Sheryl, the place to start is the page of the song you want to add to a playlist. There you will see two eighth notes. If you hover your cursor over them, it will say "Add to Playlist."
When you click that, you will see the Playlists you already have or it will ask you to create one.
Thanks Dusty, these instructions are very helpful!
First, click the main links to FORUMS, and then choose the Forum that seems most appropriate to your intended subject.
Here's another image showing to click the "+" PLUS button to ADD a NEW discussion when you are in the Forum category of your choice:
Hi Jan, I don't see a quarter note anywhere on the Audio page. I have a play button, which turns to pause after I click play. Here is a screenshot. Thanks
NOTE: I re-worded my instructions after I saw where your confusion was. Maybe we could get Strumelia to rename this page the "Audio Preview" page.
Thanks for asking your questions! It really helps pin down exactly where procedures are not clear.
So don't be shy!
Sheryl, I think the confusion is that for making a playlist you DON'T start at your profile page. You start, instead with the page showing the audio clips people post (using the "Music: tab up top). You can "preview" them on this page, but they can't be added to a new or existing playlist from this page. It's just a list of what's been added lately with the play button handy for each one so you can pre-view the song.
If you've previewed the song and want to put it on a playlist, the next step it to click on its TITLE, which will open up a new window with the song, information about the person who posted it, and comments that have been made about it.
Next to your chosen song there is a button there to the right (with eighth notes on it ) to click to add that particular song to a playlist. You will need to name the playlist so you can find it on your profile page later.
I made one playlist for my tunes so that they play one after the other (I have the choice on my profile page to have them play in order or in random order).
I will be making more playlists, named for a particular person whose music I really like, one for great versions of jam tunes, one for easy listening, and one playlist will probably be for tunes I particularly want to learn. Once these are in my playlists, I don't have to search for them on the main list of music clips.
I hope this helps.
Strum on!
Yes, I would agree with what you say there. My purchase was a knee jerk reaction to finding out there were dulcimer lessons in my area and I took a little homemade teardrop, had one lesson and it was love at first sight.
I was so excited I could not wait to get in the car and find a dulcimer for sale. I was actually heading to Mike Clemmer's shop, when I found one closer. The person who helped me is widely known for stringed instruments but more of the violin type and he didn't walk me through the fine details like I know Mike would have.
And I'd like to add one more rookie mistake that I am currently trying to correct and that would be not inviting my pinky to play. My pinky is weak and tiny and hardly any help when it comes to holding down a string but I'm learning!
I notice that a lot of Dana's "rookie mistakes" involved the instrument itself and not necessarily how to play it. It would be nice if every newbie had an experienced player or two to help them find their first instrument. How could a newbie know about VSL or action or anything like that? As some of you have noticed, perhaps, I've been advising people to get a good student or beginner dulcimer to start with and not even think about a fancier instrument for a couple of years. It takes a while playing to know what your preferences are. As Ken says, "the journey matters," and I would go further and say it is all there is. There is no final resting place where we cease to evolve as musicians.
But how do you create a playlist? On my 'Playlist' tab, under my name on my profile page, I have only one option which is 'set item order'. Shouldn't there be a 'plus' button or something to create a playlist?
My mistakes all lend towards my joy and love of playing and the sound of my dulcimers, they have been a great benefit to my intrigue and learning more about playing. It is a nice feeling to improve my playing or a technique.
I did that, got a playlist, but when I click on it I get taken to the player's profile page and, yes, my list is there but only one tune will play at a time...Noah and Robin, any idea how to fix? Tnx.
I never made any rookie mistakes [tongue in cheek!], but I have had a bunch of educational opportunities caused by a 'hold my -------, I'm going to' attitude I get sometimes. Most worked out ok though, can't think of any I actually regret. Looks like that's what some of y'all did. As far as the extra picks, find a hard up guitar/mandolin/uke player. :)
If you don't make mistakes, you never learn. You would not be having nearly so much fun if someone had handed you the perfect instrument, two accessories, and taught you to play like Robert Force or Jean Ritchie in one afternoon. The journey matters.
Excellent point Ken. Even professional players never seem to be completely satisfied with their skill level- and that tells us something. To me, it's the ongoing learning and little steps in playing music that both keep my interest and give me a sense of accomplishment. The journey. The rest is simply the joy of making lovely sounds, no matter how simple they are. 
Well for the benefit of those who haven't been around the block, can you start a discussion on that? Thank you!
One of my big rookie mistakes was not knowing there was such a thing as "jam etiquette"....There is... and it's a good idea to get a heads up before you pull up a chair. There's probably a discussion of that on here somewhere.....if not, someone should start one.
Well, I started this journey over 40 years ago. I built a kit dulcimer so I could teach myself (only 1 book in those days and no internet) to play. What you all are calling rookie mistakes were simply, for me, part of the learning process.
Observations along the way:
-- collecting picks, noters and other paraphernalia is all part of The Game. Part of the fun. Part of the learning process.
-- scroll heads that are open at the bottom are as easy to change strings on as a flathead. I had a closed bottom scroll head once. Got rid of it pretty darn quick in favor of open-bottom once.
-- buy the pretty dulcimer that sounds the way you like. Having built over 300 dulcimers, my experience has been that all else being equal (and it never is), wood choice is so far down the list of factors which can affect the tone, that it's not even funny.
If you don't make mistakes, you never learn. You would not be having nearly so much fun if someone had handed you the perfect instrument, two accessories, and taught you to play like Robert Force or Jean Ritchie in one afternoon. The journey matters.
Donald Depoy posted this statement when talking about noters awhile back............I wish I had read it years ago because it just cracked me up with its honesty and insight..............here it is:
An old banjo player and maker, Andrew F. Boarman from Hedgesville, WV once told me, "Don you can use anything as an excuse not to play well! Your picks! Your instrument setup! The moon and stars! Just shut up and pick!" Well that tells the story. Going from this noter to that noter is just part of the interesting journey. I won 10th place dulcimer at Galax a few years back. I played a last minute borrowed dulcimer and pick from the guy in line in front of me. and the cap from a Bic ball point pen. Imagine if I played my own dulcimer. I may have place last. It is what it is....
I suppose endless dulcimers, stands, possum boards, tab files etc. count too.
Haha, all good ones!
I would also add 'Not realizing how many accessories one could acquire so quickly and feel they are all needed!"
Stands, books, strings, carrying case, duel carrying case, tuners, pick case, large notebooks for sheet music, more notebooks, even MORE notebooks, plastic sheet covers, music holding stand and on and on and on till the cows come home. Who KNEW!
This April 1st will mark my 4th anniversary. So happy I discovered the mountain dulcimer.
Beginner mistakes? Same as yours, all across the board. My greatest mistake was purchasing any dulcimer other than a McSpadden in the very beginning. Of course I didn't know of the McSpadden in the beginning.
Nothing but a flat head from now on, and no dulcimers with pins and a wrench. I didn't change strings often enough in the beginning. Probably because of the scroll head, or lack of knowledge.
Early on, I think I had the mind set, that "the more dulcimers I owned the better I would become". Wrong. Just more dulcimers to re-sell at a loss. Hard lesson.
Another huge mistake was not learning different strum patterns in the very beginning. I'm in a rut with one pattern, and it's a hard rut to get out of. This rankles me often.
Anyway, @di-chitwood, this should prove to be an interesting topic.
I'm 15 months into my love affair with my dulcimers and that is juuuust long enough for me to recognize some mistakes I made prior to having some dulcimer education. PLEASE add your own rookie mistakes!
A. Buying a dulcimer with a scroll head instead of a flat head. A flat head makes changing strings SO much easier, but alas, I thought the scroll head was PRETTY and hey, that was all that mattered at the time.
Every time I'm changing a string, I feel like I'm nine years old playing 'OPERATION!' on that naked board game man.
B. Going to the music store and buying a bunch of picks, based on how they looked. "oooOh, this one looks like a pearl! It's so pretty!"
NO notion of the importance of thickness or feel. 'What's that flicky sound I hear??"
C. Buying a dulcimer I had never played before. I just heard the brand name was good. No knowledge of mellow, twang, bright, vsl differences, anything. (I lucked out that the brand happened to be McSpadden!)
"Walnut? Cherry? Which do I want? Hmmm....which is prettiest?" I literally had NO idea about how different woods sang out with a unique voice.
D. Buying a used dulcimer with no knowledge of 'vetting the dulcimer', looking for cracks, warps, action issues, worn frets etc.
Now, granted...the used dulcimer was a Gallier Starsong and it's in good shape, but it never occurred to check for any issues.
E. Having no idea the dulcimer would begin to 1. take up room all over the house, 2. take up time all over my week 3. distract me during the most serious times when I'm suppose to be paying attention instead of practicing hammer ons and pull offs on my leg
Looking back I would go with a shorter VSL, go with the warmer wood, a flat head, thinner picks, and allot a whole category to my budget!
It looks cool, George! I'm glad to see pictures from yet another Ohio maker.
It sure looks good George. How does it sound?
In my ongoing search and quest for vintage and hard to find dulcimers, I recently stumbled across a Loren Powell dulcimer, He was from Greenfield Ohio, 1931 to 1999, built dulcimers as a hobby but was supposed to be pretty decent at it, here's a couple photos, has anyone ever played, or owned one, know anything about them? The wood on it looks nice, top and sides looks to be quilted maple, really like the wood case. Thanks in advance once again.
I had hoped to get to Palestine, TX, and meet and jam with Jerry some day. My condolences to Margaret and their family.
Thank you. Bryan
Bryan, sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier; I was out-of-town on a business trip.
You are right that picks are a personal choice and what works for one person may not work for another. When I first got a dulcimer I bought a bunch of those triangular Herdim picks but didn't like them at all (too thin, too big, too pointy). So I eventually went back to the Dunlop Tortex picks that I settled on after years of guitar playing. They come in various shapes and thicknesses. I prefer the standard shape. I use the blue 1.0 mm picks when I've been playing a lot but sometimes use the green .88 mm picks when I haven't played in a while. When I first started on the dulcimer I think I used a lighter pick, but as I've gotten more comfortable with my technique I've moved to slightly heavier picks.
Part of the trick to my style of play--which is admittedly a guitar style and not a traditional dulcimer style--is to hold the pick between my thumb and the side of my index finger such that only the very tip of the pick sticks out. That way a lot of the pick is in contact with my skin, making it steadier in my hand. If I am only strumming and not playing single notes, I might let more of the pick stick out, but to play careful single-note runs as in fiddle tunes, I find I need the control that comes with allowing only a bit of the pick to stick out.
Heavier picks require a softer, more controlled touch, so most beginners have trouble with them. But they are also more precise. Just imagine the pick as it hits a string. The very tip of the pick will bend, so that it strikes the note slightly after you have made the picking motion with your hand. The thinner the pick the more the delay between your intended strum and the sounding of the note, since the pick bends more. So not only does the note sound after the beat, but the snap-back of that bend produces a more pronounced pick clack. For these reasons I prefer the thicker picks, in particular the blue and green versions.
Play around with this stuff and with different picks for different styles of play. I would never tell anyone to play like I do unless you purposefully want to play in a guitar style. I did a flatpicking workshop with FOTMD member Erin Mae (formerly Rogers) and she dumped a whole bunch of different picks out for us to play with, including one made of genuine turtle shell and one that was one of the $75 BlueChip picks. Each one had a different feel and a different tone. But at one point she did admit that before she got serious enough to spend on those expensive picks, the Dunlop Tortex was also her choice (sorry, I don't know what style or thickness she preferred).
Of course, if you get tired of all this, you can always just play with your bare fingers!
I never had the opportunity to meet Jerry, but one of my dulcimer playing friends met him and said he was a very nice guy. I have their East Texas Jam CD and it sounds like they all had such a good time while making it. I'm sure he will be missed by his family and those who knew him.
Aye Robin, it's true. Those Big Bushy Feather Head Eagles were like the Spotted Owl -- they had a very limited natural territory around a place called Plymouth. The first settlers that came over found out that not only did the head feathers make first class zither picks and strummers. But the Brit settlers at Plymouth were the real cause of the extinction of the Big Bushy Feather Head Eagles-- they discovered, accidentally mind, that those eagles tasted exactly like Spotted Dick. The species went extinct within a fortnight!!
Susan, thank you for the suggestion on leather picks. I am expanding my pick selection and ordered the leather and also thumb and finger picks. I believe I will try learning finger picking soon.
Thanks guys for your expansive knowledge on everything we want to know about picks, 
No really y'all are very helpful...you got me picking. 
Very sorry to hear about Jerry's death. You couldn't have found a better guy or more fun to be around. Condolences to all of his family.
I didn't know of Jerry, my prayers are with his family.
Just a few thoughts here.
First, thinner picks have a lot more pick clack than stiffer/heavier picks. In general, beginners start with thinner picks and as they get more experience and control they move to heavier picks. Anyone annoyed with pick clack might simply try heavier picks. Your playing will become a bit more precise in the process.
Second, you can minimize pick clack (but not get rid of it entirely) with a different technique. Hold the pick loosely, not tightly in your hand, and think of it as gliding over the top of the strings rather than getting into each one and really plucking it.
Third, some folks claim that pick clack always sounds louder to the player than it does to the audience. I supposed you could test this by making a series of recordings with the mic in different places, but I've never tried myself.
Fourth, a leather pick (or those felt picks that some uke players use or even rubber picks that I use for an acoustic bass) would all have less pick clack than a plastic pick, but that doesn't mean they are equally versatile. Although I think you could probably strum OK with a leather pick, I am not sure you would have the control to flatpick, meaning playing long single-note runs. So if you always strum across all the strings it might work OK, but if you want to play a fiddle tune or a filler lick the leather might not provide enough precision.
I encourage everyone to experiment with as many different types of picks as possible. Eventually you will find the one for you. I use a standard guitar pick (the Dunlop Tortex picks) and the only ones that I prefer more than those are way too expensive (like the BlueChip picks that range between $35 and $75 for a single pick! 
).
Dusty, I know picks are a personal choice;however, I would like to know more about the specific Dunlop Tortex pick you use? Which "model" is it? Any help would be appreciate as I am always trying to find a pick I like better than the one I have.
Thank you. Bryan
Did not know Jerry, but, my prayers to his family .
What sad news. My sympathy goes out to Jerry's family and friends. Jerry influenced a lot of dulcimer players.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
