Forum Activity for @frank-ross

Penn Alps in Grantsville, MD has 2 or 3 hanging in a local mountian craft shop. It in a artisian village with a restaurant. Just off I68 in western Maryland

Kevin, we did stop at Tamarack. Yes, he had a few there too. The sales lady at the Travel Plaza says a man comes by at least once a week to play the dulcimers. She says when he comes to play them they sell. 

Another picture of the Jim Good dulcimers along with Psaltries. There were lots of thumb pianos too.

Jim also has them at the Tamarack, near Beckly.

On our trip to West Virginia we stopped at the Travel Plaza off the I64 West Turnpike. What did I see when I went into the gift shop? I saw a couple of Jim Good dulcimers for sale. Is it only in West Virginia that someone can see dulcimers for sale in a travel plaza gift shop? Has anyone seen dulcimers for sale in places other than a music store? 

So, my go to is the June Appple Cellomer, It is so unique, Has such a big voice. It doesn't just speak to you, It preaches to you, so smooth, clear, but almost overpowering. Yet it keeps it in check. A great stage instrument, but sounds even better on the back deck in the evening, here in the Rocky Mountains.

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 Everytime I build one I have a new favorite. But I don't usually get to play them long.

My "favorite" seems to change with my mood, have 14 altogether so it gets hard to choose, I guess the go to's would be McSpadden 6 string, ebony fret board. Dan Doty 6 string, Bonnie Carol 4 string ebony fret board, or my newest June Apple Cellomer, really BIG sound.

I own a variety of standard dulcimers,4 string,6string,ginger model,banjo dulcimer etc.

I recently found a used June Apple Dulcimer, it is really oversized, it is 45 inches long, 12 inches wide, 2 1/4 deep.

 Would this be considered a bass dulcimer? Or is it not really classified because of the odd size.

It has a great big sound, I have experimented with different tunings and it seems to be very fond of minor tunings, I have it tuned in a really odd tuning right now but it is a great haunting ethereal sound to it, C-G-CC.

Here is a photo of the instrument and the possum board I built for it, anyone else ever played one of these? they seem pretty obscure but really nicely built, came out of a traveling musical instrument museum. (At least that's what the salesman told me) :-)

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I find myself picking up my McSpadden all walnut hourglass most of the time. 

JohnH- we,re suppose to "tune" them? Who knew .That changes everything! 

My GoTo dulcimer for Open Mic nights is my Bobby Ratliff  Hogfiddle tuned Bagpipe B -- Bbb, which suits my voice better than C or D.  It's fitted with a stick-on pick up.

My GoTo for un-amplified playing is my John Knopf Thomas replica with its new 1/2" thick balsawood Possum Board.  The dulcimer has 3 feet so the possum board is just a flat plank, and the balsa is super light!

The one that might be in tune, lol !

JohnH

As you can see in my avitar my 2 treasured dulcimers in which I go in between to play sometimes I choose one for a certain song, sometimes it is the one I want to play.  Both are fabulous to play and I love it!

... siiiiiiiigh ... yeah ... I know ... still sometimes think abortion should be an option into the 27th tri-mester .............. 

Oh, I've been tempted. 

... maybe ... except th' hang 'em on th' wall part ......................... 

Isn’t that a bit like having a favorite child? 

Many of us have more than one. If you do, do you enjoy playing one more than the others? It seems that I take this one down off the wall more often than any of the others. 

Do you have particular reasons for your favored dulcimer?

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A 1.5" wide fingerboard set up with three equaldistant strings should be more than enough. You don't need four strings. When I got my fiddle I was shocked because the  4 strings are only 9/16" appart  at the nut and .75 at the octave. Where there is a will there is a way... Robert

Here's the article I wrote back in 2006 about getting started playing in the Noter & Drone style -- techniques, types of noters, and much more...

Get Noterized.pdf - 82KB

The width of a fretboard is not a critical dimension for 99.99% of players, where VSL and body dimensions are of major importance to the sound of an instrument.

Most commercial (McSpadden, Folkcraft, Blue Lion) fretboards these days are 1.5" wide or 1.25" wide. That's pretty standard for most custom builder too, unless you ask.

If you have a custom dulcimer built by someone like Harpmaker Dave Lynch or any of the other custom builders here, you can specify how wide you want the fretboard. 

 The fretboards on my traditional dulcimers are considerably narrower than 1.25"; but then, I play Noter & Drone style and don't need huge spaces between strings.

I recently purchased a McSpadden M8 and was surprised at how narrow the fretboard was. I wear men’s 2XL gloves.

Except for Blue Lion, I found no dimensions listed for width of fingerboards. Most were centered around the VSL and body dimensions.

Can anyone suggest models/makes with more “roomy” fretboards?

Like Travis, I learned melody first on MD and chords on uke and guitar.  True story: some years ago when I had just figured out how to chord on MD, I was jaming with a uke-playing friend.  I was frantically grasping at the chords (would have helped if I knew the song better).  We finished singing the first verse and chorus and I thought thank goodness, now I can take the instrumental break and I started playing melody which was so much easier.  And my friend said, "oh that's right, unlike me you really know how to play!"  The easy beginner stuff for me was the hard stuff for him, and vice versa.  

I take this as proof that we're all meant to play together. 

I don't necessarily have an opinion about whether one should learn melody or chords first, but I can corroborate Travis's assumption that most guitar teachers start with chords.  I think the reason is simply that with a few chords one can quickly accompany one's singing. It is also the case that most single note work on the guitar is built out of left-hand chord positions (I am not joking that it took me 15-20 years of playing to figure that out, but I am almost entirely self-taught).

I certainly wish you the best, but I do agree that a guitar player who is not familiar with the dulcimer may not be the best teacher. You might consider Skype lessons from a dulcimer teacher.  Just the fact that you are asking about rare chords makes me think your teacher may not really "get" a diatonic fretboard.

Yep -- that listing says Actual Weight = 10 pounds, Shipping Weight = 70 pounds!

Thanks Robert and Ken - I am checking out my options now to see if I should make or buy one!

Melody, melody, melody.   If you don't have the melody correct there is no need to add chords.  Were I to teach a beginner on either guitar or dulcimer scales would be the 1st thing I'd cover.  I know a fellow here in WV who carries 7 Jim Good dulcimers in a cabinet tuned in 7 different keys.  I agree with Travis, you have to approach them differently.

Angela--  No dulcimer tuning really has a wide range.  That's part of it being a dulcimer, not a guitar -- it is not chromatic.  If you want to play a lot of minor chord music, you might be best off having two dulcimers -- one tuned in a minor tuning like DAG or DAC; the other tuned in a major tuning like DAA or DAd.  Otherwise re-tuning is your best option.  Usually you only have to re-tune the melody string....

This is a lovely possum board indeed, and really suits Robert's dulcimers. It did not fit any others I have, so guess you'd have to send him the right measurements.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I build and sell mountain dulcimers and thought it would be nice to offer a possum board to fit my instruments. I mostly play off a table top and use the possum board to keep the dulcimer off the table. Makes a fancy way to display them as well. I used to use scrap wood sticks to support the dulcimer but  a possum board looks and sounds much better.

It generally does not slip around on my lap. On my newer models I added two holes to attach a strap. I play up to the last fret so I need a board that can be shifted left and right real fast. Gale, I would be happy to make one for you, I charge $35.00 plus shipping. But Kens point about building your own is a good idea if you got the time... Robert. 

Oh, got it.

Sitting a lot may cause poor circulation and weight gain. Hence the standing or treadmill desk craze. I sit at my desk all day at work, so I find I just need to stand sometimes. 

Why is standing better for your health?

Last night while playing on the screened porch table and competing with the cicadas for sound, I discovered that two coasters turned upside down (cork up) worked pretty well as a way to increase the volume, and protect the back of my dulcimer. That is if you like to play while standing, which is better for your health. You can stack several coasters to see if you like the sound better. They don’t slide because of the cork backing. If you still want to make a possum board, this will help you decide how high you want your dulcimer to rest on the board. That said, that’s a beautiful board Robert, and I wouldn’t turn it down. You can only stand for so long. 

How do you keep it from sliding off your lap?

Nice looking boards there, Bob.

Gale -- A few dulcimer builders here are making and sellin possum boards, and I'm sure they'll chime in soon.  You can actually make one really easily by buying a "craft wood" plank of poplar from Home Depot or Lowe's that's 3 ft long and 6" or so wide.  You also need a piece of dowel (square is best) to glue across the board a litle closer together than Robert has his 'bridges'. A couple rubber bands will hold the dulcimer in place...

That is beautiful! Where is the best place to purchase one? Not sure if I have time to make one.

Thanks for bringing that up  Dusty. I didn't think to mention that, I was on a tablet and a bit pressed for time.

I've also tried DF#A and DF#AA [4 equidistant]. It may be better to describe these tunings with numbers in order for them to be translated to other keys [135 or 1355, etc]. Bing Futch teaches some interesting things in his book 'Blues method for MD 101' that uses 'boxes'.

I've used a variation on Janita's tuning: D-A-d-A#.   Also D-A-d-c#.  I can mute the near string with the heel of my hand.  That means I'm playing D-A-d (that's easy and I can strum!) with an extra string I can play only when I need it.

Another chromatic tuning is D-F#-A.  See this site: http://www.mountaindulcimer-1-3-5.com/

With 4 equidistant strings, try D-F#-A-D. 

You can substitute a "power chord" when you can't get a major or minor chord.  A power chord contains only the root and 5th notes.  It's the 3rd note that determines whether the chord is major or minor.  When you play an open DAd you're playing a D power chord, which can substitute for either D-major or D-minor as needed.  Not the same sound, but it works in a pinch, especially when playing with other instruments that will supply the missing 3rd.

When dulcimer tab shows a barred 1st fret as an "E-minor" chord, it's actually an E power chord.  It's the kind of workaround that dulcimer players use all the time, but a guitarist won't know about. 

I think it's great that you've found a guitar teacher who's willing to explore dulcimer with you.  However, he may need an occasional gentle reminder that a dulcimer is not a guitar.  The typical lesson plan for beginning guitarists is not well suited for dulcimer. The dulcimer is NOT designed to play in multiple keys from the same tuning.  Nor to play chromatic runs.  That doesn't mean it's impossible -- but it ain't easy and it's very uncommon for anyone to attempt it.  The addition of a 1-1/2 fret doesn't really change things -- it makes a few more chords and scales possible, but it does not mean you can take the normal scale boxes and movable chords that you'd learn on guitar and translate them directly to the dulcimer.

If you're hunting for a Gb, G and G# in the same song, then you're playing a song -- or an arrangement -- that might be easy on guitar, but on dulcimer it's crazy advanced.  If your heart's set on that style of music, your life will be much easier with a full-chromatic fretboard.