Forum Activity for @phil

Got it to work. Just working out the bugs and I will soon be playing somewhere over the rainbow. Just wish the 2nd song was going as easy. goes Harmonica 3 6 -5 5 4 That starting with to A's just not sure witch ones yet

We all have our dorky moments, Phil. As long as the harmonica tab is for the 10-hole diatonic harp, you should be able to use Tom's charts no matter what key the song is written in.

Thanks Dusty I don't know what it is about music theory that confuses me. I don't know if it is because I learned so long ago( and that more years than I will admit to ) to play by ear an can only read the basic in music. maybe one day I will understand it. As for the song I picked, I chose one that I know well. So I would be able to tell if I got it right. Now that you have give me the key to understanding. I have a couple of harmonica books I need to dust off and get to work.

Thanks again, I can be a really dork sometimes.

Phil since harmonica tab shows which holes to blow in or draw from, it doesn't matter what key the harmonica is in. You can use the very helpful charts Tom posted earlier to convert that harmonic tab to dulcimer tab.

On the other hand, there is plenty of dulcimer tab for that song already. Here is Steve Smith's arrangement in DAA and DAD from the Everything Dulcimer Tab Archive.

Here the link to one of the songs I found, but everything I seem to find is in the key of C.

https://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=16

Tom McDonald said:

Are you thinking of harmonica tab, Phil? Or standard music notation? Can you post a link to whatever you are trying to convert? It would be easier to show you using your specific example than to just speak in generalities.

phil said:

I think I under stand that. but the problem I have is how do you change something form the key of C to the Key D I seem to can't get a handle on how to do that.

wow thanks Tom .....I was learning some harmonica and believe on a shelf somewhere I have books with lesson tabs to oldie tunes......also great idea Dusty

Phil, I find all music theory is made easier if you can look at a piano keyboard. From C to D is one whole tone, or two half tones. From C to C# is a half tone, and from C# to D is a half tone.

So if music is written in the key of C, then every note and every chord has to move up that same amount: one whole tone or two half tones. An F note becomes a G note. A G note becomes an A note. A B note becomes a C# note.

For a visual aid you can also use the Circle of Fifths instead of a piano keyboard.

All you need to know to transpose is the key the music is written in and the key you want to play it in. In this case, the big red C is at the very top, and the D is two steps in the clockwise direction. So for every note or chord in they key of C, you move two steps in the clockwise direction to get the corresponding note or chord in D. We see again, an F becomes a G, a G becomes an A, and so forth.

The basic idea is that the relationships among all the notes have to remain the same, so the interval between the original key and the new key will be the same as the interval between any note or chord in that original key and the corresponding note or chord in the new key.

This stuff is hard if you try to do it in your head, but if you can look at a piano keyboard or the Circle of Fifths, it is much easier.

phil said:

I think I under stand that. but the problem I have is how do you change something form the key of C to the Key D I seem to can't get a handle on how to do that.

Thanks, Babs. I've got a pretty decent sheet on harmonica bending at home. It's part of a "harmonica for the dulcimer player" course that I teach. I'm away for work right now, but I'll post it when I get back.

When you bend a note on harmonica, you are getting the lower-pitched reed to vibrate at a sympathetic frequency to the higher note.

Briefly, achieving a draw bend is a lot easier than a blow bend. Of those, the 4 draw and 7 blow are the easiest, so start there. Whistle a note, and drop to a lower note. Feel how your tongue drops down as you do this? Do the same thing on the draw note, and pull the air into that back of your throat. For the blow bend, start with a clear note. As you are blowing, put your tongue up right behind your teeth, and give a high-pressure hiss. Imagine playing with a French accent.

Also (whether bending of not) use your tongue as a valve to start and stop your air, like saying Ta, instead of starting and stopping your breathing.

If you hear the note change at all as you do these exercises, then you've got it. The rest is just a matter of control.

Babs Greene said:

That's a great in-depth post, Tom, which will help me work across the entire 3-string range making use of the full range on the harmonica, instead of the current 4-7 holes which I've been basing things around (plus a hole either side as required etc).

One quick question, though it may be difficult to answer, unless you can link me to a youtube vid which will be of help, how does a person perform 1/2, 1/4 bends (+ two others, is it, full bend and 3/4??)on the blow andthe draw holes/notes? If it's even possible to explain how that's done, of course; I knew the drawnotes had available bends but until the other day hadn't realised that the blow notes also have bends available and frankly no idea how to go about the bend on the blow notes.

Are you thinking of harmonica tab, Phil? Or standard music notation? Can you post a link to whatever you are trying to convert? It would be easier to show you using your specific example than to just speak in generalities.

phil said:

I think I under stand that. but the problem I have is how do you change something form the key of C to the Key D I seem to can't get a handle on how to do that.

I think I under stand that. but the problem I have is how do you change something form the key of C to the Key D I seem to can't get a handle on how to do that.

Getting started on this project, converting harmonica tab to dulcimer tab.

Many times, people want dulcimer tab for a popular song, and can't find any. We can't help much here due to copyright restrictions. However, you can google most any song title you can think of, followed by the words "harmonica tab" and find something to suit. Convert using a chart, maybe add some chords, and presto! your own instant dulcimer arrangement. And legal, too. You can learn any song you like and play it for yourself.

Here are some ideas to get us started. To use these scale layouts with a minimum amount of muttering under your breath when things don't work out, I recommend locating the highest and lowest note on the source tab first, and get those placed. That will keep you from starting too low, and discovering that you run out of room at the low end of the dulcimer three quarters of the way through the song. That said, use the lowest fret numbers possible to start. Don't overlook the middle and bass strings to find the notes you need.

For my example, I'm going to use Fare Thee Well. It is early enough to be public domain. Also, it's a song I don't know well, so I can give Babs Greene's idea a good trial. Here are two examples , both in D.

Here is harmonica tab plus pictures of dulcimer and D harmonica layouts. Disregard the chords under the harmonica tab. They inexplicably changed the key to G. If you want to add chords, use these instead .

Starting with the D notes, we have 1, 4, 7 and 10 blow on the harmonica, and dulcimer melody/bass string open, 7th and 14th frets, plus the middle string at the 3rd and 10th. This gives a general correlation of 1 4 7 10 blow notes on harmonica = melody open, middle 3, melody 7, and middle 10. Or, you can start on the dulcimer bass string and work your way up.

Offhand and by ear, this works if you bump the dulcimer up a bit. Start with harmonica 4 blow = dulcimer melody open. When you get to the B at harmonica 6 draw, that's on the dulcimer melody 5th fret. Or, you can start with 4 blow = dulcimer bass open, hit the F# at melody fret 2, and keep the whole thing at or below the third fret.

I'll make a better chart when I have time, and record some examples. Early to work tomorrow, time for bed.

looking forward to seeing that Tom.

Tom, I can't wait to see that

Good idea. Many of my first dulcimer tunes were ones I already knew for harmonica, but i never really thought of converting tab directly from one to the other. I don't think you would even have to play harmonica to do this effectively. I'll have some free time to add a detailed example to this thread in a couple of days.

Yay Folkfan! Be sure to contact both John Keane and Bobby Ratliff so you can arrange to receive your prizes !

folkfan said:

Yippee, I just found out. I've been away from a computer since last week. Thanks so. FOTMD is a prize we all can share.

Yippee, I just found out. I've been away from a computer since last week. Thanks so. FOTMD is a prize we all can share.

Congratulations to all of the winners! :)

Bobby Bingham, I'll also remind everyone that they can always buy themselves a consolation prize anyway, and thus help thank the prize donors by buying one of their quality dulcimer offerings! See the top of this thread for the contact info and links of our four generous prize donators!

Bobby (Maxspop) Bingham said:

Happy Birthday to FOTMD and a hearty Congratulations to the five contest winners! That means the rest of us came in 6th, which isn't bad, especially since we have the prize of all the interaction with members! Ain't this a wonderful site?!!!

Happy Birthday to FOTMD!!

Happy Birthday to FOTMD and a hearty Congratulations to the five contest winners! That means the rest of us came in 6th, which isn't bad, especially since we have the prize of all the interaction with members! Ain't this a wonderful site?!!!

Congratulations to all the winners, and three cheers for Lisa for making all thishappen!

HA! Missed it be *THAT* much! :D Congrats to all the winners!

Congrats to the winners.

Yay to all the winners, and especially to Gale A. Barr--namesake!

Now the winners must contact their prize donators and give them their prize info and mailing address so their prizes can be mailed to them:

All five winners must contact Bobby Ratliff to order their leather customized key fob . Please either contact him here on his fotmd profile page: http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profile/BobbyRatliff or at http://highnoonhunterleatherworks.webs.com/

Gordon Hardy - to get your prizes you must contact Bobby , ...PLUS John Keane : http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profile/JohnKeane

...Plus Mark Gilston: http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/profile/MarkGilston

Mark Runge - to claim your prizes, please contact Bobby , and also Nina at http://www.ninazanetti.com/

Geekling and Folkfan - please contact both Bobby and John Keane to claim your prizes. (see links above)

and Gale A Barr - please contact Bobby (see above) to have him customize and send your leather dulcimer key fob!

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to Strumelia and everyone who participated for making this a fun contest. Happy Birthday FOTMD! We are fortunate to have this website and virtual community.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Congrats to all the winners.

CONGRATULATIONS to our FIVE lucky winners!!!!!!

FIRST PRIZE winner:

Gordon Hardy ! (his guess was 161) -will receive CDs "Moonburn" and "Grandad's Favorite Oldtime Music" and a custom leather dulcimer key fob!

SECOND PRIZE winner:

Mark Runge ! (his guess was 168) -will receive CD "Beside Still Waters" and a custom leather dulcimer key fob!

THIRD and FOURTH winners:

FolkFan & Geekling ! (who both guessed 169) -will, because of guessing the same number, each receive a CD "Moonburn" and a custom leather dulcimer key fob!

FIFTH PRIZE winner:

Gale A Barr ! (who guessed 175) -will receive a CUSTOM leather dulcimer key fob made for her by Bobby!

Happy 5th Birthday FOTMD!

162 !

And the winning number was.......

Well we have a TIE for Third Place, so I need to figure out how to handle that....will return shortly.

OK, the contest is now CLOSED!

No more guesses please.

Give me a little time to tabulate the entries...

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY TO ALL YOU MEMBERS OF FRIENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN DULCIMER who have made it what it is.

168. What a wonderful thing that FOTMD does for me and the dulcimer world. Thank you!

Really big smiles to all y'all!

LAST CALL to enter the pickled dulcimer contest!

Contest CLOSES to entries today, the 29th!

My guess is 423.