Please, show me a Locrian tune or Phrychian one. (better notes on paper than a youtube link) 

Why do dulcimer players make theory so complicated? The risc of making mistakes is always there... So don't read this when you are not familiar with musical theory and want to avoid a head age...

A capo offers you the possibility to use the same left hand position, special the grip of a chord, at another place of the fretboard which means to play in another key. Capo's are handy on a chromatic fretboard. On a chromatic fretboard it can avoid barré chord grips. They are a disaster on a diatonic due to its inflexible nature.

Playing chords or chord/melody style in D without capo becomes G when the capo is placed on the 3 fret (don't use the 6+; it will show the disaster...)

Ken, placing the capo on the second fret changes DAd into F#C#f#, or do you mean the 1+ fret? The mode becomes Phrychian using the 6+ and Locrian when using the 6 fret) Tuning a string is changing the tension of it, so is bending. The capo is changing the VSL or length of the string usualy known as stopping. It's a the same as a barré chord grip.

A capo lets you change the tuning of all the strings simultaneously. 

For example, if you are tuned DAd and put the capo just left of the second fret, your strings are now tuned FCf, and the capo'd fret becomes the nut or Open fret for the new scale you've created.  The new scale will not be the usual Mixolydian scale because the sequence of wide and narrow intervals between the frets has changed.

Happy New Year to all my friends here.  My wish for each of you is whatever you wish for yourselves.  

Happy New Year My Friends!

I will pop in occasionally this month. I have been staying at my Mom's during her hip surgery and recovery. It is closer to go to the facility to see her and an easier drive. Mom is doing her best to get up on her feet, she has some troubles still but is doing a little better each week.

I am always happy to see and hear from you all; Wishing you all a prosperous New Year.

Blessings to each of you. I have missed you! 

Happy New Year friends.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I got to spend New Year's Eve with a few friends in a cabin up in the woods a few miles above our village.  A lovely place to see in 2016 !!!!

Happy New Year to you all

The guitar was my first instrument, circa 1960.
Since we had only one guitar for a short while, my brother and I both learned mouth harp to play some Sonny & Brownie tunes
I bought my first mandolin in the mid sixties.
I built a dulcimer in the early seventies and bought a better one at a yard sale in the early eighties.
I quit smoking 40 years ago and put the money aside.  I used it to buy my first five string banjo.
I learned to play Autoharp on one that belonged to the school where I taught and bought a few of my own later.
I also play tenor banjo.
I have played at piano accordion, button accordion and English concertina, but have neglected them lately.
My newest instruments are the Filipino banduria, The ukulele and the tiple.

My wife says, "The concept of enough hasn't gotten through to Jim."
I'd probably be a much better guitarist if I'd stuck to it only.

Happy New Year!!!! 

Mine was an old Ruggs and Jackel Folkroots that someone didn't want anymore and they gave to me. I played it for about 10 years, and then donated it to an organization who uses dulcimers in their music therapy programs for rehabilitative purposes. It had such a BIG voice!

Kerry was a real Lady.  I knew her pretty well.  She'd come over to Prescott and Phoenix a couple times a year during the years I lived there (2000-2003) and we'd jam.  Fabulous player, beautiful voice.  I miss her a lot.

Happy New Year!   Went for our Polar Bear Splash this morning.... the pool was 89F!!

Happy New Year fotmd. God bless us every one. 

Indeed.........Happy New Year to all!

Yay!  happy new year to all friends here...     

Here comes 2016 -- a brand new year, with no mistakes... yet!

Happy New Year to one and all.

The first dulcimer I owned was built by Kerry Coates, Gila Mountain Dulcimers.  I either emailed her or called, I can't remember and we decided on the shape, wood and design.  I had her paint two Carolina parakeets, Ike and Izzy, the last two in existence from a painting I found of them.........she did a magnificent job, using the sound holes as wings........perfect.  Kerry stopped building shortly thereafter.  She told me that she was having health problems that she thought were related to the materials she used, so she was going to stop and get back to playing, as she put it, "the darn thing."   We more or less stayed in touch for a few years since she was a great teacher and helped me learn to play that great dulcimer she built.  Sadly, Kerry passed on April 29, 2014 after a heroic struggle.........now that dulcimer sits in a corner of my office out here in the forest........a treasure built my a master craftsman and grand musician...I play it every now and again and always remember her wit and creativity.........that dulcimer has the sweetest ring of any I own and I hope will bring my grandchildren the same pleasantries it brought me.  When they are a bit older I will tell them the story of the last two Carolina parakeets and about the artistry of a lady who was an artist in the truest sense of the word.

Happy New Year to all my FOTMD friends. You all are special!!!

Hope everyone's New Year is better than you thought it might be!

Staying home tonight with my son and the girls. Not sure they will make it to see the ball drop, we shall see. Having a great time with movie night.

Hope everyone has a very Happy and Blessed New Year.

Thank you, dear Strumelia!  I hope those same wishes are met for you throughout the coming year. 

Here's hoping all members have a safe, healthy, and productive new year for 2016...full of personal joys like music and also the joy of kindnesses to others.

Happy New Year!!!!

Another option is a Jerry Rockwell dulcimer.  This one has a lovely warm tone as well, which may be what you are looking for. It's not really all that deep of a body either. I still own this one, but it doesn't get the attention it deserves:

I owned a Ewing dulcimer, which had a lovely warm sound. I sold it, since I was pretty much only playing my Aeolus, but I think it's one of the nicest sounding of the mid-range priced dulcimers I have played.  I have a couple videos of me playing it here, that may be close to the sound you are looking for. It's not very large or deep body, but is till a lovely warm sound.:

Thank you Dusty and Annie for your input.  Sorry I piggy-backed on the string discussion.  I realized my error after I posted.  Warren May's studio is in Berea and I plan to visit soon.  I thought he might be out of my price range but since I have such a great resource so close I'm definitely going to check it out.

Dusty, you gave me lots to consider and I appreciate the details.  After reading your response I've decided my "scrunching" problem is due to instrument position. I do use my thumb a lot and some pinky.  I've tried angling the dulcimer as in your video with little success in the past.  As I said, the action on my dulcimer is high and I really have to press hard to get the note/sound.  I am able to play my instructor's dulcimer with much more ease. 

The search is on.  What fun. Nina

Jane -- Warren May is an individual.  Here's his website:

http://www.warrenamay.com/dulcimers/

Warren does not build anything he calls a baritone, but his "wide hourglass" and "hourdrop" models certainly have the warm, rich characteristics we've been discussing and are designed for conventional D tunings. 

To be honest, I don't think you need a baritone dulcimer.   Baritone dulcimers do not usually come set up for conventional DAd, DAA tunings, but rather deeper -- AEa or AEE -- they need different strings to be tuned conventionally.    I think you need a conventional dulcimer that is a bit wider and deeper than most.  I think the only way you're going to find the instrument to suit you is to play as many different makes and models as you can find.

I find that it's not really the strings but the dulcimer itself that either does, or doesn't give you the warm mellow sound, the type of wood also plays into it in a big way, such as comparing Cherry to Walnut or red cedar. tuning is the next big one, for me personally anyway, I find the CGC tuning to be very warm mellow sound, but have also found it doesn't always "work" on all dulcimers, it really depends on the personality and voice of each individual dulcimer.

 I just picked up a couple Warren Mays, and find that they overall have a very mellow voice.

 I'll be posting a new forum at some point highlighting the Warren Mays, I got a lot of great feedback from folks here at FOTMD about Warrens dulcimers, and I'm not disappointed in the least, some of my favorites to play, and they handle the CGC tuning like a champ!!!

Thanks so much for providing the Tab for this!

Dulcinina, doesn't Warren May build dulcimers in Berea? Might be huge fun to try his out, or maybe you have already. Wish I could!

Thank your comments, glad you like it!

@Rob: I use TablEdit for my dulcimer tabs.

Thanks, Peter, for the tab.  What software did you use to create it?

Hey Dusty, thanks for all the great info. I'm looking forward to checking this out when it gets here. supposed to be delivered on Saturday.

 And yes Ozark Lady, that is a picture of the one I'm getting, I like finding the older harder to find dulcimers, over Christmas I actually found 3 Warren Mays!

 From 1982, 1986 and a much newer one, the two later ones look to be virtually unplayed and came with case, noter and pick, the hang tags were still attached even.

Thanks for listening John!

Wow, thanks Joy!

Still listening to it, and still lovin' it!  Great stuff!

Thank you for playing this carol and for the tab. I had not come across it before, you made it sound really good.

I just tabbed my arrangement of this old Austrian Christmas Carol that has become popular in Germany also.
You may use these tabs freely for personal, non-commercial use. Enjoy!

You can find the video recording of this song here on FOTMD: http://fotmd.com/peter-w/youtube/1961

EDIT:

German text:
Der Heiland ist geboren,
Freu dich, o Christenheit!
Sonst wär’n wir gar verloren
In alle Ewigkeit!
Freut euch von Herzen, ihr Christen all!
Kommt her zum Kindlein in dem Stall!

Translation:
The Savio(u)r is born,
rejoice, Christianity!
If not, we'd all be forlorn
to all eternity.
Rejoice with all your heart, all you Christians!
Come here to the child in the stable!

DerHeilandIstGeboren.pdf - 55KB

Howard Rugg, who has started building again and even has a website  now, is a member here at FOTMD . You might consider contacting him directly with any questions.

The History page of Howard's website provides a broad outline.  He and his brother Michael formed Capritaurus dulcimers in 1969 and Steve Jackel started working for them in 1972. Over the next few years, they developed a second line of dulcimers called Folkroots which were produced more efficiently (I won't say mass produced since they were still handmade by a small number of people) whereas Capritaurus concentrated on custom builds. In 1975, Howard and Steve formed Rugg and Jackel Music and made the Folkroots dulcimers while Michael stuck with Capritaurus.  By the late 1980s, it all came apart.  Howard and Steve sold the Folkroots brand to Folkcraft Instruments and all three of them moved on to different professional and personal endeavors, but about three years ago Howard began building dulcimers again and has incorporated some new innovations into his craft. 

Nice playing, Robert.  It makes sense that the larger box and longer VSL of a baritone would produce a richer, deeper sound with more sustain.  I think that was Strumelia's point above.  I know Blue Lion has a model called "Acoustic Jam" which is a standard dulcimer put on the same size box as their baritone and bass models.

Hello ozark Lady, Mine just shipped out, hoping to get it by the weekend, real curious to get an up close look, I have no details about it and virtually no info on line as to materials used, date and so on. I'll let you know when it gets here!