Forum Activity for @john-w-mckinstry

Thanks everyone for your kind responses. Your are wonderful and supportive community.   John

Thanks for sharing that poem John.It is beautiful. I'm adding it to my collection of dulcimer related literature.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Very nice poem.  By looking at the lines carefully due to the spacing, I could read the poem which gives a sense of time and space that I think was intended with this particular poem and its form.  They are often hard to duplicate in certain venues; especially, a place like Facebook is really difficult as I have put poems on there from poets who were having a birthday and the poems never duplicate very well in the form for which it was written and intended.  

But alas, it is poetry and it should be written, read, and heard.  

Lumber/Limber Jacks (tree choppers) are/were somewhat common here, but we still have fun with them.  You could always make a dancing Swagman/Bushranger/Ned Kelly!!!

Thanks perhaps I will, but Kangaroos are somewhat common place here. I had thought of a dog but I think a man of some sort first. Will definitely work on a design for a Roo.

Thanks All!

That's wonderful, John!  Thanks so much for sharing that.

Omg Ken- great idea!  

You've got to make a "dancing kangaroo" limberjack!

I dunno, John, I kinda like the first version with the oddly spaced lines...  reminds me of some Nordic verse I've seen.

The poem should read as follows:

"Dulcimer Days"  

There is no storm

When the dulcimer sings.

Hatred and hurricanes

Wait in the wings.

The gentle song

Of the dulcimer strings

Is the unspoiled paasion

Of everything 

A friend of mine, Val Coleman, of Sandisfield, MA. wrote a beautiful poem after listening to our "Sweet Strings" dulcimer group.          I wish to share this tribute to the sweet music of the Mt. Dulcimer with all of you.              

"Dulcimer Days"

There is no storm                                                                                                                                                                       When the dulcimer sings.                                                                                                                                                             Hatred and hurricanes                                                                                                                                                                 Wait in the wings.

The gentle song                                                                                                                                                                         Of the dulcimer strings                                                                                                                                                               Is the unspoiled passion                                                                                                                                                           Of everything.

Have explored the sites selling lumberjacks and Ken's idea of making one seem more attractive. The cost of the limberjack is reasonable but shipping to Australia is prohibitive, one company wanted $72.00! The limberjack will have to wait a while as I finish up some other projects.

Many thanks for the responces!

Point taken Ken, in future I'll be mindful of the gauges I use. Thanks for the handy link down there too. In my defence the dulcimer shipped from the luthier with these strings on. The luthier is not a US luthier and I think he's sort of drifting off in his own direction somewhat in terms of dulcimer building. 

Carol Walker's "DNA* Dulcimer Ditties" Book 1 is a great starter book, especially if you're interested in chord-melody style playing. The dulcimer club here recommends it for newer players. She teaches techniques using a lot of familiar songs, and she provides fingering recommendations so you'll learn how to play the chords as you go. Her store page has a sample tune from the book so you can see what it's like: http://www.musicladycarol.com/store.html

If you're interested in fingerpicking, I'd also recommend Janita Baker's "Fingerpicking Dulcimer" book to go with it, and Sue Carpenter's "Patterns and Patchwork."

I will also add something to this long ago conversation. I just finished Stephen Seifert's Dulcimer Intensive. It was a local event of which I am truly grateful. It was literally three days. We started about 9 in the morning and ended at 4:30 pm. I have to say that is the best dulcimer workshop I have ever attended. It is well worth the money. Some of the topics were more advanced but I did learn about them. From the beginners to the advanced players, everyone came away with something. And if you felt like you were going to forget what was covered, Stephen provided links to videos for a review. He has a very easy going teaching style. He showed us various different fingerings for chords. That alone for me was worth the price. He discussed chord shapes, fingering exercises, breaking down difficult sheet music into easy, strum patterns, flat picking, finger picking, easy chords, safe notes, etc. If you ever get a chance to take his work shops, do it. You won't regret it. Even if you feel like something is more advanced than your current playing level you will learn it and you will (if you put in the work) feel like it's attainable. He is very encouraging and a really nice guy. He's always willing to answer questions. Yes, he had us work on a line of music over and over again but we all finally got it. That's a taste of putting in the work and it's worth it. I would rate his work shop a 5 star on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best. 

A 16 gauge string -- even a 16 wound guitar string is verging on too  "floppy" normally for a bass string tuned to D3.  As others have mentioned a 20 plain or wound to a 22w, 23w, 24w is the most appropriate bass string for for the common VSL dulcimers.  

Probably not a good idea to just throw on strings for which you don't know the gauge or provenance.

I'm using (I think) a 0.016 electric guitar "G" string as my bass string. I usually tune DAd. It turns out I was wrong about the "too floppy" though, it's floppy but not so bad as to not be playable. I really didn't think it would work. Thanks for the advice and sorry about the incorrect assumption.

I agree; tuning down just a whole tone shouldn't be floppy at all.  What is the vsl of the instrument?  A .023 or .024 is what I use on most and I can go from C to E with no problems.  Just as aside, I find most folks use strings way to light for the tuning they are using.  Oh yeah, what tuning are you using?  LOL.

The solution is that you need another set of strings, although standard gauge strings for common 26-28" VSL should readily tune DOWN one note from DAA to CGG or DAd to CGc.  What gauges are you currently using??   If it's the bass string, as SKip suggests, just change it out for something on the order of .022-.024 which are the gauges usually found in the ordinary packet of dulcimer strings.

A heavier bass string, about .022-.023. Loosening the strings one tone [step] [ D3 to C3] really shouldn't get that bad, it's only about a half turn of a tuning machine unless you have a really light bass string. 

http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html

This can guide you in your string choices, it recommendations can be a bit light by a couple of sizes.

I bought a limberjack from Prairie Wind Toy Co. They're not expensive, the quality is quite good, and they even sell a kit you can build. Their website is prairiewindtoys.com.

Steven

Hi folks, any solutions to this one? The obvious answer doesn't work for me, that is, tuning all strings back a tone, because it makes my low string too floppy to be useful. Dulcimer viagra probably isn't the answer either.

I have bought two limberjacks online.  One was from the late Keith Young.  That is obviously not an option anymore.  

The second was a dog limberjack from these folks on Etsy .   It is solidly made.  No concerns about quality at all.   If you just search Etsy you get lots of other possibilities as well.

Thanks Ken, Yes I have seen people selling Limberjacks on the net but one never knows what the quality will be like.

As for making one --- I hoped to have one sooner than that.

I don't know about the best place, but you can find limberjacks all over the Internet. The places I would usually suggest are either no longer in business or no longer carry them. Are you sure you don't want to make another one?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Not sure that this is the right section to post this, but non of the other sections seemed any more appropriate.

Some years ago I made a limberjack but a fellow musician fell in love with it and I gave it to her. I planed to make an other but that hasn't happened. Where would be the best place to buy one?

1. Thanks Lisa n Ken, happy to know I am on the right track and if Stephen Seifert says it works then I defenatly am. Will continue working on bar chords. 

I was lucky enough to attend a class where Stephen Seifert taught us how versatile bar chords are in a 1-5-8 tuning like DAd.  When you play a bar in this tuning, you're playing the root and 5th notes of the chord.  Since it's the 3rd interval that determines whether a chord is major or minor, you simply don't have to worry about that.  The other instruments will fill in the missing notes. 

If the chord is D (or Dm or D7 or D13...) strum the open strings.

If the chord is E (or Em or E7 or E9sus4...) strum a bar on the 1st fret.

If the chord is F (or Fm or F6 or...) strum a bar on the 1.5 fret (if you've got it)

And so on up the fretboard.  The only outliers are diminished chords (fret the middle string one half-step down because in a diminished chord the 5th is flat) and augmented chords (fret the middle string one half-step up).  If you don't have a half-fret where you need it, you can play the root strings and mute the middle string.

This was a class about chromatic dulcimer, and I got positively gleeful when Steve started calling out obscure random chords (G#13!  F-minor 9th!  E-flat augmented!) and we all responded by playing the appropriate chord.  Now I know ALL THE CHORDS .  Which for an MD player is quite a rush.

In most ensembles it sounds good to reinforce the root and 5th, which is what you're contributing by playing those bar chords.  Rock players call it a "power chord." 

Ken, thanks for reminding me about the Ebony Hillbillies.  I would love the chance to hear Norris Bennett in person.  I found this video where he's playing without a noter and without bar chords, but inspirational nonetheless!  (Memo to self: get a really great ring to wear on my fretting hand.  Also practice.  Very, very much practice.) 

I don't play that style, but a number of years ago I had the privilege of meeting and watching Norris Bennett of the Ebony Hillbillies, a New York City string band, do his thing with a noter -- he basically used the noter across all the strings much like a slide guitar or a lap steel.  Very interesting technique when used with the right kinds of music.

I play in an Old Time String Band and play melody when I can, recently I have been experimenting with bar chords when we play tunes that I find the melody difficult to play and found it quite successful and to me easier than fingered chords.

Has any one else tried this technique and foumd it useful? Better add that I tune DAD.

Foxfire 11.  Finally assembled the whole set a couple years ago.

Of course we all know what's in Foxfire 3.... and Foxfire 12.  Don't we???

Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith. They visit all 58 national parks and write about it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

_Rich Dad, Poor Dad_ by Robert Kiyosaki, and I have this weird tug-of-war between the good advice and then ethics as I read; _If God is Good:  Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil_ by Randy Alcorn.

Hi, this topic is from a while ago, but I'm new here so thought I would chime in - I have a copy here of "The Dulcimer Book" by Jean Ritchie, Oak Publications, 1974. Actually it is about to be overdue to the library - I rather not return it! Before reading this, my knowledge of the dulcimer was pretty much that I own one and mess around with. This book gave me a valuable background on the instrument and the musical tradition it comes from. Plus she describes tunings for different modes, and it is a song book.

Two things I thought were interesting to mention about it are;

The full title is actually "The Dulcimer Book; being a book about the three-stringed Appalachian dulcimer, including some ways of tuning and playing; some recollections in its local history in Perry and Knott Counties, Kentucky; some observations on the probable origins of the instrument in the old countries of Europe; with plentiful photographic illustrations and drawings; and with words and music for some sixteen songs from the Ritchie Family of Kentucky" (!)

At the same time I got this from the library, I check out another book called "The Appalachian Dulcimer Book" by Michael Murphy, Folksay Press 1976. I note the dates because this later book contains the most blatant plagiarism I've ever seen, with entire sections of Jean Ritchie's book repeated without changes, and in some other cases slightly paraphrased. So I returned it and stuck with the original!

If it helps, I've had some interesting and lengthy correspondence with Mr Shellnutt - and I've owned four of his instruments. Dulcimers were made in large quantities and at widely varying levels of quality.  Some were student instruments with a one piece flat headstock/fingerboard; many others were laminate and one even had a sort of formica laminate as an overlay on the fingerboard.  So they were certainly made to a price, but all the ones I've tried have played well and sounded good.  The high quality solid wood ones are particularly pretty and sweet-sounding. 

I've got photos of the 4135 but never owned one.  Looks like an intermediate model.  Can't see whether laminate or solid. Looks like mid to late 70s.  The 5 series models were just into the 80s I think.  Most I've seen have a date on the white/blue label which also has the model number....sometimes very small!

Hope this helps.

Geoff Black, Revels Music

I agree that two fret dressings in five years sounds extreme which is why I started this discussion about fret materials.  I wasn't having trouble with buzzes.  I believe the issue was one of the technicianplayer at the dulcimer shop being concerned about wear and me, the non-musician saying sure, fix it.  You are right I don't probably need a dulcimer specialst and a capable guitar guy should be able to the job.  So thanks for that suggestion.

EVerybody has been great about this.  Thanks again

Two fret dressings in five years seems extreme. You may have too heavy a hand, or you could be one of those people who just plays hard. In any event, you're getting to the point where there won't be much fret left to dress. Did you wear them down to the point where you had buzzes? Or were you simply concerned by visible wear marks? On some of my instruments you can see wear, but it doesn't yet affect the sound. 

Rather than try to hunt up a dulcimer-exclusive repair person, I'd look for a competent guitar repairman/woman close by. I see you're near Phoenix. Surely there's someone there who can can help you decide what to do and do the job. Who did the fret dressing?

About the problems with coiled fret wire--there's a tool, I believe Stew-Mac sells it, which will put fret wire in the proper shape.  

Alright, good to know! Thank you all so much for the advice!

Putting humidifiers in a closed case isn't such a good idea in dry climates (or any climates) as you've seen majajog.   Keeping a dulcimer in its case anywhere is not particularly good for them, either.   When you're in a dry climate like Arizona (I lived there for a number of years)  the best thing is room humidifiers, even if it's just a sponge in a bowl of water sitting on the coffee table. 

We spend the winters in AZ where the humidity gets to 6%.  We keep what was sold to us as guitar humidifier in the case to keep the instrument from drying out too much.  Never had any problems but don't really know if the humidifier helped or not.  On the other hand we still had the humidifier is the case when we got to Arkansas and the humidity was 95%.  Opened the case one morning and two of the strings had broken in the case during the night.  Took it to the dulcimer shop and they said the strings had rusted through.  Apparently too much humidity!

Our neighbor also keeps a humidifier in her case in AZ and had three of her frets rise and the person that fixed them said it was due to too much humidity.

I guess I agree with Noah, that I worry about the instrument drying out too much when there is very low humidity.