Forum Activity for @patty-from-virginia

Dulcinina, a while back I asked my daughter to play the piano while I played my dulcimer. Unless you are amplified in some way the piano will overwhelm the dulcimer. I'm no expert but unless I was wired my acoustic dulcimer was no match for the piano, especially when my daughter hit those keys, LOL 

I'm a big fan of the dancing pickle.    And this guy 

His name is Smiley, he is my favorite FOTMD Smiley cause he loves to sing to your songs.

I used the new flute character  yesterday.

Ken, the  smiley was designed by FOTMD member--and my good friend, artist, and dulcimer-playing buddy--Teri West, of Louisville, KY.  Years ago, I found the design on Café Press and had a totebag made with the design and the next dulcimer event I attended she spotted it and introduced herself.  We live 100 miles apart, but see each other as often as we can work it out--and we're usually at the same events.  She'll be happy you like it--it's one of my favorites, too!

Some of my other favorites are:  ,   ,   ,   , and  .

A friend who plays piano wants to accompany me as I play the dulcimer.  Any of you have suggestions for suitable music?  I'm an intermediate/beginner so it needs to be simple.  I was leaning toward hymns but am open to any suggestions.  Dulcinina

  Not that I use this that often, but it is my favorite; wish there was a way to use it other places!

My first dulcimer was an hourglass Folk Roots dulcimer purchased in about 1985 or 1986 from Elderly Instruments.  While visiting one of the Toledo Metroparks I stopped to listen to a lady playing a dulcimer at a very small gathering organized by one of the park rangers.  I ordered my first dulcimer from Elderly Instruments shortly thereafter.  About three or four years later I organized a dulcimer club for students at the local elementary school.  By then I owned three or four dulcimers, so I sold my Folk Roots model to one of the students at a fraction of its value to help them obtain their own instrument.

I thought this might be fun.  Have you noticed the new smileys that Strumelia has made available to us?  Do you have any favorites?

It's  today and I just finished   so I thought I might ask if you guys   certain smileys or if they just make you want to  .

Congratulations Susie, While I don't have a high spirits Em. I have the maple from Ancient territories..if I had to grab just one flute It would be that Em. 

My HS Em Condor Bass in Spanish Cedar arrives on Monday. 

I went with cedar, because I have a mid-tone G in cedar, and I love its tone. I have a couple walnut flutes already.

Yeah I can see how DropC tuning would be good for singing and backup !

I really like this tuning when playing fiddle tunes too Strumelia, but when I'm singing folk songs in C or D and playing backup, I prefer drop C tuning gCGBD.  When I play this tuning in D, I like to start with open G, gDGBD, and capo the first three strings at the second fret and leave the 4th string open, capoing the thumb string to A.  This gives me aDAC#E, but I can use key of G shapes.

I use a capo for D rather than tuning up.  I'm a bit nervous about tuning up with the medium gauge strings I like to use.

My Grandpa has a robert mize dulcimer with 4 strings but 6 notches so that equidistant stringing can be used.

Thank you for all the responses.  Based on what has been said so far, I am going to build for 4 strings (double melody) option, but will be stringing for 3; unless otherwise requested. 

I agree with Dan. With wood pegs I would definitely prefer three strings. I also find it easier to play with the three string set up. If I had a custom made dulcimer I would have it set for three strings. I can see Rob's point with the four equidistant. I've not tried that yet but plan to just to see what that is like. Although, I do prefer to play noter drone. Some may say the double melody is better for noter drone. Well, I have two responses for that. The old traditional dulcimers didn't have double melody strings and when doing the semi tones, going in between so to speak, it's easier to press down a single string with the noter than double. It's easier for me. I think you will find that personal preference is the deciding factor on this topic. 

Oh, I loved music period in grade school! We sang Swing Low Sweet Chariot, She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain, my favorite Ol' Dan Tucker, I've Been Working on the Railroad, can't remember the title but the words were "make new friends but keep the old ones. One is silver and the other gold". My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean, West Virginia Hills, Tell Me Why, Red River Valley, Home on the Range, and of course, all the Christmas favorites!

Thanks, Ken. That makes sense!

Tuner beads DO work, even in a short area (depends on the size of the bead and angle of string slope.  Flat sided beads are best.  You can even carve tapered wedges similar to a reverse capo to fit between the bridge and the place where the string breaks over the end (or meets the pin).

Sounds like a plan. Thank you so much, Greg!

I don't have any experience with round beads, but I would assume they would not work as well because only a small amount of the underside of the bead would be in contact with the fretboard, so the bead would be more likely to slip.  As far as the length of the string between bridge and tailpiece, one-inch seems kind of short for effective use of tuning-beads.  The only way to know for sure is to give it a try.  Round and oval beads are inexpensive and you are not making any irreversible changes to your dulcimer by trying.  Try it on one string to see what happens.  If the bead holds and it can be wedged toward the tailpiece to make small changes in tuning, that's all you need.

Thank you, Greg! Actually, it was a photo of a Keith Young dulcimer that my friend inherited from her mother that reminded me to ask about the beads. My dulcimer does have the old friction tuning pegs (and might need some peg dope on one, too!) but there is only about 1" to 1 1/4" between the bridge and the tailpiece. (And yes, the strings angle down to the tail.) Would beads work in such a short space, I wonder? The distance between the two looks a bit longer on the Young dulcimer.

Also, I've seen both square and round beads ... does the shape make a difference? Just thinking round would be easier to locate.

Actually, most fine-tuning beads are simply very small blocks of wood with a hole drilled through the center.  They are placed on the string between the bridge and the tailpiece and require a string that angles downward slightly from the bridge to the tailpiece.  The tuning bead slides up and down the string.  The main idea is to wedge the tuning bead between the string and the fretboard as the angle of the string takes it closer to the fretboard.  As the tuning bridge is wedged between string and fretboard it increases the tension on the string slightly allowing one to fine-tune the string.  Tuning beads are normally associated with instruments utilizing wooden friction pegs, which can be difficult for beginners to tune.  Guitar-style geared tuning pegs and planetary pegs do not need tuning beads.  If you want to see examples of wooden tuning beads, try googling an image of a Keith young dulcimer.  Tuning beads were a standard feature of Keith's mountain dulcimers.

I don't know whether this is the correct forum for such a question, but friends, this newbie needs your advice!

I've been playing very tentatively with the tuning on my vintage 3-string hourglass dulcimer, which has wooden friction pegs, and I'm wondering whether fine tuner beads would help. I would like to add them if they are appropriate for this style of dulcimer. Where would I get some? Are they just regular wooden beads?

Soooooo many questions ... :)

Many thanks.

i remembr bert berry.  he ordered beginner books from  me a dozen at a time to give his customers when they bought a dulcimer.  i never met

him but we talked on the phone once a year or so.  he was very nice and we had interesting conversations.  i don't think he made a lot of

instruments.  finding one for sale would be a great find

Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 23
Richard Fariña and the Cambridge Folk Music Scene Part 2: A Conversation with Ed Freeman

http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast

Ed Freeman was part of the Cambridge folk music scene in the early 60s and interviewed Richard and Mimi Fariña on his radio show in 1965. We spoke with Ed about this and much more.

For episode resources, go to:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/023.html

Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 22
Richard Fariña and the Cambridge Folk Music Scene Part 1: A Conversation with Rick Turner

http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast

The well-known luthier Rick Turner shares personal stories about Richard and Mimi Fariña and how his luthier skills led him to become part of dulcimer history that was almost forgotten

For episode resources, go to:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/022.html

In grades 4-6 I was in a brand new school (Claxton Elem. for those of you in Greensboro, NC!) and each classroom was equipped with a piano and there was a set of music books for each grade level.  Since we'd never had music classes in elem. school, I loved it when our teacher would say it was time to pass out the books and sing!  I already knew a lot of songs from Girl Scouts and all the songs I'd sung with my family, but I loved learning the ones in these books--Streets of Laredo, the Orchestra Song that someone else mentioned, lots of songs from other countries, as well as many rounds and duets...White Coral Bells, Tell Me Why, Scotland's Burning, Sing Your Way Home.

John, I would have loved being in your music class!  Those little kids are so lucky!

There are only a handful of mentions of Bert Berry dulcimers, here, of ED and on Facebook.   The last interaction I can find is 2013, when member Bill Mosely here, wrote about learning dulcimer building from him.   There is no website, and no Facebook page.

More ways to see it:

If you are tuning to DAd, it'd be from low to high :  D3, A3, d4.

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-notes-do-i-tune-my-strings-to.html

On a standard 88 key piano, middle C is C4. Middle C has a frequency of 261.63 Hz. Yamaha uses C3 because that corresponds to MIDI note 60.When the note is pressed, you are actually playing a frequency of 261.63 Hz. If you set your tuner to A=440 Hz. As Dusty says, the D is below middle C, A below middle C, and d above middle C if you tune DAd.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Perhaps this page from Get Tuned will help.  Your low D is the D below middle C and your middle string is tuned to the A below middle C.

Rob, 4 strings with 6 notches makes a lot of sense to me. 

Jennifer, I don't have an Em from high spirits, but I think they are about the same size, I have one from Ancient territories, it's maple and the holes are smaller but the spacing is the same, Em is my favourite key..they're all great!!

As for Wood I have a condor bass Cm in walnut. really nice

We have "regular" Condor basses in various keys (even the smaller bore size).  Once you get used to the extra stretch beyond a smaller flute stretch it's really no big deal.  Have fun and enjoy the process!

I started with four independent strings.  Then I got a couple with doubled melody and started using them.  Folks told me I should take one off, so I did on a couple.  Then I saw videos of the late David Schnaufer and of Alan Freeman playing with a doubled melody, so I put them all back.  I don't know; maybe it's because I played guitar and mandolin before the dulcimer, but I have none of the problems with hammer-ons and pull-offs.  That being said, since this is my year of no extra frets and my trying to embrace Roger Nicholson's style more I am playing 2 instruments with 3 strings, as did he.  For playing with the band I do prefer 4 independent strings. So, I'd say do a four string with 6 notches on the bridge and nut, so it can be configured in many different ways.

Sometimes questions are posed at the wrong time and get covered up by other recent activity.  

I played with a double melody string for a few years, arrogantly assuming that because I also play the mandolin and 12-string guitar I could ignore all those people suggesting I remove the extra melody string. But now I see the error of my ways.  I only play with three strings now, and my favorite dulcimer is m Modern Mountain Dulcimer partly because it only has three strings and somehow seems more streamlined that way.  I find a single melody string just provides a much cleaner sound, and as others have pointed out, a single string is easier for hammer-ons and pull-offs.  Plus,it is impossible to accurately bend a double string.

It can't hurt to build dulcimers with four strings in case people want to play with 4 equidistant strings.

Thanks Monica!

Susie I bought mine here..considerably less, but you may have to wait a few weeks for them to order it.

http://www.grothmusic.com/c-497-native-american-flutes.aspx