Forum Activity for @kevin-messenger

Yep John Henry another fine way to repair this type crack.

Hello Pat, don't fret too much over that crack, probably the easiest place to fix such damage ( in my experience also one the the more 'common' cracks to be found, usually resulting from someone picking up an instrument with a 'thumb on top' grip adjacent to a sound hole and exerting enough downward pressure to cause damage) Careful manipulation of the crack to open it sufficent to be able to rub adhesive into it, followed by the careful insertion of a glue soaked piece of linen (I use a piece of handkerchief, don't tell my wife !) thro' the soundhole if possible, below the crack, massaged into position with a finger. Any surplus adhesive on the top to be cleaned away immediatly. Kevin M does good work.

I've done four or five in that manner.

JohnH

No no gorilla glue! Repairing this type of crack is the same as repairing sound hole cracks in violins. It requires fitting small cleats to the underside to stabilize the crack and prevent it from spreading. The size and thickness of these cleats is very important to to preserve the sound of the instrument. Like I stated its an easy fix ,but, needs done in the proper way.

God luck with your dulcimer. Kevin....

I am sorry about the crack in your Jeffery's, I hope that Kevin can help you to fix it Pat.

I have a question, How can we prevent this sort of thing from happening to our treasured instruments?

Would regular lemon oil treatments help?

Kevin Messenger said:

No need to tetire the Jeffreys, a sound hole crack is easily fixed. If you can't find someone local let me know, I would be happy to help you out.

No need to tetire the Jeffreys, a sound hole crack is easily fixed. If you can't find someone local let me know, I would be happy to help you out.

TunePal......yahoo, fantastic...I'm in, gotta get it.

I knew Rob would know

Hi Dusty. Yes, it does work. I was pretty skeptical also. Maybe I'll throw up a little demo so you can see. It's not like the pop music ones that tell you the artist/song/album and where to buy it; this one takes you to the musical notation and can play back that notation. I've tried playing a number of tunes for it to try to decipher and it does a very good job. It works best if you just give it a single-line melody only.

Thanks, Brian. I had heard of that app or another just like it but I assumed incorrectly that it was for pop music and would not be helpful for traditional music. However, I just checked it out on my Android phone (where it costs $4.63, by the way) and it states that it is specifically for "traditional Irish, Scots, Welsh, and Breton music." It sounds pretty cool. Does it actually work? There are so many common phrases in these old tunes and so many variations of individual tunes, I am a bit skeptical.

Hi all! I just wanted to mention that you can use TunePal for exactly these kinds of situations. This is a free online service you can access, or you can spend a few dollars and get the app for iDevices and Android. It does a number of things, but one of the coolest is that you play what you know of a tune and the app will then return a list of tune possibilities and percentage confidence levels. You can click on a result and get the music for the tune, and the app can play the tune back for you from that music to make sure it's what you wanted. You can also search tunes by keyword, tag tunes to your person tunebook and more.

I realize I sound like a commercial, so let me state that I have no association with the App or its author; I'm just a very satisfied user who thought others might also like the app. I certainly think it's worth the few bucks being charged for it. :)

Well check out the big brain on Rob!

That's it! I used to play that one on the mandolin about 20 years ago, which is why it was in my head.

Thanks so much!

Thanks also to Bob. I had worked through some of the hornpipes on the slips and snips page, and Ricketts was coming up, so I would have found it eventually.

Rob N Lackey said:

It's Rickett's Hornpipe

It's Rickett's Hornpipe

Thanks, Patty. A few notes in the A part do resemble Turkey. And yeah, Rob might now. I also think Randy Adams and Mark Gilston could probably ID the tune in a second. But I think Bob is right that it's a hornpipe, so I'm looking through that website he sent me to and hopefully I'll find it.

A part of it sounds like Turkey in the Straw. I'm thinking Rob Lackey might know.

Thanks, Bob. Will do. What a cool resource that is! If nothing else I'm glad I posted here simply to have learned of that clips and snips page . What a great way to learn tunes for those of us who learn by ear!

Thanks, Bob and Lexie. I'll start digging around on YouTube for hornpipes and see if I can't find one that fits.

Dusty, I just wish I had old fiddle tunes bouncing around in my head.

Sorry can't help, but it is a nice tune and I am sure someone will help you out.

This old fiddle tune has been floating around my head like a familiar smell that you can't quite identify. Does anyone know what the name of the tune is? Help!

The first correct answer will earn my undying gratitude.

I would also recommend Tabledit. It is an incredibly powerful tool that allows you to enter either tab or standard music notation, and it will fill in the other.

However, it is not very instinctive, and is therefore really frustrating when you first start using it. There is help available, and if anyone gets it, I recommend Stephen Seifert's extensive Tabledit Tutorial , which he offers free on his website. Secondly, the Arranging for Dulcimers group here is available when you have question (and you will have many!) about how to use the software. You'll notice that I've posted a few questions there myself.

There is a free version that you can use which has certain length limits, such as only songs of 16 measures or something like that. However, if only those who had success with that free version bought the software, no one would do it. As I said, it is not obvious how to make certain basic indications, such as triplets or slides or alternate endings. You will drive yourself crazy trying to figure that stuff out. However, the resources above and general Google searches will get you answers quickly. And the more you use it, the faster you get.

Using Tabledit has made me a better player by helping me connect what I play to standard music notation and basic music theory.

There's a bunch of us here using TablEdit.

http://www.tabledit.com/

Friends,

I'm part of a group that meets monthly to play (We're having a blast) -- but of course some times we have a sheet of music that needs some adjustment. Maybe we want to drop out a complicated measure or bring a published version more into line to how we know the song. And, for those of us in bifocals (me!), it can help to enlarge the music - and enlarging very much can mean we really need to shift things around and make more lines.

So is there a computer music/TAB making composing program that you recommend? I am looking for recent versions that can be currently purchased or downloaded (so if you are using the 2002 version of something that is no longer sold, that doesn't help).

We'll also be grateful for what to avoid. And if you're in western Washington on the second Friday of the month, come play! http://www.oldgrowthmountaindulcimerclub.com

You are doing a wonderful thing for your folks and yourself Marilyn.

I have not been playing for but 3 months or so, but hope to bring this sweet music of the dulcimer to the people in my community. I use my dulcimer for my own therapy and find it very comforting.

Keep strumming and Smiling

and making that sweet music.

Marilyn -- You didn't say whether you are playing Fingerdancing on the Melody string, Chord-Melody across all three strings, or Noter & Drone. There is a wealth of music in the Tabulature section at www.everythingdulcimer.com .

A good trick to know is that you can easily convert DAd tab to DAA. All you have to do is add 3 to each DAd tab number to get the correct number for DAA. If the DAd tab has a 6+ fret marked, you play fret 9 in DAA. It's that simple.

I've been playing DAA almost exclusively for nearly 40 years -- although I do re-tune when a particular song needs to be played in a different Mode.

Marilyn, I just want to say you are wonderful!!!!!

Music soothes the soul - and what you are doing for these folks- this is just so heartwarming and touching!

I don't play a lot of DAA - so I am not being much help with your question, but I am so touched by what you are doing that I had to respond!

Keep strumming and smiling

Cindy

You'll find a few hundred more at the Western North Carolina Dulcimer Collective tab page. They're all arranged for both DAd and DAA, playable with chords or just on the melody string. You can listen to a variety of versions of each online, too. That helps, I think, since I usually look for tunes I've never heard before for the newsletter!

- Steve

You are doing good things, Marilyn. You may like Bill Schilling's book "Dulci-More Folk & Traditional Musicians Public Domain Songbook" This book has about 250 old time and traditional tunes (nearly all in DAA) and about 45 Christmas carols and tunes also mostly DAA. You can get a copy from Elderly Instruments or from Bill's website.

http://elderly.com/welcome.htm

www.dulcimore.org

Keep up the good work.

Seaweed is healthier

lol

Delete it NOW, LOL. I saw that on FB. I almost made a comment but refrained hoping it would go away and now you posted it here. I'll get you for this

Terry Duggins posted this photo on Facebook. I thought maybe Patty and some other folks here on FOTMD would enjoy it. I am leaving tomorrow for a dulcimer festival and will delete this on Sunday when I get home.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

We have two Folkcraft hickory dulcimers in the house (Folkroots custom models)...they pretty much rock!

I bought an all-hickory Folkcraft FSH model teardrop a bit over a year ago. I love it! The build quality is top-notch. To me, the sound is clear and even. I play noter/drone style with a nylon pick and I find the instrument to be very responsive and fairly loud.

I think that if you are planning on getting one, you won't be disappointed. Folkcraft is a fine company to work with. I also have not seen hickory dulcimers from other builders (I'm sure there are others out there, but I haven't found them).

Good luck!

Got a question: Does anyone have a Hickory Folkcraft? What do you think of the sound, etc? Any thoughts/insights would be greatly appreciated.

James, I think you've mentioned that parlor guitar before. It sounds like a really nice instrument. I was in no way trying to disparage Oscar Schmidt instruments. It just seems that if you have to buy an instrument without playing it, it would make sense to stick with brands known for that instrument.

Babs, I've never really played the ukulele seriously, so I've never tried anyone's arrangements. And I don't think I could approach Jake Shumabukuro level even while dreaming. Since I played guitar for most of my life I can figure out ukulele chords and melodies pretty quickly, but I have no right-hand technique at all.

And yes, filipinouker, I have a pink ukulele that I bought my daughter a few years ago for her birthday. She has never shown any interest, but once or twice a year I pull it out and fiddle a bit.

However, at the risk of hijacking James's thread . . . I just bought a Riptide concert uke. It is not the one in the picture I linked to above, which has an acacia top, but one with a spruce top. Here's my new baby in its cozy cradle:

It only has three strings in the picture because it came with a low G string but I put on the more traditional high G, and the picture was taken in the middle of that exchange. There is another sound hole on the side facing up when you play so that supposedly what you hear is closer to what others hear. Now I just have to learn to play the darn thing.

I organized a ukulele workshop and concert by Butch Ross here in Sacramento the day after the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering and I wanted a decent instrument to use. Well, that's my excuse anyway. But if we call our instruments "tools" instead of "toys" don't they sound more justifiable as purchases?

This is so funny that this thread has scene a new life I ultimately have put the idea of getting a ukulele on hold for the time being. Dusty, I wound up with an Oscar Schmidt parlor guitar, which is like the old Stella guitars they made through the 1920's and 1930's. I had a nice full sound to it, not "tinny" sound if you know what I mean. Sounds well in the Maybelle Carter scratch, fingerstyle, and basic rhythm strumming.

What a coincidence, Cynthia! You know what they say about great minds . . .

Cynthia Wigington said:

Dusty, I'm looking at that one too...
Dusty Turtle said:

For the record, within the next week or two I hope to buy this Riptide concert uke from a local music store that also hosts my local dulcimer group meetings.

Dusty, I'm looking at that one too...
Dusty Turtle said:

James, perhaps I'm too late to this conversation. Interestingly, I am in the same boat in that I want to buy a decent ukulele but I can't afford the really fancy ones. I Have a few ukuleles that I consider more toys than instruments.

But my gut tells me to stick with Oscar Schmidt for autoharps and get a ukulele by a one of the companies that specializes in ukuleles, such as the brands filipinouker lists.

For the record, within the next week or two I hope to buy this Riptide concert uke from a local music store that also hosts my local dulcimer group meetings.