Here's a link to Butch's available CDs and Tab Books. "Beatletudes" is located about 3/4 of the way down the page. The book is available in both ukelele tabs and dulcimer tabs, so if you plan to order a copy make sure you read the description and order the correct edition. The cost is listed as $20.00.
http://www.butchross.com/stuff.html
It is in there.................The Book is called Beatletudes by Butch Ross................Prussia Valley has it & you can get it direct from BR on his website.
Hey I just remembered that Butch Ross also has a book of Beatles tunes. Since I know he has played "Blackbird" on the MD, I bet that tune is there.
Hey I just remembered that Butch Ross also has a book of Beatles tunes. Since I know he has played "Blackbird" on the MD, I bet that tune is there.
JP, if you contacted someone privately, that would be OK. But if we make those kinds of connections on the public discussions at FOTMD, even if the actual exchange happens elsewhere, the site is still legally implicated.
It is also legal to tab out for your own purposes a copyrighted song. And you can even share it with a friend. That's all legal.
Yep that is pretty much what i was talking/asking about in my original post.
Soooo all the cover bands we go see at the local pubs are in violation of the copyright laws?
so if i learn this song on my own and tab it out am i in violation of CR law.... how about if i gave a
copy to a friend....
JP, performing and distribution are two different things. You can perform a cover at a formal venue because in all likelihood that venue has paid an annual fee to ASCAP. And even if they didn't, the legal burden is on the venue and not the performer to ensure they are in compliance with copyright tunes.
You can play at home and for your friends and family any copryighted music you want. That is legal. It is also legal to tab out for your own purposes a copyrighted song. And you can even share it with a friend. That's all legal.
But you cannot distribute that material without paying for a license to do so. And the Napster court case affirmed that online sharing constitutes illegal distribution. Because FOTMD is free and open to the public, we cannot exchange copyrighted materials.
hmmmm so those of you who are gigging musicians only play 'Public Domain" tunes? Soooo all the cover bands we go see at the local pubs are in violation of the copyright laws?
so if i learn this song on my own and tab it out am i in violation of CR law.... how about if i gave a copy to a friend?
Don't get me wrong i am for copyright laws....i have several tunes on my CD that where not public domain and i either wrote the composer personally or went through Harry Fox and paid for them.
i have the neil hellman book and no, Blackbird is not in there. as i said i am willing to pay but i would rather not because it will not be using it for performance or recording.
there is the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.
PS... none of my statements are directed at FOTMD
Most of the stuff on those guitar tab sites is illegal. Plain and simple. There are also tons of YouTube videos of people playing covers of copyrighted tunes. That's all illegal, too.
Neal Hellman published a book of Beatles tunes arranged for the MD, but I don't think "Blackbird" is in there. The only dulcimer player I can think of who has played the tune is Butch Ross.
Interesting, very interesting.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Guitar Tab Universe uses an "after the fact" type of copyright situation. The site places the responsibility of the copyright owner to notify it that a particular piece of music is posted unlawfully. Once the notice and supporting evidence is supplied, the offending piece is removed. Most dulcimer sites prefer to proactive and ask that copyright material not be posted with out documented permission.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
You know what might work? A simple fretboard on a board with a cheap rod piezo pickup on the bridge like those from CBGitty. That's all 'strumsticks' and electric MDs are, basically, just add a small amp. Screw the fretboard to the board, no glue required.
A canjo would not be appreciably affected by the heat.... no glued wood joints, only one string (easily tuned if needed), etc. Go ahead and make a nice one out of a single piece of wood, a can, one tuner, a few frets, nut and bridge, and one string and have fun. :)
I neglected to state (along with my Corian idea) that I wouldn't put the Corian on a wooden instrument. A cardboard box or a tin for a soundbox?
It's not so much about the material the instrument is made from. Two things here:
1) Under high heat, GLUE is going to fail under the string tension in high heat. No matter what material you use for the parts, if any glue is used the dulcimer parts will come apart as though you had stuck it in the oven. Maybe you could investigate glue that does not fail under high heat.
2) The sudden and drastic temperature change might implode/explode a wooden instrument if you: Bring it from a freezing cold car into a heated house....OR... Bring it from a very hot car into an air conditioned house. Remember a dulcimer is a long narrow box that's under high string tension.
Personally I would NOT store a dulcimer in a hot car in a parking lot!! Corian would probably hold up, but would be almighty HEAVY! As Banjimer says, store your dulcimer alongside your desk in the office, then take it to the park, rather than storing it in the care. Everything expands and shrinks with heat and cold -- wood, metal, plastic, Corian. The trick is finding the material with the smallest expansion.
Nothing wrong with an all wood dulcimer; you just need the patience to spend a minute or two checking your tuning when you get to the park.
I'm thinking a fretboard made of a material such as Corian (used as counter material in kitchens, baths, etc.) might hold up?
@jp Perhaps those posted free tabs are not legal?
Copyright law is complicated. FOTMD makes every effort to demonstrate good faith with regard to protecting composers and holders of copyright, entities entitled to compensation for their work.
Lisa, isn't there a place a less expensive dulcimer can be stored at work. Then you wouldn't have to go home to get it. You could carry it from work to the park and back on those days when the weather allows you to sit and enjoy both the dulcimer and the atmosphere of the park. You might even end up with other dulcimer players joining you for lunch and a few tunes over the lunch hour. There's no need to store it in your hot/cold car if you have a sympathetic boss and a safe place to store it at work.
Lisa, the old style traditional pieces with oil or shellac finishes hold up pretty good in the cold, but I don't know of anything that will be good in the heat. String tension against most plastics will win out in the extreme heat of a car.....maybe aluminum?
yes i understand copyright... however i wonder why MD is so clogged up with CR issues
and i can go on to sites like Guitar Tab Universe and have it in seconds for free ....for the guitar of course..
i wonder why that is... i am willing to pay of course.... but i wonder why that is.....
That's a copyrighted tune, so if you find Tab for it, it likely won't be free. Just saying. :)
i am looking for some tab for the Beatles Blackbird, preferably Free.
thank you
This dulcimer would be impossible to bow, no matter how you held it. Even if you (ridiculously) tried to bow all 4 strings of each side at the same time (each set of 4 strings is laid out FLAT on its fret board half), if you look at the closeup, you'll see that because of the slanted fret board, an angled bow trying to bow it would be bashing into the lower body bout. It's completely impossible to bow.
So- it's also not a courting dulcimer meant for two people- firstly, the fretboards are not in opposite directions. Secondly, even if the other player was a lefty, see how it would place the bass string nearer the lefthanded player's body and the two melody strings at far side of the player. The odds of anyone playing this way and ALSO being lefthanded are almost non-existent.
This is simply a dulcimer someone made so that they could jump back and forth when they wanted to between a chromatic and a diatonic fretboard. They could also have it tuned to two different keys if they liked playing in jams without having to retune or bring two instruments. Maybe one fretboard was intended for playing old traditional ballads and the other intended for modern music/blues etc. That would all also explain the electric pickup.
The two different slants for the fret boards enable one to angle the pick so you can play on one fret board while avoiding the other one.
Hi,
I’m wondering if anyone has a good idea for a dulcimer for all weather, leave it in the car to play on your lunch break?
Would a cardboard dulcimer with a wooden fretboard hold up to temperature extremes of a car in the summer? Would the fretboard warp?
I know some ukuleles are made out of all plastic and people keep them in their car or take them hiking with success, and they sound decent for a travel instrument, according to what I’ve read on uke forums. So how about a cardboard dulcimer with a plastic fretboard? In theory, would that hold up better as a car dulcimer than a wood fretboard version? I have a friend who owns has a small business and makes things out of acrylic plastic, like custom fish tanks. I could ask about the logistics of making me a fretboard (And even the body) out of acrylic, if it sounds like it’s worth pursuing. I have to take an entire hour for lunch at work, and it’s too far away for me to drive home and back. I usually go sit in a park to kill time, and would love to have a dulcimer to play that I could leave in the car trunk all the time.
Thanks, Lisa
There's a classic photo of an older woman bowing a regular dulcimer. She sits back from the edge of a table with the tail of the dulcimer in her lap and the body leaned up against the edge of the table directly away from her. This instrument could certainly be bowed that way. But who knows! Maybe it was a John Jacob Niles experiment!!
I've bowed both lap dulcimer and bowed dulcimers. . . I couldn't imagine bowing this critter. In my view, the design doesn't seem to lend itself to bowing.
Bowed instruments are not played with the bow string parallel to the soundboard. The bow string runs diagonally from the center of the strings to just above the edge of the instrument, on both sides: /__\
This looks like a lot of fun, Lisa! Lucky!
Very cool. Its good to be in the hands of someone who will take care of it!
The fretboard is set up so that you have both diatonic and chromatic frets. Diatonic under all 7 strings, and chromatic only under the first three strings.
HUGE amount of soundhole area -- far more than is needed.
The way the fretboard is "radiused" with a ridge rather than a curve (never seen anything quite like that), plus the narrowness of the bouts makes me wonder if it wasn't intended to be a bowed instrument.
Wow, Lisa, I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like this! Do you know anything about when and where it was built?
Hi,
I wanted to share a picture of the used dulcimer I just got in the mail today. I thought it was very unique, and wasn't too expensive, they listed it as poor condition. Really, it's just homemade, an amateur build. I don't care, I love this thing! It's got great resonance and sustain, and the frets seem to be placed well, as it plays in tune pretty good. It's electric, but I think I need some adaptor as the plug opening is small. I'm not overly interested in the electric feature, but will see if it works.
Thanks for looking, Lisa
