have any photos to help us?
I acquired a "stick dulcimer" that is stamped (woodburned into headstock, actually) "Handcrafted by B.F.M. Music." Can anyone help me identify the maker? I don't think it's old. Thanks!
Dissonance is what Locrian Mode is all about!! Stick with D-Ab-Bb!!
I'm bringing back this old thread, because I have a similar question regarding the bass and middle drone strings and the D Locrian mode. The fifth note of the D Locrian mode is "Ab", which is a diminished fifth. It is dissonant when used as a drone in D-Ab-Bb tuning. However, if we leave the middle drone as "A" as in the other modal tunings, in this case D-A-Bb tuning, we have a note that is not part of the D Locrian mode. It, too, is dissonant to the ear.
When I have read about the Locrian mode elsewhere, the consensus (if there is one) is that the D Locrian mode sounds best when only the root drone "D" is used along with the melody. So my question is this "Shouldn't the tuning for the Locrian mode omit the fifth and perhaps be something like D-d-Bb, instead of D-A-Bb or D-Ab-Bb?" By omitting the fifth, the dissonance can be minimized. And since you don't want to remove the middle string to play a single Locrian mode tune, the solution seems to be to tune the middle string drone to an octave of the bass string drone, which results in a D-d-Bb tuning.
Any thoughts on this?
Glendy Burke
Hard Times Come Again No More. both by Stephen Foster
Grandfather's Clock.
I prefer Hal-an Tow as a group a capella "chant" rather than an accompanied tune. What would be perfect is to do this one with my Anglo-Saxon Lyre.
So far?
"Hal an Tow" (Watersons version)
"Hard Times Come Again no More"
"Shenandoah"
Maire's Wedding is a great, easy tune. Here's a link to my old friend Steve Eulberg's Dulcimer Crossing tutorial on the tune.
https://dulcimercrossing.com/mw/dc_mw_md_dad_pre.html
Don’t know if it’s quite what you mean, but I love “oh Come, oh come Immanuel” - mournful but hopeful all at once
My top 3 are:
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (same tune as “the waters wide” and the other traditional one)
Jesus, Lover of My Soul (by Paul Oakley)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (cant play this one satisfactorily yet...)
Thanks for your replies folks, really interesting mix of styles and approaches! Sorry I’ve not replied earlier, I’ve been building my second dulcimer - a 20”vsl elliptical design. After a bit of tweaking with the tuning it now sounds lovely and bright!
I love the versatility of the dulcimer and I’m beginning to understand that different songs work better with different styles (fingerpicked, strum and drones etc)
Hi I’d love to try out playing some Jigs or Reels on my dulcimer - problem is I don’t know many! (Aside from Swallowtail Jig and Arkansas Traveller)
Does anyone know any relatively simple but fun ones to play? Tabs or video tutorials would be great!
Welcome DivergentLuthier! I'm another one who would be very interested in a copy of Elizabethan music!
Divergent Luthier, don't let your first post be your last.. You are doing some interesting work making Randy Wilkinson's work available again. There are others on here who will appreciate your efforts.
Hello! I'm new here, this is my first post, as a matter of fact. I was looking for info on this book and came across this thread, so I joined up! I have been in contact with Randy a few months back. I had come across another of his books, Classical Guitar Music of Sor, Carcassi, and Carulli Adapted and Arranged for Mountain Dulcimer. A lady at our club had one and a number of us made copies. Like Dusty Turtle, I was a little uneasy about copying, so I searched for a copy of the book, to no avail. Then I began a search for Randy that lasted a month or more until I made a connection with him. I took the book and converted everything to digital format, duplicating the text and entering all the music into notation software. I made a copy of what I had done and sent it to him. He has given me permission to "publish" the book for minimal charge. I recently learned of the Elizabethan book and found someone who had a copy. I am hoping (over the winter months) to enter that music into the notation software and make that book available, as well. That will be a more formidable task, since the music is more complex and voluminous!
Gregg, you could post this festival in our "Festivals/Events section here on FOTMD, since it has various performers/instructors and is a music gathering. Then it would appear in our site's Events calendar. You can add a picture for it as well. 
Thanks for liking my Posting about ETBPG here on FOTMD Strumella!
The Bowed Psaltery Gathering in East Tennessee Oct. 24 - 26 2019 is a great event for Bowed Psaltery enthusiasts but more special this year because Nozomi Nose, the best Bowed Psaltery Player in the world is flying there from Japan to perform and get a chance to meet the American Bowed Psaltery community! In Japan there is a large group of Bowed Psaltery players that perform together on stage. She will be bringing one of the extra large Bowed Psalteries she makes. I plan on driving out there from California in order to bring more instruments and gear and get to the campground on site early though its never full as most people stay at the wide range of motels in the area. Visit EVENTS on FOTMD's sister site "Psaltery Strings" for more information.
As a semi-professional foodie, I'll try almost anything -- Uni, sushi of any kind, monkey brains, menudo, dried grasshoppers -- you name it. Lots of those things I'd eat again readily. But.... I just can't take raw oysters. It's a texture thing. Breaded & fried, sure. Likewise oyster stew. But not raw.
Massive dislike of boiled okra for the same reason -- slimy texture. Love 'em breaded/fried or split and fried with Amchur in the Indian style.
I've had them sliced thin, and cut into pieces. I suspect they may be like calamari or gator -- overcooked and you have rubber; cooked properly you hve nirvana on a plate.
I will take and post some pics when I go back east. They are in Boston and I am in Phoenix, at the moment.
Oh please share some photographs of your antique dulcimers! What a wonderful history you have. I am sure you will get excellent advice on the care and maintenance of these instruments.
Salt Springs - Hah! If I send my dulcimers to you in Florida, I'm going to send myself along with them and get a little vacation time away from Phoenix (and a big ol' slab of key lime pie).
Seriously, folks, thank you for the input so far. Regarding setting them up to be played again, if modifications of any sort are needed, then I think I would prefer to just keep them intact. The luthier I spoke with back in WV said other than the fact they have aged 150 years or more since when he estimates they were put together, that they are in an amazing state of preservation. He was sure, because the finish and "oxidation" was so consistent, that nothing had ever been done to them - no modifications or repairs,and he even was pretty sure they both had the original (or at least period) strings. I am thinking Dan's suggestion of a museum might be a good option for them, as I have no one to leave them to. There is a stellar musical instrument museum just outside of Phoenix, I am told, but maybe it might be best to see if there's some place back in WV where they came from. Meanwhile, I can learn and practice on the McSpadden that came with the lot.
I would keep them in a cabinet with a couple of guitar humidifiers that you can buy online or in a music store. Or, if you wish you could send them to me and I'll be glad to keep them here in high humidity Florida.
They should be playable, but I would be cautious about using too high a string tension on the oldest of them. Post some pic's if you have a chance.............you have a treasure trove to enjoy. Drop Dulcimore Dan a note if he doesn't reply in short order as I am sure he can help you out with any questions you might have so far as cleaning etc.
I clean with distilled water, gently wiping with a soft cotton cloth (an old t-shirt) and Q-tips. Dry air is not good for any instrument so some sort of humidifier would be good. Making them playable would have to be determined by a luthier, depending on whether "you" are O.K. with altering them from an original state, maybe museum pieces?
Pictures?
Where in AZ? I am in Phoenix.
I am quite interested in the care and feeding in the desert question also. I have a 30 year old dulcimer. I would be decimated if something bad were to happen.
But then, I have been here for over 20 years now. The only effect (maybe) has been a bit of drying of the wood and that has gotten a better tone if nothing else.
I inherited a half dozen mountain dulcimers of various ages a while ago. Among them are two particularly old ones which, I was told by a luthier in WV, were made sometime before the Civil War. One is "coffin" shaped (for lack of a better description) and appears to be made of walnut, and one is a long, rectangular and box-like, but with the tail end of the box being a bit wider than the head end. Both instruments have these wooden key-like pegs instead of mechanical tuners like you see today. (Apologies if my descriptives might ba a little vague, but I'm new at this.) They both have finishes that are alligatored or crackled and with plenty of honest grime, but look in good shape with no cracks, breaks or separations, and each appears to have all original parts. The frets, however, only go under the first string and not all the way across like on the McSpadden I have. My question is this: I have recently moved from back east to Arizona, and want to bring the old dulcimers out with me when I return from my next trip to the east coast. What suggestions would anyone have as far as maintaining these instruments in the dry southwest? I have a cabinet I can keep them in - what about humidity? Do I oil or wax them? Are instruments this old still able to be played?
@david-messenger There are elements which make me wonder whether the dulcimer was put together from a kit. The hearts look very uniform (as though many were cut just alike) and the ply top and fretboard look basic.
