I hope Brian's passing was as peaceful as possible; he rests now where there is unspeakably beautiful music.
Thank you, Jan, for letting us know of Brian's death.
May Brian rest in peace. I'm glad he enjoyed his friends here while he was able. Having friends with which to share your joy of music is a powerful thing. Thanks Jan.
I am sad to report the death of our member, Brian Beach, who lived in the small community of Vasser, Michigan. Brian had been interested in the mountain dulcimer for years and had even made two, I believe. Brian suffered from COPD and had been unable to live on his own for awhile, needing a certain level of skilled care to bring him whatever comfort he could find. Brian treasured his FOTMD friends and enjoyed chatting and discussing a wide range of dulcimer topics. A humble man with a big smile and a caring heart, Brian will be missed by his dulcimer family.
Rest easy, Brian, and enjoy the music of the heavens that we can only barely imagine!
Have a look at the Sacred Harp hymns. They tend to be written in simple standard music notation for multi-part harmonies and many of them work well for noter drone playing. Here is Supplication played on an old Jethro Amburgey dulcimer with a two part harmony. I agree with Lisa when she says to lay back off the drones.
https://soundcloud.com/robin-clark-937720894/supplication-jethro-amburgey-dulcimer-25-feb-15
I knew you folks would have great ideas! Thanks so much! I play by ear, (N/D) and am just starting a few chords. Jenn is just starting dulcimer, watching what I do knee to knee in the old way. But she's a quick study, so we were already planning totry Dona Nobis Pacem. There will be lots of laughing...
Strumelia, good idea to back off of the drones! I think I can do that. Ta also for reminder of Blackest Crow harmony! I learned it from your tab; will try singing with the harmony. Time to revisit your beautiful blog anyway, now that I'm at a different place in my journey.
Greg - one part higher up, great!
Skip, would never have guessed about the Steven S. book. Will search for it.
Ken, I knew it was a stretch to think there'd be a book...I can play what I can hum, but not make up harmony on dulcimer.
And Lisa G, big thanks for the idea of rounds and the terrific list of partner songs. Never heardof partner songs before! whole new world!
Do I ever love fotmd!!
There's no reason one player couldn't use a noter and play the melody only (no drones) while the second player accompanied them with chords. I used to do this with a friend. He would play the melody only and I would accompany with chords, sometimes strumming across all strings for the full chord sound and sometimes breaking the chord up into an arpeggio (finger-picking single strings while holding the full chord). This worked really well with dulcimer and banjammer playing together. If you try this, have one player play their part higher up the neck and the other player play their part lower on the neck. The individual parts will resonate clearer this way. In case you're interested, my playing partner knew very little about chord playing. He was a self-taught single-string melody player. When his melody playing was harmonized with my chords, we both noticed an improvement in our music.
A separate book or tab was not needed, because most tab includes chord names above the tablature these days.
Some great ideas there! Strumelia is right -- one half of the duet really has to ignore the drones! Lisa's counter-melody is is a wonderful idea. And I never realized Stephen had done a JTJ Harmony book.
My student has just snow-birded back North for the summer, but I'll work up some of these ideas for when she returns...
Steven Seifert's Join the Jam and Join the Jam, Harmony may work for you. There may be other books with both melody harmony parts that might work for noter/drone also.
One playing an octave higher [add 7] or lower [playing a bass] may work some also.
I remember an old trick for playing a counter-melody in DAA tuning. Fret the middle string two frets down from the melody string. No reason this wouldn't work with two players, one playing the melody tab and the other playing the same tab but two frets lower. Listen while you do this, because sometimes that counter-melody doesn't sound good and then you can try sliding up or down a fret until it sounds better.
When all else fails, there are lots of rounds. Frere Jacques, Oh How Lovely is the Evening, Come Follow Me, Dona Nobis Pacem... You can probably find tab for these and they are automatically duet arrangements! Trios and quartets, too!
There's also what the Internet has just told me are called "partner songs." Like when you play "All Night, All Day" while I play "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." This page says "Cindy" and "Liza Jane" play together. How about "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" with "Go Tell Aunt Rhody"?
I'm not sure if this is but so helpful, because this is vastly smaller in size than what you're asking, but I have fallen in love with my 17" Feather Dulcimer. I loved playing my Walnut Creek, too, but there were songs I never could get that I seem to just play out of the blue now. That makes me think a 26.5" (and I see you added 25") might be beneficial to some.
Thanks hugssandi and others- your comments are indeed helpful. I decided to use a 25" fret board pattern for my April dulcimer 
Just lovely~thank you for blessing us!
Just my two cents but I think if two players are playing noter/drone style duets, it would be good if one or both of them knows how to lighten up on the drone strumming a little- perhaps a lighter touch or only intermittent full drone string strums. Otherwise it's going to be a pretty big 'wall o' drone'.
I don't have a book of noter duets, nor do I know of one. But here's one (free) noter style duet tab I wrote for The Blackest Crow, if that helps get you started:
https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2009/05/blackest-crow.html
Duet books? There are barely any noter & drone books at all!
Something that could be fun is to work up duets using old and new versions of tune. For example there are 3 progressively older tunes for Auld Lang Syne, and I play the modern version as the verse and an older version as a chorus or refrain. The two tunes are similar enough they could be played together.
Thank you for the kind thoughts Cindy ,much appreciated !
JohnH
This is so beautiful.....so heartfelt.......
Thank you so much for re-posting it!
If only the world had a few more Frans!!! 
John Henry, I am so sorry that I am so late with this, but I pray that God lifts you up and comforts you.
I hope you find your way back to playing music, and that it can bring joy in your life.
You and your family are in my heart and in my prayers.
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
Anybody know of any noter style duet books or resources? Thanks.
Phil thanks for re-posting that video. Such a joy to listen to that old hymn sung with such grace and sincerity.
I Cor. 15:53-55
What a voice for someone of that age! Amazing indeed. RIP Fran.
This video was taken on October 9, 2013-Fran Cargill's 93rd birthday. She is accompanied by Sally DeLawter. Fran passed to her heaven ly home April 10, 2017. There is beautiful dulcimer music and singing in heaven today!
Just watched your you tube demo of the capo. What a great educational video for novices like me. And I loved the sound of the dulcimer you are playing. What is the wood and is it by any chance a Blue Lion? Dulcinina
I'm eyeing a Roscoe Horton, for sure it's just intonation just looking at the fret board, has geared tuners, not wood pegs. I have seen some info on him, only seems to have built about 1700 dulcimers, this one in 95. Has anyone played one or familiar with them, looks to be well built.
Did see some personal history on him, and the other feedback I saw was from folk who didn't understand the difference between, JI and ET, same as me at first, when I got my first JI Dulcimer without knowing I assumed the dulcimer was "messed up", but now I also play noter style and get the different tunings for older, or traditional style build..
So, I'll stop rambling. just always like asking before I jump. Thanks all!!
(Generally "Beginner Dulcimer" means a less expensive instrument -- perhaps with a cardboard body, or a body made from birch veneer rather than 'planks' of walnut or maple or whatever.)
What confused me was the ones I have hear mention they had a 'beginner dulcimer' didn't have the cardboard or veneer or over seas type but a decent walnut dulcimer - that is why I was wondering. So, that would make sense if they had above mention type.
Maybe, just a beginner one for them since they are beginning and later they will go for one - more to their needs as they learn what those needs may be.
(strap do you wear for your thumb?)
FUTURO, can get them at grocery or CVS type stores.
Mike Sanderson is still an active vendor in Northern Michigan and is listed as a vendor in the Original Dulcimer Players Newsletter...........Paula Brawdy should be able to find away for you to get in touch with him...........you might send her a private message and see if she can help. I am told he makes a fine dulcimer too...........and it looks like you have one.
Indeed, Ken provides the essential info here: a beginner's dulcimer is intended to be as inexpensive as possible. So you will not find self-trimming tuners or ebony overlay or a bevel to rest your arm or a radiused fretboard or any of the other niceties that you may discover you want on your ideal dulcimer. Hopefully the builder took his or her work seriously enough that the intonation and action are good.
But certainly if you find a beginner dulcimer to continue to serve your needs, there is no reason to have to abandon it for something more expensive. I know someone out here in the Bay Area who bought the same beginner dulcimer that Ken refers to and two years later bought a more expensive one, only to discover she preferred the beginner dulcimer, so that is what she plays.
My first dulcimer was not technically a beginner dulcimer, but I bought it before I really understood extra frets or fretboard overlay and stuff like that. I still have the dulcimer, but I consider it a loaner and let people borrow it while they decide if they want to get serious and get their own dulcimer.
Here's the other dulcimer I have. There's a label inside that says "Michael Sanderson" and "Sylvan Music" and "Harbor Springs, Mich.," with what I assume to be a serial number in the low 100s. It's got a deeper, richer tone than my Roosebeck Grace Mountain.
Does anyone else have an instrument from Mr. Sanderson? I looked around and found only two pieces of information about him, which is from 2000 or so. The instrument (the label inside) is from 2011. My mother bought it from someone in June 2016, and I inherited it from her.
What sort of wood does this look to be?
Thanks everyone. The exercises will be very helpful, Ken.
Marg, what kind of strap do you wear for your thumb?
I know I have arthritis in my thumb so I'll have to be careful about how long I play. I have Herdim picks and will switch off. Thanks again for your input everyone.
It sounds like you have the same problem I do. If it is the same problem, you have arthritis in the joint at the base off the thumb. Not curable. Playing less helps but does not eliminate the problem. A thumb splint may help if you can find one that immobilizes the joint but still allows you to hold a pick. There is a surgical procedure which might help but make sure you have a well qualified hand surgeon perform it. It consists of splitting tendon in your arm and bringing half of it down and packing it into the space at the base of the thumb joint created by removing some one. Recovery is about six months and you will probably have less hand strength than before.
Such a great quote!!!!
Ken has given a good overview.
I'd like to add this- when i've gotten 'beginner' instruments of any kind and then later on purchased higher end examples, I sometimes keep the beginner one and start calling it my 'travel dulcimer' (travel banjo, etc). It becomes an instrument i can take anywhere without worrying about it as much as I'd worry about my more expensive instrument.
Your 'beginner dulcimer' can eventually graduate to being your wonderful 'travel dulcimer'...and it will no longer have to suffer any stigma! 
Generally "Beginner Dulcimer" means a less expensive instrument -- perhaps with a cardboard body, or a body made from birch veneer rather than 'planks' of walnut or maple or whatever. Also a less expensive set of tuning machines, perhaps friction tuners rather than geared tuners. Also, the action of a beginner may not be optimized for a particular style of playing.
The important factor is the precision of the fret layout, regardless of whether the body is made from Leggos, or cardboard or the finest lumber money can buy. If the layout of the frets is not precise, you simply will not get the proper notes, and that makes any instrument worthless.
No reason a "beginner" dulcimer can't be just part of your suite of instruments. I have one of Harpmaker Dave's Student Models which he slightly customized for me a number of years ago. It has a deeper sound than I prefer these days, but otherwise works as good or better than any of the other dulcimers I've owned or built.
Here's the Hand Health article I put together 'way back when; from an exercise taught by my fencing master to promote wrist flexibility primarily. I'm not sure how much effect it would have on the base of the thumb, but, as Salt Springs suggests, it might help:
http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/files/articles/28/hand_health.pdf
There used to be an article on Hand Health that Strumelia had on another site as I recall. Perhaps she can tell us where to find it if it is still available.
This is one of the things I love about the dulcimer. It can be simple, and yet I know I will also be learning new things and advancing my whole life!!!!
