Forum Activity for @dusty

Jan is really onto something. If you can whistle a tune, it means your brain has learned to associate different sizes in the opening of your lips to get different pitches. When you hum or sing, your brain has learned exactly how much to stretch or relax your vocal chord to get a certain pitch.

When you learn an instrument, your brain can also learn how high up a string you have to move to get a pitch. It's just a matter of doing it enough that you can train your brain in that manner.

When you first learned to whistle, you couldn't do "I've Been Working on the Railroad" right away; your brain how to learn to associate the opening of your mouth with different pitches. It took some practice.  The dulcimer takes practice, too.  One reason I don't like to look at tab is that I want to see where on the fretboard I am getting different tones, so that my brain can learn those distances. Sometimes I sing the fret numbers while I play to reinforce the connection between the fretboard and the notes that are in my brain. And I spend a lot of time just trying to find simple melodies on the dulcimer.  Not to learn the songs, but to practice letting my brain figure out where to find the right pitch. The more you do it, the better you get.

I don't follow football, but I am a big UK basketball fan!

I'm also, as you know, a fan of Mike Clemmer's Ban-jammer!

Do you play with the Louisville Dulcimer Society?

Go CATS!

Upside ... I only need one DVD ... :(

On the other hand, don't make the mistake of thinking the reason I don't need the tab is that I have taken the time and energy to memorize how to play hundreds of tunes!  I have trouble memorizing anything, so don't anyone give me props for something I haven't done--and probably couldn't do  

I didn't mean to say that I'd memorized a bunch either.  It's just I can see the melodies on the fretboard when I hear the name of the tune.  It might take a couple of plucks to find my spot, but then I whip out a dulcimer tune much the same one would indeed, whistle a tune.  I forced myself to memorize specific Handel and Bach organ pieces, but can also count the number on one hand.  If I learn a new one, then sure as anything one of the previous ones will go out my other ear.   Some dulcimer pieces are in fact memorized, but still in just barely the double digits like Greensleeves.  I memorized a particular take on that song in tab.  I memorized not the tune per se, as all probably can whistle that one, I have the frets in mind.  Where the fingers go and what fret to go to next type of memory.

Jan,

THANKS!!!  I've decided that I'm going with Mike's because I agree, there IS NO COMPARISON in the sound(s) that his puts out. You reaffirmed my thoughts/feelings.  I just need to call him and get it ordered so that I can pick it up (while we are on vacation) the week before Christmas.  Don't really want to wait that long BUT ... it is what it is :-)

Noticed you live in Lexington. We will be at the game Saturday (we live in Louisville) and NO I DIDN'T --- I'm a grad of UK!!!  You understand --- it's a BLUE NATION sort of thing.

Wayne

    I think we all have our own way of playing, I was saying what mine was - not due to age or medical conditions. I am a visual person, I have done art all my life, now I am playing the dulcimer. It is a wonderful journey and alone the way I'm making sweet sounds.

Marg, I think you misunderstood what I was saying, since I wasn't saying that playing by ear should come naturally to a person....

My point was that aging and certain medical conditions can affect whatever it is that we may do without really thinking about it, whether that means whistling songs we've heard on the radio, singing snippets of camp songs  from childhood, or picking out a tune we know on an instrument.  This is different for everyone...for instance, I play music by ear, but can't dance.  The only kind of dancing I can do is where you have a set of steps that you follow, like in folk dancing, line dancing, etc.  But to just hear music and dance?  That's when MY body has no clue what to do.......it wants a set of directions....I can't just do what "feels natural" to other people.  I think that's a lot like people who need tab-the "set of directions"--in order to produce the music.  So don't feel like you're being dissed if you need the tab.

On the other hand, don't make the mistake of thinking the reason I don't need the tab is that I have taken the time and energy to memorize howto play hundreds of tunes!  I have trouble memorizing anything, so don't anyone give me props for something I haven't done--and probably couldn't do  

I knew that standard music notation was out for me even though originally musically trained to read it.  I thought that Tab was all I would ever use for the dulcimer, but I've found a peculiar thing when it gets right down to it.  I cannot read tab and play at the same time.  I'm familiar with this dilemma since there is one other instrument that this situation comes into play.  Self taught on the organ, but never taught to read bass clef.  I just knew that a note of bass clef and what it looked like (in an all treble clef world) was actually two notes lower than what I really should be playing.  In other words if I was to see what looked like an "A", then that meant I should be playing a C instead.  And so on and so on.  So for me to "sight read" a two part piece of music (say a hymn) I'd have to move up all the bass clef notes by two and play the treble as it reads.  This is cumbersome at best and darn confusing at worst.  Especially the three staff music of the music greats that some if not all specifically wrote for the organ.  There is one staff of treble and then two of bass clef.  That really is nasty.  What I'd do is my counting exercise for a line of bass and memorize it.  I'd go over and over that stretch of music until I had it down.  Then I'd play that while sight reading the treble clef.  I'd get pretty good at that part with my left and right hands and then I'd spend time learning the bass clef line for the pedals.  Of course that involves (you hear of "finger dancing") well this was feet dancing as they old birds wanted to put more notes in there that'd take three pair of feet to do it correctly (not sure how those authors did it?).  Once that was committed to memory I'd play back, still sight reading the treble all three stafs.  Wow, what a work out.   Well the dulcimer was no different with the tab.  I'd go through the motions learning a song and its chords and when I was actually playing with the tab, the tab was only there for reference.  I'd be playing the song from memory or later to be found, by ear.  In fact it became so obvious that I was not reading the tab, but playing from sight and sound memory that I took to asking my wife to name a tune.  She would and I'd plunk around a couple of notes and soon enough I was playing out the melody and after just a run through or two, I was adding harmonies and chords.  Not knowing what the chords were or the notes for that matter, just what they looked like on the fretboard and sounded like to my ear.  I still use tab now, but only to learn a tune or direct the start of said tune, then the rest is solely be ear.  Not sure why that is for me, but that's surely what I caught myself doing and continue to do so.  It does make it much easier to not have paper music falling all over the place and needing to turn a page and such.  Kevin.

My memory is not what it used to be either. Playing instruments, learning new songs, and striving to play better helps me focus. Which in my opion, sure beats forcing myself to do Sudoku and crossword puzzles! 

I think we are all concern when we forget. One of the best things i read, true or not - not sure but if or when we forget things - it is not necessary a form of dementia.   it's when we don't know we forgot something or don't know what, say a dulcimer even is would be a larger concern. Yes we forget as we get older or when we just have too many things going on but i'm hoping it is not an early sign of bigger problems.

    Now me, sorry but I can not play without a tab, no matter how many times I have played the tune. I am a visual person, to say it should come naturally does not work for me. Maybe, if I had been involved with music all my life it would but I am happy to be able to strum a tune with a tab and - the dulcimer and I are happy. 

Interesting comments--especially since I just re-read yesterday what I had written 2 months ago and realized I hadn't taken into account circumstances where you lose the ability to easily do what used to just come naturally.  Mostly, I just wanted to make the point that people who do not understand "playing by ear" (which KenH described so well) ARE able to hum or whistle while they're working or otherwise engaged, without giving much thought to what the song is and how it goes....it just sort of "comes out".   Not always with the right words or notes, sometimes, though, I might add!

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Sam, you put together a well written response so your brain still seems to be working well. Sometimes I have a problem remembering how a tune goes. It's helpful to me to listen to videos on Youtube or Vimeo or even going to a jam to get the tune in my head. Sometimes I do that a couple of times. That helps me. As my Excel instructor would say, "practice makes better" and she's right. I like how she said practice doesn't make perfect. None of us can get to perfect. I find that when I look at the tab or music and keep practicing it (until I'm just about sick of it, lol) then I really get it in my head. 

Sam, I can well imagine that's difficult, frustrating.  With a family history of dementia, I've felt concern over some of my own lapses.  If I'm on the road to dementia, I'm hoping I'll always love music, appreciate it some way. 

Jan said -  "But nearly everyone has tunes that they hum or whistle....tunes they never set out to memorize.  I have never, yet, observed a person start to whistle and then stop and look up the music for whatever it was they were going to whistle..........."

I have a peculiar problem probably associated with the early stages (or maybe not so early) of dementia. Many times I can't remember the name of a VERY well known song or hymn (Amazing Grace for example). Then sometimes I cannot remember a single note of that song, no matter how many times I've heard it or even played the melody on a dulcimer. Sometimes I'll strum across the strings while going up and down the fretboard with my noter. Sometimes I hit it or it comes to me and sometimes it doesn't ... at all, for some period of time (minutes, days etc.). I also forget which way to move the noter to go up or down in pitch. It's maddening. I can never play a song all the way through anymore. Happens with whistling too and I've whistled since I was a little feller. 

Belonged to a poetry site once that did a lot of parody contests. I did one on 'Windmills Of Your Mind' Titled 'Wind From Her Behind' ... I won ...

Hey, Wayne!  I like Mike Clemmer's Ban-Jammer so much that I own 2: a standard-size one with a 1.5 fret and a Clemmer "Cutie" (discontinued) with a shorter scale and no 1.5 fret that I use to introduce other players to the Ban-jammer.  I have heard others made by other luthiers and I prefer the sound of the Ban-jammer....it's as simple as that.

The 3rd annual Ban-Jammer gathering is in Townsend, TN this coming weekend (first weekend in October) and I really wish I could be there, but it doesn't look like it's going to work out for me to do that.  I went the first two years and really enjoyed it, so I'm sure everyone who goes will have a good time!

My personal opinion is that there are many ways to play the Ban-jammer and have it sound good.  Aaron O'Rourke and Stephen Seifert have expert flat-picking and claw-hammer skills and can bring out the very best in a Ban-jammer.  But someone with average dulcimer playing skills can strum "Camptown Races" or fingerpick "Streets of Laredo" and that will sound good, too.  And that banjo "twang" is superb!

I always wanted to play the banjo, but discovered that it wasn't physically possible due to arthritis and other issues.  But I CAN lay the Ban-jammer on my lap and play it--so I get the ease of the dulcimer and the sound of a banjo--the best of both worlds!

Nice find. I would certainly look at it and admire it if any of your folks bought it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

D Chitwood, have you determined what about your play is giving you the callus on the side of your thumb?  

PS- i didn't even notice anything about a misspelling!  Even if I had I wouldn't have cared.  ;)

Me three!

I visited Wood N Strings in Townsend Tenn this past summer, mainly because I wanted to see/hear Mike's Ban-Jammer. My wife and I have fallen in love with the sound generated. Now we are in the "Exploration Process" looking for a Ban-Jammer, Dulci-Jo OR whatever they might be called (by the various maker). So there's my question: LUTHIERS? and/or your experience with this awesome variation on the MD.

TKS

Wayne

Wow, it makes all our work worthwhile when we hear comments like yours objectsession. Especially the part about starting to play dulcimer. That was one of our major goals in making both the film and the podcast ... hoping that people who have never played would start playing. Thanks again!

Patricia 

Good job Patty. I'm sure your neighbor will enjoy the bow.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yep, I'd do the same were I there.

cool! I have a psaltery but have yet to learn to play it. you've inspired me!

Here is a video of my playing the violin uke with one hand while holding the camera in the other:

It went fairly well. As I was progressing on each string and yes, each string had to be tuned, I had to go back and re-tune the previous strings as they loosened up! I tuned them a bit sharp in case they decide to loosen up a bit. Since it hadn't been tuned in over 50 years it seems to sound pretty good for a violin uke 

Here is a picture:

This dulcimer was apparently made in Yorkshire (there's a Haworth address inside).

A ;little rough-hewn, maybe, but I'd certainly buy it at the asking price if I were in the UK

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331666519485

Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 5

Richard Fariña Tribute Part 2

  http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast

Contributors to this episode are dulcimer players Joellen Lapidus and Neal Hellman, Richard's relatives Jim and Owenie Crozier and Omar Lugones, and the man who made Richard's dulcimer, Terry Hennessy.

And be sure to check out the episode resource page, there are photos, links, etc.: 

http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/005.html

A few years ago I went to a Christmas show at Slim's (a club in San Francisco owned by Boz Scaggs) that featured El Vez, the Mexican Elvis impersonator.

For the first song, the band was playing a cover of the Stones's tune "Sympathy for the Devil," you know with the female backup singers doing the "woo woo," and El Vez coming out doing Mick Jagger gangly dance positions and stuff.  He then approached the microphone and everyone expected "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and fame," but instead, El Vez switched into Elvis impersonator mode and sang "Blue Christmas" while the band (including the back-up singers) kept playing "Sympathy for the Devil."

You can't find kitsch like that everyday! The band is called the Memphis Mariachis and the back-up singers are called the Lovely Elvettes. The first time I saw them, at a winery in Napa, the Elvettes wore sombreros over their breasts.

Here is a less elaborate version of what I'm talking about:

Best wishes. I hope it goes well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Today is the big day. I try out the bow on the violin uke. I'll be cleaning the strings on the instrument first then wipe them down. I hope the strings are in good shape. Maybe I can get a video. 

Jabberwockey was, I think, the first real poem I memorized, 'way back when...

I'd do you the full lyrics, but I fear the spellchecker already needs extensive therapy :)

I have heard that if you develop calluses on your fingers, you're pressing down with more force than necessary.  So, if that's true, then I guess that's what I'm doing, because I have a lot of calluses on my fretting hand and none on my fingerpicking hand.

Clear fingernail polish applied in several layers with drying time in between each layer, makes a great temporary callus if you suddenly lose one (after spending a lot of time in pools or doing dishes, I guess!).  As some here have reported, when you change instruments, sometimes you start developing calluses in new places!

I, too, have found a fingertip callus good for pull-offs!

Haha, well, thank goodness for editing tools! :)

Good one Dusty.  

One way to hasten the development of calluses is to soak your fingertips in vinegar or olive brine or something like that.  Old school baseball players used to urinate on their hands to toughen up the skin. If you do that, though, please don't play my dulcimers. 

Some people's personalities have similarly marinated in vinegar, which hastens the development of callousness.  Certainly no one here at FOTMD, though.

I have to chuckle every time I see this thread. 

Callous means "showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others."

Callus means "a thickened and hardened part of the skin or soft tissue, especially in an area that has been subjected to friction."

Occasionally I have been described as callous, but have never developed callus from playing dulcimer

That sounds really interesting john-p

(Any string tuned up from its recommended tension will sound brighter )

 Good to know, i do like a mellow sound. 

Good luck with all the experiment you will be doing and getting back to building - can't wait to hear how it all goes..