Forum Activity for @john-c-knopf

Greg,

You remember that Jean Ritchie used to play in the key of C a lot of the time?

Me too.

Obviously, the dulcimer can be tuned up or down to play in alternate keys, but what about adjusting string tension for comfort?

I've been noticing lately that I have a preference for less string tension.  Both my left hand and my right hand seem to be more comfortable when the strings are more flexible and have more give.  In practice, this means I frequently lower the tuning as much as a whole step to create the fingering sensation that I prefer.

Instead of the standard D-A-A or D-A-d tunings, I find myself lowering the tuning to C-G-G or C-G-c.  Obviously, I have to tune back up if I plan to play music with others or attend a dulcimer workshop where D tunings are the norm, but when practicing or playing for myself I prefer the feel I get with the lower tuning.  

The advantage of the lower tuning is a more flexible string that is less resistant to fretting, hammering, or plucking with the left hand and more easily strummed or fingerpicked with the right hand.  In short, I am more relaxed when the strings play more easily.

Obviously, there is a limit to how much the strings can be lowered, but I have found that the tuning of most dulcimers can be lowered a full step without creating any problems with loose or rattling strings.

Does anyone else experiment with tunings higher or lower than standard D tunings by adjusting string tension to achieve a more comfortable and relaxed feeling in the fingers making contact with the strings?  

This film clip is outstanding:

I hope to get to see the movie after it's released!  

Yes, I am aware of Janita Baker's DAA#d tuning.  What I was trying to achieve with the DADb tuning is to allow my fretting hand to add more complex chordal arrangements and harmonic flourishes to music that is tabulated DAD while also allowing me to strum (and not just pinch the DAD notes, as Baker's tuning would require).  

Janita Baker developed a method of playing chromatically by tuning to DAA#D. I have a four string chromatic dulcimer I tuned to DGAD. I used it to arrange Rondo Alla Turca, as best I could with four strings.

Thank you, Dusty!!  Garret

Garret, lot of individual instructors offer online lessons.  But as far as I know, those are the only two dulcimer schools online.  They share some basic similarities: both involve monthly subscriptions that give you access to a range of materials for different levels of play.  Dulcimer Crossing involves a greater variety of different instructors, for in addition to Steve Eulberg, there are lessons by Erin Mae Lewis, Nina Zanetti, Neal Hellman, Abrey Atwater, and others.  The Dulcimer School has Stephen Seifert and to a lesser extent Aaron O'Rourke.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that I know both Steve Eulberg and Stephen Seifert personally and am fond of them both.  Both are excellent teachers with decades of experience teaching dulcimer.  If you've been playing for a while and have a knowledge of basic music theory you may find some of the lessons "below" your needs, but that doesn't mean they are useless. I often just use the tab and the performance videos to learn tunes and skip the lessons that go measure by measure through a tune.

My advice would be to join both schools for a month and poke around a lot. You might decide one works better for you than the other.  Or you might decide that you would get more out of private lessons than you would from joining either one.  But you can always cancel your subscription anytime, so there are no long-term commitments. 

Oh, and happy birthday!

Hi!  My wife is wanting to find a birthday present for me and I suggested an online dulcimer school (I think I might be categorized as intermediate to advanced, based on the music I can play that is categorized as such).  Are there any others than Dulcimer Crossing and Dulcimer School?  Thanks!

Thanks, Ken!  I've joined quite a few, including some of the ones you recommended.  Hopefully I'll find some with similar bents.  

Hi Garret;

You might want to check the list of Groups here and see if there are some groups aligned with your interest.  There are groups for 4 strings, baritone dulcimers, classical music, and many more that you may find of interest.

You can read some of a groups posts.  But to see everything and reply to posts you need to Join the Group by clicking on the button at the top of the discussion.

Hello, All!  After a very long absence, I have returned!  I am a classically trained pianist and am very drawn to the harmonic (or even inharmonic) complexity of classical music.  That's not to say I'm not interested in various kinds of music—I am.  But I am excited most by novel harmonies and chordal structures.  Because of this, I purchased two McSpaddens, one with the 1+ and 8+ frets and one chromatic.  (My McSpaddens also allow me to convert them from the standard string arrangement to a baritone string arrangement without much trouble.)  I've also bought a lot of tabulature (for three strings) but have found much of it too simple in its harmonic structures (and very simple to play, too).  I played around with various tunings on my semi-diatonic dulcimer using only three strings but have found that still somewhat limited.  I thus have focused more on trying to use a 4-string arrangement (with a DADB tuning, employing a 5th and a 3rd).  Anyone tried using a four-string arrangement, playing more complex harmonies?  I'll be grateful for any feedback!!  Thanks!

Not just for beginners.  Thank you, Sandi, for bringing this up again and thank you, Dusty, for the cleaned up link for http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/ .  The site is worth bookmarking and also prowling that Main Menu.  It started in 2000 and is so jam-packed with information and sites to see.  While the tab and other information isn't written for dulcimer, it has tons of resources.  I had two songs I needed to come up with the lyrics, "Old Joe Clark" and "So Long It's Been Good to Know You."  Both have tons of versions and this let me compare and decide.  There's lots of music resources and the music education section is a school unto itself.  Just wish the dulcimer had been part of the resources.  It feels like we're the "Rodney Dangerfield" of musical instruments.

I take a chair yoga class twice a week, plus t'ai-chi twice a week.  The chair yoga class teaches all sorts of seated and standing stretches that are simple, easy, and keep you from cramping up.

So true Sandi!   I try to make it a habit whenever I get up from my desk to do a standing stretch on each side- holding onto the chair arm with one hand while twisting at the waist and reaching the other hand up real high. So simple and quick to do that on both sides, it feels real good and I think it helps counteract the damage of sitting for long periods.
You're right that incorporating a little 'mini-action' whenever you have a moment, or in between doing routine things... it all adds up.

I know I'm always in this place of failure, but my BFF became a PT assistant and shared some great advice that I will move to:  It's not about your daily workout (not that it's not necessary!)~it's about living an active lifestyle.  An easy way to do this is to get up every hour for some movement, i.e. 20 squats and such.  So doable!  Hope I'm inspired, and so are you....

Thank you for this resource!

Can anyone suggest luthiers in the Portland, Oregon area that have some experience with dulcimers? I have two that need some minor work resetting some frets, general action adjustment, etc., and I would rather not ship them somewhere out of the area.

Thanks

As promised, that video

My stand up dulcimers was built for me by Jon Harris of Sweet Strings Dulcimers (you can see it in my profile picture). He built it based on the way I play, and God bless him, I didn't ask him to. It's very much a standard hourglass dulcimer except that one side is much smaller so I can get my hand around it, it also has a very short VSL (22" or 24", I forget) and because of that pretty heavy strings. Prior to that I was using a teardrop instrument.

Having played it for 15 years now, I can say that I agree with most of the things people have said in this thread. Anything with a neck is not a dulcimer, it's the body continuing under the fretboard that's partially responsible for what gives the dulcimer it's unique sound.

And also because the thing the way that sound is transferred from the strings through the body is different than on a guitar, mandolin or any other stringed instrument, the dulcimer has a unique voice. This is not true of any strumstick type instrument. And as mentioned elsewhere, the resonating cavity is too small to offer much volume, tone or sustain. I have a Strumstick, a Washburn Rover, and a couple of other things. The physics of building them render the necks too small to be useful. I've played the Woodrow Artist, and it's pretty cool and sounds great, but it's not a dulcimer. And Merlin was also a big disappointment.

Unfortunately, Jon Harris has stopped building. But Folkcraft once made me a dulcimer based on his specs. I don't think they keep them in stock (in the 15 years I've been doing this, you're the second person to have shown an interest in this style of playing). But I'm sure they'll make you one. Altho' I prefer the Jon Harris, I still use my Folkcraft pretty regularly.

I don't find myself limited by playing standing up, rather it's apples and oranges. There are things I can play standing up that I can't do sitting down and vice versa. I'll post a video.

Various operating system securities won't allow some forms to be completed. Simply email your name and address to

  berea.traditional.gathering@gmail.com

and we'll add you to the list!

I had the Olympia Walkabout Dulcimer for quite a few years, until I sold it to fund another instrument. Kevin Jones is great to work with and will build it to your specs. They are a little more, but you are getting a classy instrument that isn't tinny or toy-like. 3 2-course sets of strings, makes a beautiful, full sound.

https://olympiadulcimercompany.com/products/

In fact, here is a video of MY specific Olympia.

I'm all excited to be there.  I did have a little trouble using the website you send us to fill out and let you know we're coming.  I sent you an email...hope it gets there.   aloha, irene

Both those look like very nice instruments. The Merlin/Woodrow fretting system allows for two octaves (major scale only) when one plays across the strings. The low octave starts on the "bass" string, crosses over to the middle string on the fifth note for three notes, and ends on the high string. The second octave is entirely on the first string, one fret at a time, traditional dulcimer style, starting on the open string. One can do some nice chording with it, too.

As for Dusty's objection to no "6th" fret, but only a "6+" fret, the 6th fret would confuse the issue of a purely diatonic instrument. How it differs from the traditional dulcimer is with the number one note of the scale on the open string. As something of a traditionalist who likes the 5-5-1 tuning, I sometimes find the 6+ fret a nuisance.

I believe so................check out the you tube demo's etc. here...............there are a slew of tunes etc. on YouTube.........demos, lessons etc.

https://www.youtube.com/user/woodrowmusic

Wow!  These are amazing instruments!  I wonder if they are all dulcimer frets -- I need to check them out.

http://thewoodrow.com/

Worth a look.............

I, too, wish I could make it! 

I've been dreaming of an Olympia Walkabout dulcimer for years, but I haven't sprung for one yet. https://olympiadulcimercompany.com/products/

Many "cigar box guitars" have 3 strings and a diatonic fret pattern.  The easiest ones to build have no frets at all and you play them with a slide.  Anything is possible!  http://cigarboxguitars.com/

There are a lot of decent and inexpensive baritone ukuleles on the market now.  I got a Kala "Makala" for 80 bucks at Sam Ash and it plays great.  Warm tone, nothing like a banjo-ish strumming stick.  Four strings, 19-20" VSL.  Normally tuned DGBE (like 2/3rds of a guitar) but the strings will take DGAD and (usually) DAAD tunings.  Or just remove the G string and tune it DAD.  Nylon strings instead of steel, which is a plus ergonomically. 

The chromatic fretboard is a dealbreaker for some folks, but creative use of masking tape can mark the frets to ignore (or the frets to use) and sometimes that works well enough.  I think it's worth a try, given that diatonic guitar-neck instruments with a rich sound are hard to find, while bari ukes are everywhere.

I'm sorry to hear Ken's description of the shoddy construction of the Seagull Merlin.  I have a Seagull 12-string guitar that is very nice (exceptional for the price) and made in Canada. The only Merlin I played (for a total of 3 minutes) had a slightly bigger and warmer sound than other strumsticks, but it oddly has only a 6+ and not a 6 fret. And it only has a total of 7 or 8 frets, so you only have one octave to work with.  The price is about that of a student model dulcimer, so I don't see it as having much of a purpose at all. If, as Ken states, many of them are not playable due to misplaced frets, it's a real shame.  No wonder you see so many on Ebay.

I love all the ideas for modifying instruments.  This must be how new instruments get invented!

A modified octave mandolin/Irish bouzouki might be a possible solution. Unwanted frets can be removed and the slots filled. You could choose whether to modify the peghead or not--it wouldn't make any difference in playing. The nut and  bridge may need to be modified to accommodate whatever stringing configuration you settle on. If you can find a used instrument at a reasonable price, the cost of the modifications shouldn't be too high.

Ah, I wish I could be there.

You read here about our impromptu Gathering last year.  This year we're inviting every interested traditional player to have fun with us.  You can check out what we're doing this year at Berea College in Berea, KY May 16-19th at Dulcemore Dan Cox's website:

If you plan on attending, we need to know -- by April 30th -- how many are coming and how many are staying on-campus.  We have to give the College a head count on May 1st.   Go to the website and register ASAP, please.

A great many of the Seagull Martin instruments have had serious fret problems -- missing frets, grossly misplaced frets, etc.  They appear to be made 'offshore' by factory people who don't know and don't care.  The company apparently makes pretty good guitars, but their 'stick instruments are just not very good.  I've seen 3.  One only had 6 frets (!),  one had badly spced frets, and the third was just OK.

The sound was typical 'stick instrument, certainly not 'guitarish' like the OP is lookin for.

Perhaps a Seagull Merlin would be appropriate?  http://www.seagullguitars.com/en/products/m4

I'm just speculating here, but perhaps you should consider a tenor guitar.  However, I'm not sure anyone makes one with a diatonic fretboard like a dulcimer.

Like many mountain dulcimers, tenor guitars have four strings.  You could always restring one to reflect your favorite dulcimer tuning.  The only hangup would be getting used to the chromatic fretboard, which would have both advantages and disadvantages.  

As KenH has stated, the more you modify the original design of the traditional dulcimer the more you move away from what would normally be called a dulcimer.  The changes suggested above would result in a hybrid instrument that is part dulcimer and part guitar.   It's already been done by combining dulcimer and banjo features into a "banjimer" or dulcimer and dobro features into the "dulcibro".  There's nothing stopping you from modifying a tenor guitar into a chromatic guitar-like dulcimer.  Good luck with your search and let us know what you decide and how it works out.   You may be on to something.

Bobby's Cittern has a diatonic fret scheme like the dulcimer.  American Cittern is a name that Bobby and I came up with for an instrument that he was designing and building.  He doesn't have anything on his site, but I'm sure he still has pictures of what he made.  Cittern is the name of an old Renaissance instrument with a diatonic neck that was not a proto-guitar, not a lute or any other instrument.  It has a nearly round body a couple inches deep and perhaps 14" in diameter.  

The banjo-esque sound comes from the shallow body.  If you want a more rounded sound, look for a deeper body.  For example, compare the sound of a McSpadden v the sound of a Folkcraft or Blue Lion.  When playing an instrument in the underhand "guitar" style, you will find many of the chord/melody riffs of a mountain dulcimer impossible.  You simply do not have the same reach as the overhand dulcimer style.  Butch Ross gets around this by "playing in the box", similar to a classical guitar player.

Good luck and please post videos when you have settled on an instrument.