Forum Activity for @dusty

Hey Ozarklady.

I can't explain why, but the Seagull is made with one full octave, meaning it goes to the 7th fret. However, it has no 6th fret. Instead, it has only a 6-1/2.

Seagull is a fine guitar company. They make very good and affordable instruments. I have a 12-string Seagull that I like a lot. I've also heard that many Merlin owners love that instrument as well. Think of it as a stick dulcimer like the McNally Strumstick, which only goes up to the 10th fret or something. If I were going to get a Merlin, though, I would have a 6 fret installed.

You might consider poking around in the Stick Dulcimer Group here at FOTMD. I'm sure some folks there are more familiar than I with the Merlin.

Jan happy that you and your husband can go to this event together.

Y'all have a great time, learn allot and have fun.

Yee-Haw! 

Great video.    MM is a top notch musician with mind boggling talent.   Thanks for reminding us of her work.............

This kid is as cute as a button!

(and she grew up into a popular and talented country musician)

Gotta love it...

Shorter scale dulcimers will sometimes need heavier strings to keep the pitch at DAd, and this could be where an element of the little loss of sustain mentioned by Joy comes into play.  Personally, I tend to pitch up a little on shorter instruments.  If you are playing mainly by yourself then there's no reason at all not to go to EBe on a 26" and just pretend it is in DAd.  Remember on an acoustic guitar with a 25.5" scale it is common to play a 0.013 as the high 'e' with a medium gauge string set.  So taking a 0.012 to high 'e' on a 26" dulcimer is not an issue.  I was actually playing a 27" in F recently and it sounded lovely (I think that was with 0.010 melody strings).  Every dulcimer behaves a little differently, so if you want a shorter scale, it is certainly worth playing around with string gauges and pitches to find out what sounds best on the instrument.

For some reason we all want to stay in the key of D but in reality we probably spend only a very small proportion of our playing time in situations where we must be in DAd.  So if you do own dulcimers of different scales then I would recommend experimenting with different string gauges and different pitches to find what sound best on each one.

Jim Woods is correct. For all intents and purposes the measurement between the nut and the bridge is VSL or scale length, but it varies slightly from instrument to instrument. If you measure from nut to octave fret and from the octave fret fret to bridge and add that together, that's the true VSL or scale length. In 30 years or so of playing bass (both bass guitar and upright) the small differences in measurement between instruments depending on how you measure makes no difference. (I know this sounds like gibberish, but think about it and you'll get it :-).)

John's got a good point.  I hold the pick between thumb and middle finger, not the index.  I dunno why; but it works.  Robert Force taught me his thumb-and-two grip, and I migrated from that to thumb-and-middle somehow.

Thanks Rob. I love my big ol' Fender pick when I play on the Gallier.

Fret spacing and scale length are fixed amounts. Compensation will add a millimeter more or less but has nothing to do with fingering. Once your string gauge and compensation  is set you can forget it and get on with the fun. I tell people all the time to take advantage off all your fingers. Over time you get the dexterity to play equally well with every finger. Once you get there scale length doesn't matter much... Robert...

Robert Force, in one of his Youtube videos, shows his  way of holding a large pick with the thumb and 2 fingers.  I've tried it a little and it seems to work.  I'll try to find in which video it's in.

Not everyone holds the pick against the index finger or "between the fingerprint and thumbprint." If after the procedure and the healing your old way doesn't work, be open to alternatives in the way you hold the pick.

Post has some nice help, good luck finding your new way to strum and with your finger joint.

Jim, that's a good point. Basically, there is a slightly different VSL for each string.  On some bridges that difference is accounted for not in the angle of the bridge at the bottom where it meets the soundboard, but at the top where slight differences are created for each string.  And some of David Beede's dulcimers, for example, don't actually have a single bridge at all, but three distinct nubs placed in the perfect place for each string.

There may be some appropriate suggestions here.

http://fotmd.com/forums/forum/my_posts/18882/i-have-had-a-stroke-and-need-help-with-my-right-hand

Jim, that's a good point.  And that's what it means when you see the words "with a compensated bridge" added after the VSL measurement.

Gin Onan had a pick holder specially designed for her since she couldn't hold one any more  with her MS issues.  Other folks have, too.  You might just find a different way to hold the pick...for instance, with your fingers making a fist, and the pick held firmly between 2 of your fingers.  You might need to try picks of different shape, size, and thickness....and you might want to experiment with ones you cut out from margarine tubs, for example.

I've had several injuries to my hands and right now I'm mostly fingerpicking with my thumb lying alongside the fretboard and my 4 fingers doing all the work.  I used to use my thumb, index, and pinkie to fingerpick so that's been a big change in the past year. 

Don't worry what it looks like, just do whatever works for you.

Hahahahaha! 

Just have the Doc do a Pick Implant -- get that pick permanently mounted.  You'll never lose another pick down a soundhole!

One year in and my fingers are chording, dancing, flying all over the fretboard and my joy is complete! 

However, there is one caveat.

I have some arthritis in my right index finger, first joint and the finger joint is swollen, painful and is beginning to turn out and a nerve-rubbing bone spur in my thumb knuckle. 

Just got a 2nd opinion today from an older very wise ortho doc and he thinks fusing that first joint could stop any more disfiguring and, he can also get rid of the bone spur on my thumb. There would be 4-6 weeks of resting for my pick holding finger.  

Have any of you dear people ever had a finger joint fused? As it is, I think I could get used to typing and playing. I just wanted to know how you fared.

Thoughts?

I just want to play....better.  I've been playing two years now, and while I am much better than when I started, the road to where I want to be is a long one.  I'll never be as good as people who have been playing for years and who have a real feel for music, but I can always be...better.  I guess that one goal would be to be able to take an Intermediate workshop at a festival and be able to keep up on the songs on the first go-through.  So, better tab reading, better traveling up and down the fretboard, and getting a handle on rhythm and difficult chords.  

The fun part is the journey on the way there, though.

My main aspiration is to play my dulcimer's every day, to listen carefully and learn how to add my own touch to each song.

I want to continue to play the songs I know to keep up my skills and to work on my memory so I can play without tab.

I want to learn from other's and become more comfortable playing in front of others and work more on playing by ear. 

Playing my dulcimers and the helpful folks on this site have greatly enriched my life. Thank you Friends, who have taken the time to teach me about the MD and it's sweet music.

I'm sitting here in my home office,music room man cave(when my wife of 11 years come 6/3/16)(I'm 62@ retired) lets me have it. I thought I was the only one that had issues playing in front of people. 

I have had something in me, and have been trying to find it for 45 years, I found it. Dulcimer.  After a year and a half I can only play 5 or 6 songs with out tab. Gospel and Messing with Sugar Hill. Thanks John K.  But I know a little bit of a lot of songs. I try John Henry, thanks Dusty.

Most nights I will play to keep up what I know and try to add more songs.  At a certain time I find that songs I could'nt play 6 months ago are attainable now.

Guess I play because it feels good to me. I pay attention to you all every day.

Aww...thanks Terry!  That's a very sweet thing to say.  It just kinda revolves around perceived frustration.  When we (in general) start asking ourselves about what we're getting out of this little musical endeavor, we need to also inquire as to what we are putting into it.  Fulfillment and effort seem to go hand in hand.

John, what you wrote was inspiring and thought provoking.  I could never say it that way, but that's very much how I feel, and I am sure there are others just like me.  Your description of life and music is a blessing.  And I'm not just trying to buddy up to you, no reason to,  just being honest. 

Thank you much,

Terry

This is such sad news.  I was lucky enough to meet with John at a couple of the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club events and we corresponded both here, on ED and by email and phone.  He was such a lovely man and helped us all managed modes due the clarity of his thinking.  Phrases such as 'home fret' and 'gapped scales' have entered our dulcimer vernacular because of John's posts.  Furthermore, he simply loved to play the dulcimer and introduced us all to many old world folk tunes through his music.

Fair thee well John P - you are sorely missed.

Tender mercies to John's family and friends. 

such a knowledgeable soul, and kind heart. 

I guess that I have a rather nerdy thought process, but I usually think more along the lines of "what does my music aspire for me to do?"  I have always had the feeling that as long as I respect the musical journey, that same journey will respect me.  Respect for the journey includes things such as practice and participation for sure, but also the mindset that music is a powerful entity.  It can evoke inner feelings and emotions at will.  Music also brings people together to share a common experience (both musically and socially).  If I look at my relationship with music over the years (both childhood and adulthood), it is best described as a two-way street...as long as I love and respect my musical pursuits (and share that love and respect with others), music will always fulfill my human spirit when I need it the most.  That is why I strive to KEEP IT FUN and KEEP IT GOING!  

Rest in peace, John.  You will truly be missed.

I am sad too. One tune he posted, during the blizzard in the US, was Log Cabin Home in the Sky.........sweet playing...Play on, John-p...

Oooh, doggies, how cool is that! 

On both the original and the new FOTMD, John's was one of the first profiles that I followed.  He was a very kind and helpful man--I enjoyed his comments and the music that he shared.  I, too, wish to express my condolences to his family and friends.

I'm so sorry to hear of John's death.  He was a real independent spirit with a deep love of the dulcimer and its music.

This is sad news indeed.  FOTMD have lost a valuable member, as well as his family and friends.  His presence and gifts will be missed.  May he rest in peace.

RIP John. We will miss your knowledge, humor and helpful suggestions. Thank you for sharing your love of dulcimers with us.

I am truly shocked and saddened to hear of the death of John P. Since getting to know him I found him a very knowledgeable and sharing person. One of my favourite players, I found his style of playing so perfect and relaxing. He will be sadly missed by all. Natures true gentleman may he rest in peace.

Hearts Of The Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 13
Linda Brockinton: The Art of Fingerpicking

Linda Brockinton is known for playing a full chord fingerpicking style on the mountain dulcimer. In 2001, she was the first woman to win first place in the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship as well as the first to win playing a full chord fingerpicking style.

For episode resources:  http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/013.html

John P embodied what is best about the dulcimer community: an interest in helping others, the joy in sharing music, a general kindness and willingness to take time explaining things to newbies.  He was always eager to share his knowledge of modes and never seemed to get irritated by those like me who never could quite grasp them.

It may seem odd to be so saddened to hear of the passing of someone I've never met, but such is our community. I feel as though I've lost a friend.

Just a day or two ago I was perusing the photos John had posted and was struck by a couple of potted flowers.  I am not sure why I was so taken by them, but I think they reveal a joy in simple things. The flowers themselves--though quite pretty--were nothing special, but John's interest in them and sense that they deserved to be photographed reveals, I think, a sense of the wonder in our everyday lives.  John clearly enjoyed those flowers, and he clearly enjoyed explaining modes over and over to those of us a bit slow on the uptake.

Rest in Peace, John P., the dear friend I never met.

Very sad news. Rest in peace John.