I decided to stretch my repertoire a bit, and decided to work on Gray Cat, a song I remember that the dulcimer group I used to go to did. My questions are: the A part repeats 2x, and the B part 2x?, and how many times? Thanks in advance,
Well, I don't have any instruments with 1 1/2 frets and don't plan on getting any. I think it's at best a compromise between a diatonic and chromatic. It also gets in my way. Perhaps I'd get used to it if I had one for some time, but I don't think that's in the cards for me right now. I understand why people get them and its use, but, to ME (stressing the me because other opinions are valid here,) I don't want one. I'm playing instruments without 6 1/2 frets more and more lately and playing in more tunings than usual. Just my 2 centavos
Why not put on a temporary 1-1/2 fret and see how you like it? Get a paper clip and some tape and put it on, then play around with it. As others have said, there are some extra chords you can get with that fret, like a C chord (in DAD) down near the nut. But I like that extra fret most for playing blues. You get the lowered third and the lowered seventh right there, making the blues easy on the dulcimer.
I like the 1 1/2 fret on my baritone. I like using the baritone to harmonize with the standard. This allows me to use a 1-5-8 tuning and still be able to play in the same key as the standard, i.e. Standard: c-g-c and baritone: g-d-g.
Michael, when are you leaving to go to McSpadden? I'm getting a baritone with the 11/2 and 81/2, possibly tomorrow. After I get my hands on one, I'll let you know if I find it troublesome. At this point I want it and was thrilled to find this baritone was made that way. I do think it will be handy for the minor modes. However, to keep things simple, I've been using a capo a lot on the stick and loving all the different keys I can get. Besides, don't you think you're going to need another trip next year to each get one with the 11/2?
If one is good, two is better, right? . Anyway, can't wait to see what you two come home with.
You're welcome, Michael. I'd love to be able to have a 1 1/2 fret at this stage in my playing, but I would need a smaller fret scale instrument.
Linda
One thing to consider about whether to add a 1 1/2 fret is where your fingers land when you play the 1-2-4 A chord. If, like me, your index finger lands in the middle of the 2nd fret space (just where the 1 1/2 fret would be), adding the 1 1/2 fret could be problematic. Janita Baker of Blue Lion pointed that out to me.
LInda
cabinhillmusic.com
About $25 - $50-60. 
I've got them on all but one. But then again all but one are chromatic.
You can 'bend' a note to get the + fret sound, bend the 4, get 4+, etc. It's just hard to bend close to the nut, at least it is for me. Of course it's really hard to bend a note in N/D style of play.
I continue to hear about 1 and 1/2 frets on dulcimers. My older dulcimers do not have this feature, though both have the 6.5 fret. Just wondering if this is a coveted feature on a new dulcimer. Since I am likely going to purchase a McSpadden, is this an available feature? Thanks in advance for the information.
In addition to the 3, 4, and 7 frets, you can find harmonics above the octave, such as at the 11th fret.
If you want to understand the physics, check out this Wikipedia article .
In addition to those natural harmoncis, you can also create what I think are called artificial harmonics where you fret the string, thereby changing its vibrating string length and therefore the frets where you can find harmonics. I think Nina Zanetti explains that process either in a video or maybe just a post somewhere here on FOTMD. For example, if you fret a string at the second fret, you can find a harmonic on the 5th.
David, thanks for sharing this dulcimentary about Archie Lee. It was interesting.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
My latest dulcimentary is about Archie Lee:
http://athensdulcimerclub.wordpress.com/dulcimentaries/archie-lee/
10ashus;
Don't give up on guitar oriented music, most all of it can be used, music, lyrics, and chords. they all can be used one way or another. It's just the tab that is essentially unusable. The music can be entered in a music editing program to generate MD tab if you really want it.
Most tab is not transferable between instruments because it is designed to tell the player where a note is on that instrument. If you were given tab for a chromatic MD, 4 equidistant strings, tuned to CEGBb, like I have, you would not be able to use it unless you had a similar setup.
Sure would have a wide fingerboard! There is one [almost], it's called a dobro and I guess a lap steel would be along the same lines, probably a few more kinds around. You could also just play a guitar in your lap, might be a bit clumsy because of size. Maybe a small or child's guitar in the lap?
Then the question is, are you playing a MD or guitar.
The biggest problem is that guitar tab is for 6 strings vs 3 for a MD. I've taken tab for guitar, in TablEdit, and transposed it, didn't work very well. I haven't tried with a chromatic MD, all the notes would be there but not the string count. A melody line would be playable on a chromatic if you used the music notation [smn] but most likely not the tab unless you can transpose the guitar tab numbers of the MD plus locations in your head, eg., a 3 [guitar] = 1+[MD], or 12 = 7[MD] or you are using the guitar counting with your MD already.
You would probably be held to flatpicking/fingerpickinh also, even if the rest of the differences were worked out.
Then there is the added problem of what guitar tuning is the tab set up for, same as MD.
There are different styles of picking. Some people use a pick in the manner of a galax player, where the pick (like the quill) sticks way out past the fingers and is strummed incessantly and vigorously. I do not play in that style, so I can't explain how to protect your instrument in that case.
I strum in the manner of a guitarist (no surprise after 40 years of playing the guitar). That means a couple of things. First, a homemade pick would never work for me because I want every pick to be exactly the same, the same shape, the same thickness, the same grippiness, etc. I like the idea of homemade picks but I just can't believe each milk bottle or margarine top is the same as every other one, and the inconsistencies would drive me nuts.
My other advice is very similar to that offered by Ken H. First, don't hold your pick tight. The pick should be loose in your hand and your fingers should be relaxed. Second, only the very tip of the pick should stick out past your finger. The bulk of the pick should sit squarely between your thumb and finger. Third, angle the pick so that the tip is toward you when strumming out and away from you when strumming in. And finally, the pick does not have to get down in between the strings. Think of the pick as gently gliding over the top of the strings rather than actually plucking them from below.
Hopefully those tips will help. At the very beginning of my video on flatpicking guitar techniques for modern dulcimer I go over how I hold, strum, and pick with a pick. Maybe it will help you. Maybe not.
And when you get your dream dulcimer, you might consider an ebony overlay on the fretboard. Ebony is so hard that your pick won't likely dent it.
Good luck. And have fun!
I don't have a problem with scratches from a pick and I play over the fret board all the time. I think it is a matter of learning. Some people pick their guitars to death. Look at Willie Nelson's Trigger. Others never get a scratch on them. It is all a matter of technique.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Not scratching the fretboard is a matter of control of your pick hand and the pick. If you have more than say 1/4" of pick sticking out, and you have not so good control of your pick hand, the result can be scratching of the fretboard. I've been playing nearly 40 years and never significantly scratched a fretboard. Others play 6 months and it looks like a spastic beaver has been chewing on things.
Playing over the Strum Hollow (what John Gribble calls the "scoop') is the easy solution. Learning to control your hand properly takes practice and determination.
Rod "Deputy Mo" Westerfield will always be missed and remembered.
Here is his FOTMD profile page, still up:
mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profile/RodWesterfield
While you are visiting his page, do have a listen to his sweet music player clips in the left hand column.
P.S. I was wondering just the other day about YOU, CD, and why we hadn't heard from you in a while. ;) Glad to see you post today.
Okay, thanks. I appreciate your advise.
So, Rolla, that means tuning to DAA, right?
I know how you feel. Information overload can be daunting sometimes. I actually prefer pure diatonic dulcimers to the ones with the extra frets. Robert Force and Albert d'Ossche' uaed to remove the 6+ from their dulcimers.
Thanks, Dan. I appreciate your response. I've been reading so much the last couple of days that it's getting confusing!
Welcome to our happy family, Melanie. You should have no problem learning to play without the 6+ fret. Most of the tunes don't require it at all, esp the old tunes like Aunt Rhodie, Cabbage, Old Joe Clark, Mississippi Sawyer or Grey Cat on a Tennessee Farm. When I started learning 4 years ago, the 6+ actually got in my way until I learned to ignore it.
I wanted to thank everyone for the warm welcome here! So many friendly people and good information.
I have a question and I hope I'm not going to have a problem. My grandson has my better dulcimer and I will be getting it back in the next few months. Meanwhile, I bought a handmade one off E Bay simply so I could begin learning and practicing. I found out that this one is 15 years old and does not have the 6 1/2 fret on it. Will that be a problem in learning to play? I know that for many, many years, people have played on dulcimers without this extra fret but I've been reading that this extra fret is important. I'm new enough to all this to not even be able to ask intelligent questions yet.
Am I going to have a problem?
Uff da! I thought I saw th 1+ on the melody string....
