Thanx Dusty -- it's playing at 'friendly' open mics every that were my practice for competition. The competition setting was so much less stressful -- people ere actually listening to you rather than getting drunk and talking loud over the music chatting up someone else at their table!
Congratulations, Ken, on placing third. That's an accomplishment unto itself. I would imagine at most of the competitions everyone knows each other, which is why at a lot of them the performances are supposed to be anonymous (not that you can't identify most players by their playing style).
Linda Brockinton told me she used to work for a whole year in preparation for a competition. She would arrange a tune with an introduction, a couple of verses, a few variations on the verses, and then some kind of ending. And she would practice all year to really have everything down. Even if you don't take your preparation to that level, the fact that you are already planning what you're going to play means you will likely be more prepared than you were this year.
My hat's off to you, Ken. I get nervous enough at a friendly open mic. I can't imagine a competition.
And Aaron's advice is best: "have fun and enjoy being there."
Congrats Ken. It's kind of funny how that contest must have evolved. I did that contest years ago... lost the first year and was told to play real old-time tunes... won the next year doing a couple tunes I learned from Don Pedi. I guess they've gone the other way! Best to just have fun and enjoy being there.
Hi Randy, I am not saying I don't like hearing old time music played chord style, I listen to it all the time.
I am just really liking noter/ drone to play, love the sound.
I am happy for Ken for competing playing N & D also.
Some of the prettiest old time music I've heard is played in the chord melody style. It's legit. Congratulations to all three winners!
Sounds interesting Ken and I am so happy to hear that you will stick to your ol' time N&D and the good ol' songs for next year also.
I think you did really well in your placement, I am not surprised that competitors playing chord-melody style placed higher, seems to be the craze these days.
Will look forward to hearing the songs you chose for next year and see your results!
I, like you am sticking to N & D ol' style cause it is SWEET!
Thanks Ken, those are both great songs.
Babs - they've got all those categories for the "important" Old Time instruments -- guitar and banjo; at least they have categories for Appalachian and Hammered Dulcimer.
Cynthia -- my tunes were Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes, and the spiritual Trials, Troubles, Tribulations which I learned a number of years ago from Don Pedi.
The competition was pretty laid-back. Like an Open Mike, but outdoors; with better than average sound equipment and an appreciative crowd, not one that's trying to get drunk and talk loud while you play....
Congrats. wondered what your two tunes were this year?
I've seen your picking video's Lisa -- you could take first place here!
Sounds like a good plan Ken. I admire you for being brave enough to enter a competition...I wouldn't have the guts!
Congrats on getting in the top three; especially for a first time try. Now that you know the ropes, you can move ahead.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Had a great time today at the Florida Old Time Music Championship up in Dade City. Nice setting at a Pioneer History farm. Beautiful weather. I came in third in the Dulcimer category. Not bad, considering it was my first time competing.
Now I see how things work, and hope to do better next year. I went there with my two Old Time tunes carefully chose, traditional dulcimer, played traditional noter & drone style with a quill plectrum. The first two places went to people who played modern dulcimers, barely old time tunes, in chord-melody style, and just happened to be on a first name basis with all the judges and MC, from previous years of competing.
So next year I'm gonna play and sing Five Pounds of Possum, or Shove That Pig's Foot... and some other tune that I love, and not worry about being "old time".
I got an email yesterday from the Back Axe Company, regarding these small Back Axe straps:
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Hello folks!
This note is intended for those who have inquired about our small-instrument-sized BackAxe. Our apologies for the long wait.
Weve been backordered and were not sure when we will restock. While we like to have the option to offer folks, the guitar model is the vast majority of our small business.
Howeverthere are just a few differences between our guitar and small models. Its mostly strap lengths. While were not set up to do it on mass, we can make the few modifications to one of our in-stock guitar models to make it adjustable to a smaller case. Wed be glad to do it for those of you whove inquired, waited patiently and are still interested.
You can order a guitar model online from us and well tweak it for you. Just put a comment in the order or e-mail us after us after the order and let us know youd like it "small-ized."
Regards,
Mark
Yes, I had contacted the company directly and they finally replied (after quite a long period). They said they weren't making them and they didn't know their plans. They were really vague and non-committal. I contacted my local music store (who had the large ones in stock) and they said they couldn't get the small ones. I got really frustrated. I concluded I'd have to find one on eBay (or try making one myself). Then, one came available and I snatched it up. Yes, maybe a bunch of us need to contact the company and maybe they'll start doing them again. I don't know what the answer is. But, they do work well.
Fabulous! The weight of my Simerman in a hard shell case is too much for one hand/arm. This would really help. Some other shops are bound to have old stock... or
Here's the link to the company. (Is this how you tried to reach them, Susie?) The small size is out of stock, but if we all clamor for them, perhaps they'll make more! www.backaxe.com We can try!
Linda
I like that! I need to get one too
Thanks Dusty. Yes, it really makes it handy to carry a hardshell case.
That's pretty cool, Susie. I want one of those!
I have been looking for quite some time for a "Back Axe" for my dulcimer hardshell case, so I can carry it like a backpack. "Back Axe" makes two sizes of them, and I knew the small one would work well. However, they aren't making them anymore (for whatever reason). No luck in contacting the company, etc. So, I kept my eyes open. Low and behold, a music store on eBay listed a small Back Axe for sale (new condition - old stock). So I got it at a great price. I did all the adjustments to the straps and it works great! Once it is adjusted, it goes on and off with just a couple quick release buckles in the front. I love it. It makes carrying my hardshell case hands free. Great for festivals, hikes, or whatever. Here's a pic. 
Yeah, it's a bit heavy, but I'm pretty careful with it. I added a leather pad to the wood that presses down the strings to keep the strings from getting marred, particularly the wound D. I tried the 1/4-20 bolt with wooden discs, but it seemed to slip a little loose.
Me too. They work pretty well.
Ken Hulme said:
Looks pretty good... a bit heavy perhaps, but as long as it works, who cares. I've made capos from a 1/4-20 bolt and wingnut with two wooden disks to grab the sides of the fretboard, and a length of vinyl tubing to protect the strings from th bolt threads.
Looks pretty good... a bit heavy perhaps, but as long as it works, who cares. I've made capos from a 1/4-20 bolt and wingnut with two wooden disks to grab the sides of the fretboard, and a length of vinyl tubing to protect the strings from th bolt threads.
Nothing wrong with creativity! It was probably really fun to do, too. Just a word of advice.....don't drop that capo on your dulcimer! It could really do some damage.
I stitched the leather pouch to keep the capo in.
It's true, my swan dulcimer has no 1/2 fret, but I've always loved it's tone and it handled GDD beautifully. Good to know it handles looser tuning. Dulcimers have their personalities, strengths, and shortcomings.
Just had an experience related to the discussion on tunings. Have been mainly using CGG because it's closer to my alto voice than DAA. I can hit higher notes, but it often feels too high or sounds strange to me. I'm working on For the Beauty of the Earth, but wasn't happy with my singing. Today I was happily singing it while on the trail with my dog. That's when it dawned on me . . . tune the melody strings to that! How obvious.
Wound up with it as D for that melody string and GDD in Ionian. The dulcimer I was using sounds slightly loose, so I'm going to see if my other dulcimer can take that tuning a bit better.
The key of G shouldn't have surprised me. I can sing to that on my concertina. It's just the obvious idea of tuning to my voice that caught me so off guard.
I like the Ionian (Daa) and Dorian (Dag) tunings best. With a 6+ fret, the Dorian tuning is really flexible. Both (mostly) major and minor scales are available and it is great for Blues.
I agree Robert, if you stick with just one tuning, we will not learn what our dulcimer will sound like, and you will not know which sounds the best, also you will not learn about what tuning's your strings will handle.
Yah and so if you break a string, then ya gotta change it, well now we learn how to change the strings.
Tunes sound different in different modes and it is fun to be able to play with it.
This is my relationship with my very "Sweet Lil' ButterNut" dulcimer! I Love everything about it!
When we were kids and self taught musician wannabes we thought a given instrument only had one correct tuning. It was quite a joyous revelation to discover we were wrong. I'm constantly changing tunings. Although you can go through life tuning a dulcimer to Dadd, the dulcimer being a modal instrument cries out to be played in many tunings. I love experimenting with modes. Its amazing how changing the pitch of one string can evoke emotions of joy sadness or excitement. This is a gift we receive from the dulcimer... Bob.
Babs, you can play DGd tab, just use an Ionian mode tab for DAA. Same tab numbers, just will sound in G other then D.
So for tunings I mostly use DAd, DGd, DAc and DAA. But I really like to think of them in numbers rather than letters. That way I can pick whatever pitch is comfrotable or sounds good. So that would be 1-5-8, 1-4-8, 1-5-7, 1-5-5. What I like about numbers is that it helps me reference the intervals in my head when I tune the instrument to itself rather than to a tuner.
A trick I learned a long time ago is that the interval between 1 and 5 sounds like the first two notes of the song the witch's guards sing in The wizard of OZ. (OH-EE-OH-OH-OH if you remember the tune). The interval between 1 and 4 is the first two notes of Here Comes the Bride. And the octave (1-8) is the first two notes of Over the Rainbow.
I kind of have a love-hate relationship with electronic tuners. I love them when restringing an instrument or when I am trying to tune in a noisy location. But I also think they are kind of a crutch because it is easier to accept what the tuner says than to really listen to the tuning and intonation of the instrument.
Tunings, eh. I use DAd and its variant CGc. I retune those to DAc, DGd or DGc. I have 2 or 3 tuned DAA or CGG. Drop them down to DAG or tune up to EAA for mixolydian tunes. Then there's one DDA that I sometimes bow. One's in Ddd. The Mawhee's in AAA. Then there are the Jim Good's which I keep in Jim's tuning: b G d d d. Then for 4 strings, DAAd is probably my favorite, then DAdd. DAdc gives some great drones for songs such as Lord Thomas and the Fair Elender. DGGd and DGdd and DGdc and good, too. Oh yeah, I have one that can go up to EBe.
Like you, James, I prefer an Ionian Modal tuning or a Bagpipe tuning. With those I can cover most of the 200+ songs in my repertoire. However I do have a complete set of Dorian tunes that I play as well as a set of Aeolian tunes. Those of course need to be retuned from one of the following:
I keep one traditional dulcimer (Bobby Ratliff Hog Fiddle) tuned BFF Ionian as it suits my voice even better than C for singing along at Open Mics and such.
I keep another traditional dulcimer (John Knopf Thomas replica) tuned Ggg for instrumentals in Open Mic settings, because the G tuning cuts through crowd noise well.
I have a Harpmaker Student Model in DAA for playing with clubs
I have a Til Holloway (my only dulcimer with a 6+ fret) tuned Ddd for playing with clubs.
I'm slowly building a 'coffin shaped' (think angular teardrop) traditional dulcimer that will have just intonation.
By 'traditional dulcimer' I mean one that is less than 7.5" wide and less than 1-1/4" high, with a fretboard a minimum of 3/4" high, preferably 1" high.
Here is a thread I decided to start, rather then to hi-jack another thread, so here it is: What tunings do you like to use?
For me, I personally either like to use some form of Ionian tuning, or a Bagpipe tuning. Here is my list of tunings, and on which instrument:
D-d-dd, Bagpipe tuning. This is on an hourglass that I bought from Robert Schuler. It has the 6.5 fret on it, so from the open fret, I can do D mixolydian, D major (as long as it doesn't dip below the scale) and from the 3rd fret, key of G major. This, btw, is the only dulcimer I have with the 6.5.
E-B-BB, Ionian tuning. This is on an hourglass I ordered from Jack Ferguson. Nice clear, bell like sound.
DGd, Reverse Ionian. On a prototype student dulcimer from Dan Cox. To me, and a couple people people I'd played it for, it seems to have a bagpipe type sound. I know it isn't a "true" Ionian tuning, but most out of the box dulcimers these days are set up and strung for DAd tuning (which I don't use) so I personally feel that it is easier to take the A down to a G, rather then that d on down to A, because with the string gauge used for that high d going down, it will flop around like a clothesline, and sound dead.
DAA, Ionian tuning. On a student dulcimer from Dan Cox. This seems to be another that beginners would use. I don't know if it is the 155 specific scale Dan used for this, or what, but this does, like my E-B-BB tuned dulcimer, has a good bell like tone to it.
These, of course, are what I *prefer* to use, and on which instrument. Hopefully it isn't too too confusing
Thanks to everyone for the great tips on making my Dulcimer sound better. I have to still finish my Possum Board and will share later a sone go celebrate my thanks for all of you who help anyone who comes here. Please excuse the video quality. I usually use a better cam.
Again Thanks to you Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer
Babs, personally, for me, Iplay by the numbers. I currently have four dulcimers I use, and since not a one of them is tuned the same, I just use a tab, and see what fits with what dulcimers. I won't hijack this thread with my tunings etc. To answer the question, and from what I learned over the years, Ken is right that it was around the late 60's. For example, in Jean Ritchie's The Dulcimer Book, she has everything laid out in C, but in her later teaching material, it's D.
I assume that traditionally dulcimers were tuned to whatever keynote sounded best. A luthier would "hoo in the hole," meaning sing into the soundhole and find the tone that resonated most saliently and then tune the instrument to that key.
Obviously if you are singing with the dulcimer, you will tune to the key that best fits your voice. And that might vary by song. I can sing some songs in D, but others I have to sing in C, C# or even G depending on the precise range of the melody.
For just playing, though I tend to switch between C and D depending on whether I am fingerpicking or flatpicking. I like the extra slack and the soft pull of the strings in C for fingerpicking, for that allows a more precise touch. But for flatpicking, especially playing fast, I want the strings tighter and with less give, so I tune to D. I also tend to flatpick back toward the bridge and fingerpick toward the 10th fret or so.
I think Ken is probably right about the timing of the switch from C to D. Whether it was specifically to play fiddle tunes or merely to play with other instruments in the keys of D, G and A, I am not sure.
But you are certainly correct, Babs, that the norm these days, regardless of what modal tuning one uses, is to tune to the key of D, at least on standard sized dulcimers.
I'm still new to the dulcimer, but I've found that I like the way a D tuning feels on my fingers than a C tuning. My fingers like the stiffer tension of the strings as they are easier to pick and ring a bit brighter. I don't sing much with the dulcimer at this point so that doesn't affect me as yet.
So maybe part of the reason has to do with D being maybe a little more resonant for instrumental playing than C. Also, in today's musical world, we seem to have a need to be in a specific key with specific pitch frequency. However, A was not always 440 htz as it is today.
At this point I like 1-5-8, DAd, but as I said, I'm still new to the instrument. I'm finding however that the beauty of the dulcimer is that its seeming diatonic simplicity actually makes it a very easily versatile instrument.
