I have one dulcimer only but I have also some guitars (fender, takamine...) and some other musical instruments
Hammered dulcimer, autoharp, banjo are some of the instruments I hope to own and learn and play
Up to now just one dulcimer ( I plan to get another one spontan though) but I already have a mild case of Instrument acquisation sydrome:
- One dulcimer ( beginner level)
- two classical guitars and one lute guitar ( not a beginner but no Bert Jansch either)
- Two tin whistles ( D and C tuning, beginner)
- One mandolin ( my latest addition, still struggling with the first song after one month)
Up to now just one dulcimer ( I plan to get another one spontan though) but I already have a mild case of Instrument acquisation sydrome:
- One dulcimer ( beginner level)
- two classical guitars and one lute guitar ( not a beginner but no Bert Jansch either)
- Two tin whistles ( D and C tuning, beginner)
- One mandolin ( my latest addition, still struggling with the first song after one month)
You've got a range of options to experiment with and expand your musical horizons.
I agree Robin. The Culture of Recovery is a wonderful program. The luthiery and Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company are a great way to give people the opportunity to develop a skill and turn their lives around. Kudos to all involved.
Ken
"the dulcimer sings a sweet song."
What a moving, touching episode! Music has the power to touch us all in so many ways and on so many different levels. All the stories presented are heartening. And what is going on in Hindman KY will, I hope, continue to bring folks together for common purpose.
Thanks for letting us know about this, Dan, and thank you for your work with Doug and all at the luthier shop in Hindman! Was a treat to see Sarah Kate and Willow, too!
It appears it will be available on my local PBS affiliate at 9, too.
Me, too. It's on at 9 p.m. EDT on my PBS station.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I imagine that different species of cicadas 'sing' at different note pitches. 
That is brilliant!As far as I can tell,the cicadas are hovering around,"E"....I eagerly await mountain dulcimer collaborations with cicadas this year...
We’re doing some research and looking for prices of dulcimers that were purchased in the 1970s. If you bought one of the following dulcimers:
• Magic Mountain (or Shellnut Company)
• Santa Monica Dulcimer Works
• Music Traditions
• Folkcraft
• Black Mountain
• McSpadden
• Green River
Please let us know what you bought it for, a description of your dulcimer, and if you happen to have a catalog with your dulcimer with the price listed, we’d love to see it. We’d also love if you’d post a photo of your dulcimer.
Here's an example of a 1970s dulcimer catalog.
Thanks!
Patricia
In the photo, you can see how if you stacked two ball-ends on that screw, there is left almost NO threads to actually hold the screw in the wood. You'd wind up screwing as much as possible and stripping the wood threads. Plus, then the lower ball-end ends up digging into the wood. Not a good arrangement at all. Loop end strings just slip right over whatever pin or screw is there... no screwing/unscrewing involved.
I think the reason Richard suggested using loop end strings was not to save time, but to minimize the possibility that the wood might degrade and lose the grip on the screw. If you never have to unscrew the screw, the wood would be more likely to stay intact.
you can also make a loop end string out of a ball end string by removing the ball. Just squeeze it with some plyers and pry it out.
Nate, I think the reason Richard suggested using loop end strings was not to save time, but to minimize the possibility that the wood might degrade and lose the grip on the screw. If you never have to unscrew the screw, the wood would be more likely to stay intact. In the picture MJ posted, the screw hole looks like it has to be filled.
I've never had trouble finding loop end strings of any gauge. JustStrings sells them in bulk, plain steel from .008 to .018 and wound from .020 to .040. For the odd string or two I just go to my local music store. And you can also make a loop end string out of a ball end string by removing the ball. Just squeeze it with some plyers and pry it out.
When I am using wood screws for ball end strings, I will usually use this type
So that the screw is nice and secure
In my experience, loop end strings for dulcimers tend to be in very particular light gauges that aren't ideal for much tension in DAD tuning with shorter VSLs. I prefer much thicker gauge strings, which usually means buying guitar strings, either individually, or just a set that includes the gauges i want.
Personally, I use screws as well as ball end strings on a lot of my dulcimers and don't find that it adds much time at all to replacing strings, less than a minute of screwing and unscrewing total. I would say that pins or headless nails look much nicer though.
I second Richard's suggestion. Once a new and longer screw is in, use loop-end strings.
An additional solution may be to use loop end strings so more of the threads engage the wood. Using loop ends will not require removing the screw to change strings. It looks like the screw hole may need to be filled and start over with a slightly longer screw.
Those screws look pretty short, I'd say replace them all with longer ones. Putting two strings on one screw or nail seems like a lot of stress, even if it were a longer one. Since the two ball ends are stacked, the 'top' one will be applying a lot of leverage. It looks like there is a small crack running from the screw hole already, but maybe that's just a surface scratch. If the instrument will be 4 string in the future, consider drilling a 4th hole next to the melody string anchor and replacing all 4 with longer screws or finishing nails.
MJ, the owner could buy a longer screw of the same type and put the string end (ball) through that. It seems like an unusual design to have to unscrew the pin every time you need to change a string. I would replace all 3 pins with headless nails that the string balls could just slip over, thus making changing strings faster and easier.
. A member of my embroyic duclimer group recently purchased a second hand dulcimer. It looks and sounds great but when she was tuning it one of the anchor pegs pulled out ( I have posted a picture). One problem is that it was holding two strings and she is happy to revert to a three stringed instrument. It looks like a relatively easy fix to me but I don't want to make it worse and I;m not a luthier and there do not seem to be many people on cape cod who even know what a dulcimer is, let alone how to safely replace the anchor.
Thanks Robin. I'm on the road the rest of this week and the beginning of next so I won't be watching for at least week. I do plan to join when I get back. Thanks for the heads up on Mike Seeger. I miss him. We had some good times when he was here to do some concerts.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I'm glad Mark Brewer got back to you, KenL, with this advice! (I only know Rusty and he's on the radio side of things for WOUB.)
P.S.-A friend suggested you all may be interested in knowing Mike Seeger plays "Waterbound" on the episode with Elizabeth Cotton.
Today I received a very nice reply from Mark Brewer who is the general manager of WOUB. Here is part of his reply:
"Best advice I can give you at this time is to join WOUB Passport at https://donate.woub.org/woub/passport . As you probably know, it’s a $5 minimum monthly donation. Create and use a different email address that is not tied to your current WPSU Passport so nothing wacky happens there.
We currently have 15 episodes of Ramblin’ on Passport and 6 episodes of Hocking Valley Bluegrass (produced in 1978) available.
If you can watch them all in a month, just reach back out to us to let us know you want to cancel. If it takes two months…..well, you get the idea! If you want to go this direction, when it’s time to cancel, just reach out to membership@woub.org and we’ll take care of it."
As you can see, the advice is pretty much watch KenH suggested, but a little less expensive. The folks in Athens get a good deal on their membership price for Passport.
So, I'm away at a dulcimer festival this week and then on to NJ to visit my cousin. When I get back I'll join because I should probably be home for a month and can binge watch all of the programs.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Jimmy, there is no single way to do this. What works best for you is what's best.
And I think you are right to work on one thing at a time. Don't think about adding chord strums until you have figured out the left-hand fingering.
In David Schnaufer's instructional video, he demonstrates how he uses three fingers (no pinky or thumb) to move up and down the fretboard. As he moves higher than his hand position he uses his index finger, and as he moves lower, he uses his ring finger.
Personally, I use all my fingers since I need all the help I can get! Most of the time I approach the fretboard the way guitarists and violin players do, where you try to minimize hand movement and keep your hand in one position as long as you can, with each finger assigned a fret position. Each position is named for the lowest fret. So if you use your pinky on the first fret and your ring finger on the second fret and so forth, that would be called first position. If you use your pinky on the second fret and your ring finger on the third fret and so forth, that would be second position.
However, whereas on the guitar or mandolin, each fret is of equal size, the dulcimer is missing some frets, so you might sometimes skip a fret. In second position, I might use my pinky on 1 and my ring finger on 2, but then my index finger on 3, skipping my middle finger. Find what is comfortable for you.
Some people use their thumb a lot on the melody string, turning the thumb to the side a bit to be able to use the edge of the nail and slide around like a noter. I do that occasionally out of chord positions, but not most of the time, since using your thumb comfortably means the other fingers don't line up on the melody string as easily.
However . . . and you may not want to do this . . . once you are using your fingers you are no longer limited to the melody string, and "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" is a good example of why. The song begins with a big jump from 4 to 9, and even goes down to 2 on a couple of occasions. That's a big jump. It's fun with a noter, but not so fun with your fingers.
But if you are tuned DAd, then any note on the melody string is also found on the middle string three frets higher. So the first note of the song could be the 7 on the middle string. That 2 on the melody is also the 5 on the middle string. The whole song can be played between 5 and 9, which is a much easier stretch, isn't it? Attached you'll find the melody of the tune using both melody and middle strings. Give it a try and see what you think.
It's great to hear about your approach to fretting on your instrument! Using all your fingers and adopting a technique similar to guitarists and violin players can certainly help with efficiency and accuracy in playing. Minimizing hand movement and keeping your hand in one position as much as possible can lead to smoother transitions between notes and chords. And thank you for that little PDF file.
Yes... Donate one month, then cancel it...
Ken Kolodner wrote a great piece in honor of the cicadas during the last invasion that he plays here on the hammered dulcimer.
Does the website actually check your IP address? I wonder if you could register an account with PBS and just choose WOUB as your local station. I'm going to give it a try.
I already tried that Dusty, and it didn't work. So it looks like if you want to view the program it will cost at least $12. Our local stations cost for Passport is a donation of at least $60, btw. Ken, I think you mean $12 per month donation.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Sorry I misled you guys about that WOUB program availability. I couldn't get it either, in spite of the fact it showed on my Passport. I had our local WGCU Passport person check, and she just got back to me this morning, saying it's only available if you make a $12 per year donation to WOUB, watch the program, then cancel your donation before the first month is up...
Does the website actually check your IP address? I wonder if you could register an account with PBS and just choose WOUB as your local station. I'm going to give it a try.
Rusty (at WOUB-- he's radio program director, I think) got back to me after my first query to let me know he thought just WOUB-area folks could stream the program. I asked him, then, specifically, if it would be somehow possible for others to watch. I'm guessing he may not even be able to check about it until Monday (tomorrow).
Thanks, Robin. I sent an email to WOUB but it goes to a general inbox, so I don't know if anyone at the station will read it and respond. I'm sure they get a lot of email. There was no way that I could find through the website where you can contact a specific person.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
@ken-longfield and all, I messaged a guy who works at WOUB. I think he's going to check if it's possible for someone outside the WOUB viewing area to somehow view the episode.
Thanks, Dusty. I've seen Mountain Born a few times.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Well, if it will cheer you up, @ken-longfield, you can watch Mountain Born: The Jean Ritchie Story (1996).
Well, I'm disappointed. The live stream was not available outside of the WOUB viewing area. It was not available through my PBS Passport membership through WPSU. I'm not sure how the agreements work with Passport, but there must be some contract that needs to be approved between PBS stations for items produced by other stations to be carried by the local station.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
It would be interesting to see what keys sound good against a solid backdrop of cicadas! Most sounds do have a key they are in if you listen carefully. Such as telephone dial tones or train whistles. I do know that different species of cicadas have slightly different sounding 'calls'. I love cicadas- the nymphs look prehistoric as they climb up tree trunks, and the adults are spectacular and beautiful.
Great story of Richard Fariñas 6+ fret.
I don't know anything about pre-revival dulcimers with extra frets. Some of it's European precedessors might have them though. If I recall correct some Epinettes used to have extra fr hink and strumelia mentioned that there are icelandic langspils with and without chromatic fret layout (see here: https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group_discuss/2169/icelandic-langspil )
Last but not least the hungarian citera has up to 15 dron strings without frets but also four melody strings with a chromatic layout (two for the diatonic layout like the dulcimer, and two for the extra frets completing the chromatic layout): https://www.klangwerkstatt.de/ungarische-zither
So I wouldn't rule out the possibility that some early dulcimers were chromatic as well (maybe made by an hungarian immigrant? Who knows...). It wasn't the norm though.
Apparently the U.S. is getting a a huge infestation of Cicadas this year,Canada less so.They drone like crazy.Once in a lifetime opportunity,play with the cicadas.Outdoors.
Thanks everyone it is indeed a John Rawdon number 52. Your information really helped.
Here is a link to info on Dulcimers by JR. Once you reach the site, scroll down to June 7.
https://heritagedulcimers.wordpress.com/today-in-mountain-dulcimer-history/timdh-june/
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
