Forum Activity for @robin-clark

I've had the chance to sit down in my front lounge this evening and record an example of noter drone dulcimer with DADGAD guitar backing.  One of the great things about DADGAD is that it is essentially neither major or minor - it is the noter drone dulcimer that actually tells your ears the guitar is playing minor or major chords (which it is not!).  There's quite a bit of myth busting going on here - that's a 3 string dulcimer in dorian tuning with wooden pegs and an old Leonard Glen by ear intonated fret pattern.  And it is being played noter drone style with guitar.  When I first started playing dulcimer the common wisdom was that such a combination was impossible to play in tune.  Well what a load of ??**@$%%  What I can say is that neither instrument has been anywhere near an electronic tuner - the 9 strings were blended by ear.

Thanks Jennifer, I'll posts my thoughts on it after I get it.

I ordered my 3rd (and likely final) Native American Flute today. A High Spirits F#m (Golden Eagle - midtone) in walnut with turquoise inlay. I wanted the F#m due to its popularity in having the traditional, haunting voice (adopted by the Native American community and their key of preference). Also, it is the key that corresponds to the notes on the staff (when you play an F# (as noted on the music staff), it is an F# that sounds). I also wanted to treat myself to one flute with a little flair, so I went with the turquoise inlay. It should look real nice with the walnut. This will be my deepest sounding flute. So, I'm pretty excited to get it.

I was on a rock climbing trip to Lundy Island a couple of weeks ago and met a great guitarist.  I had a dulcimer with me so we worked up a few tunes together.  He played in DADGAD.  Just before the trip I'd started to experiment with the DADGAD as backing for noter drone dulcimer.  However on Lundy I had a golden opportunity to play live with a great backing guitarist and really hear the potential of the combination. 

It was an absolute delight to work the dulcimer against such a complimentary backing and we fired off fiddle tunes during the evenings we spent staying in the Old Lighthouse on the island.  On the last night we ventured to the Marisco Tavern and played a session in the bar.  I found a seagull leg bone on the cliffs and using that as a strummer certainly gave my dulcimer a very solid 'voice' in the pub!!!

Since returning home I've been working on my own guitar playing in DADGAD and have been surprised just how intuitive it is to both play melody and back-up for old time fiddle tunes.  Now, there could be an 'issue' with old time purists but seeing as how the guitar was a late comer to old time and the fact I've heard some early recordings backed by open tuned guitar DADGAD sits well with me - and it certainly sits well with noter drone dulcimer!

I'll try and record something this week and post it here.  But I did wonder if anyone here plays DADGAD and in what context?

Robin

Have a real dulcimer luthier look at it.  Normally in such cases we don't raise a whole fretboard for a couple of dips; usually its the other way around -- lower a fret or two.  Low spots don't cause intermittant "twanging", high spots would

u need a luthier to examine this dulcimer.  a non level fretboard is trouble and the fix could be expensive

Oh darn!   The next jam is the first saturday in November.   Bob Warner and I looked at it today and we took a metal ruler and it looks like the fretboard has some slight dips in it...  I think they set the action really high to avoid the fret noise due to this.. not sure there is a remedy... unless the frets could come up to be even...   no festivals other than Sharna Tanner is having something in Pinckney, and all day Thursday type annual day...

Even a crushed, smashed, or exploded instrument can be repaired, given time, determination, and skill enough. 

It sounds like there's a hump in the fingerboard, or some frets have popped up because of humidity issues. In either event, the problem can be fixed by a reasonably competent guitar or violin repair person. The cost of the repair may be more than you think the instrument is worth. But consider the cost of repair vs the cost of a new (or new-to-you) instrument. 

If the problem is either a hump or high frets and isn't too bad, the frets can be filed level, then re-shaped and polished. If it is really a camel in disguise, then the frets need to be pulled and the fretboard planed flat. Some of the fret slots may need to be re-cut before new frets are installed, leveled, shaped and polished. All of this sounds pretty drastic, but the procedures are pretty common in guitar repair. 

Have you identified the high spots?  If it's a fret here and there, they can be lowered, at least to some extent.

It looks like the fretboard is not level.  Not a good thing and not Sure this can be fixed.  I think that may be why the action was set so high to compensate for this.   

No, sorry, I won't be in the state on Saturday.  When do we meet in November?  Are you going to any nearby festivals?

Hi Matt, the mtn dulcimer group meets this saturday at Bob's Barn... Will you be there?  If so I will have the dulcimer there and maybe you would be so kind as to take a look at it...  

Thank you!  ~now to learn how to read chords~  :/

The latest book I have is the LyriChord book (blue-green cover). I have an older Tune book that I got in the 90s (I believe) (Pink Cover).  I also have a couple of the older Lyrichord books from the 70s and 80s (brown cover).  When I purchased my most recent one a couple of years ago, I opted for just the Lyrichord book.

Which of the books do you have, Ken and Doug?  LyriChord or Tune Book? 

Yup, Dusty, that's the one, So HAppy Together! I guess limited tunes are nothing new - but I do long for a good tune now and then...

I've been using Yohann Anderson's book for over 30 years with different sing-alongs. I can second a recommendation for that!

How could I not respond that you are referring to a song by whom?  The Turtles!  So Happy Together?

Annie, you are certainly correct, but I would suggest that songs with no range are nothing new.  Remember the song "Da Doo Ron Ron?" It was a top ten hit in the early 60s by the Crystals and again in 1977 by Shaun Cassidy. The melody (both A and B parts) only has 3 notes!  Do Re and Mi!  You can play the whole melody using only three frets on a single string on your dulcimer.  And the chorus doesn't even make any sense!

There it is!  Thanks Phil!

And another thing: most pop songs these days seem to use the whoops instead of a tune. IMHO the range of notes used is often too narrow.i.e. moving up or down 1 note or 2, rather than all over the place in a melodic way. Does anybody remember the song that had in the chorus "I can't see me lovin' nobody but you, for all my life."? Now that was a tune! 

This past weekend was our church retreat, and I did get to play for vespers around the campfire.  I played "Awake Harp and Lyre" based on Psalm 108 from Margaret Wright TAB.  A youngun' became my personal music stand, and we positioned flashlights to shine on the music.  The rest of my playing was around camp and campfire during the day, so no issues!  LOVE my little Wren, "Teagan", from Feather Dulcimer!!!!  ~she was quite the hit and is inspiring others to love the md~  

I should have said that the strings I referenced above are the ones that come on a MMD (David McKinney's default strings).But you can order individual strings from juststrings.com in whatever gauges you like

 I use 14s with a 22 phosphor bronze bass for DAA tuning as my standard (experimenting with .01-at-a-time tweaks ups and down to optimize each instrument) on all dulcimers between 27 and 28 vsl, and I purchase my strings in bulk by diameter (much cheaper than prepackaged sets).  I'm really just curious about Dave's defaults.  I acquired my MMD second hand, and doubt that the strings are original as it is several years old.  Jan, I will try to contact the representative, and I appreciate the willingness of all to respond.

Give me a call and we'll get together.  That way I can both see and hear what's going on and help you fix it.

I use .012, .014, .024 on my Modern Mountain dulcimer. Here's a good place to order them.

http://prussiavalley.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=59_66&products_id=346

Or, if you have your old strings, just take it to a local music store and have them measure the gauges of strings used.  That way you get the exact gauge that was used.

William, you can order pre-packaged string sets from several different makers.  Martin and D'Addario make dulcimer specific sets which are available through Amazon.  You can also easily order sets from McSpadden and FolkCraft.

Be careful to order either  loop ends or ball ends depending on what your instrument needs.  Both are readily available.

I Googled her...lives in Michigan and is a dance caller and a freelance writer...among other things! She would probably get  kick out of being the topic of a current discussion based on an article she wrote 32 years ago!

If the strings are sitting properly in the nut and bridge notches, look at where you are fretting.  You can get a sort of whine if you are not fretting close to the appropriate fret but in the middle of the space.

There's nothing really magic about a MMD.  Strings are strings as we say.  Since you know the VSL, and know what tuning you want, you can use the Strothers String Gauge Calculator  to determine which strings will work.

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

Since the calculator is notoriously "light" in its recommendations, add 2 to each recommendation -- instead of 12, use 14; instead of 22 use 24 gauge strings.  The MMD can certainly take the heavier gauges.

I suggest you go on the site and click on Contact Us to bring up the names of a couple people who distribute these dulcimers.  I know John Hawk and think he would be happy to answer any questions you might have--including string gauges!  His phone number is given, as well as his email contact information.

Thanks everyone!  

Lisa, that was incredible.   I don't know quite what I expected, but you exceeded my expectations. 

You have come so far so quickly.   Impressive. 

Congratulations on learning a new instrument.   Very proud of you.

Terry

Do you know if your dulcimer has a zero fret or a nut?  If it has a nut, I would check to see if the nut is properly adjusted.

The nice thing about the whistle is that you can spend under $20 for a Generation and it will perform just as well as the $200 whistles.... Robert

Can someone tell me the standard string diameters/"gauges" for Dave McKinney's Modern Mountain Dulcimers?  I have tried to contact MMD for info, but have gotten no response.

Just to add my 2 cents to this group. A friend of mine ( who built a dulcimer for me ) also builds ( Makes ) whistles. Have a Google at Shearwater whistles

I cannot remember the web address unfortunately. Nice whistles at a reasonable price ( well in the UK that is ) 

Really great Lisa, you seem to be getting into playing the songs you like and enjoying it. I liked the tone of your flute.

I have two high C a Bb and D. All are tweeked. Tweeking makes the whistle sound more even and predictable in the second octave. I have a Tony Dixon polymer low D which is a relatively inexpensive low D whistle that sounds great but takes a pipers grip to play. I don't recommend low whistles for people with small hands.... Robert...

I don't know who she is, but I have that issue of DPN. Ken Kesey and Paul Erhlich; pretty heady stuff in CoEvolution.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."