Forum Activity for @pete-staehling

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Do we know that it was only a couple frets that were moved? Based on what I saw I thought it likely they all were moved. Can't tell for sure from the pictures though.

Oh and it looks like there were two melody strings at one time before the nut and bridge were replaced. The groove on the bridge is evidence of that. It looks like you could add one back pretty easily if you wanted to.

Ken Hulme said:

If the bridge was moved, John, all the frets would have re-cuts, not just a couple.

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Only 4 frets shown and it looks like a veneer overlay was applied, so not enough info.

The workmanship looks good and the sound is good = good deal.

Wood may be walnut with a spruce top?

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

No matter how it got to where it is now it's a nice dulcimer Jennifer. I like the scroll, the bridge placement, the fiddle edges. All the other stuff gives it character! I bet it does sound good. Back looks like walnut.

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

If the bridge was moved, John, all the frets would have re-cuts, not just a couple. I suspect the builder didn't have his/er table of numbers right next to the cutting, and mis-remembered a couple numbers in transferring from the table to the wood.

Yes, lots of players play above the 10th fret -- especially chord-melody stylists working on variations into the second octave

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

It looks to me like originally the bridge was further up the fretboard and someone has decided to move it backwards right to the end, then having to move all the fret positions to match. I can't imagine why anyone would go to all that trouble but if it sounds good now, maybe it wasn't so good before?

Does anyone actually ever use those frets way up above the tenth fret anyway? Most of us strum there anyway - well I do, you can tell by the wear on the fretboard surface - as the sound is less tinny than when you strum over the `strum hollow'.

That's a nicely worked scroll so the original builder can't have been lacking in skill...

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

That hadn't really occurred to me Robin, but that is possible.

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I could well be mistaken. . . It seems the original builder may have had decent skills yet those who made changes to the instrument later were not expert.
Happy strumming!

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Oh, I meant to mention that. I don't see any name.

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

nice find. I am glade that it has found a new home and will be once again singing happily. have you tried looking in the sound holes to see if there writing on who made it?

My New Dulcimer

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Hello! I found this dulcimer in a shop the other day and after playing it for awhile kind of fell in love with it. It's been banged around a bit and is inexpertly made, but that is what endears it to me. Most importantly though, it has a lovely sound.

I wonder if anyone has any guesses as to the type of wood. I'm also curious about the fact that the tuning pegs and the pins are set up for 4 strings, but the bridge and the nut for 3. An indecisive maker? A later change? It's also interesting that is only goes to the twelfth fret...luckily I rarely play higher than that. It's got a 28 inch VSL, and the strum hollow is really long! I've not seen one that looks quite like this...but then I haven't seen as many dulcimers as many of you. Here's some photos.

Oops, looks like some missteps with the frets!

updated by @jennifer-wren: 06/08/16 09:24:05PM

Very nice Sheryl. You will have a fine instrument. Enjoy.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sheryl we share your excitement- post us pix when she arrives!

Check my response to your question in the thread Jennifer started:

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/group/beginnerplayers/forum/topics/worthwhile-to-buy-from-craigslist-as-a-brand-new-dulcimer-fan?commentId=3745489%3AComment%3A592478&xg_source=activity&groupId=3745489%3AGroup%3A36

Hi Sheryl, welcome to our little corner of the world!

If you join our Beginner Players Group on this site, you will find several discussions with good suggestions about buying a first dulcimer that is good quality but not too costly for a beginner. Check out our Groups section for special interests you may wish to learn more about, too.

The good news is that there are several various beginner dulcimers that would be reputable and excellent choices for you to get started with! Check out those discussions in the Beginner's Group.

-I know you are just learning your way around the site, and it may be a bit confusing at first... I deleted about eight other identical discussions to this one that you probably didn't mean to post in duplicate. -But rest assured, no harm done at all!

Sheryl, welcome to FOTMD. Sounding pretty is subjective to everyone's ears. So we all could help guide you, what style of playing are you looking into? Chording, noter/drone? That could help us help you.

updated by @james-phillips: 01/22/16 11:34:41AM

Very interesting video! I loved seeing your instruments and hearing you play. I hope a lot of people see this!

that is way cool

Way to go, Greg. Congrats on the exposure. Keep up the good work building!

I'm glad you posted-- I, too, enjoyed the piece! Nice, indeed, G.S.!

Very cool. Congratulations on the exposure!

Well that's just great, Greg! It's great to see homemade music and craftsmanship getting some publicity. You represent the folk traditions well!

I would put money down that the song is in the key of C. The only chord that doesn't quite fit is C#. Regardless of the key you play the song in, that C# chord is likely to cause some difficulty on a diatonic instrument. If you tune CGc or CGG you will be able to get the other chords with little difficulty. But that C# might be something you have to fake by just playing a note or two rather than a full chord.

Glenda, if you are really a beginner, I would suggest beginningwith easier songs that only have three or four chords. You might want to put this one on the "to learn" list for next month or whenever you get more comfortable playing a variety of chords. But if you already have experience chording on the dulcimer or other instruments, then by all means, forge ahead!

Hi Glenda, can't you ask the woman who wrote it what key it is in? That would help us a lot.

The guitar player might know the key as well, if they've been playing the song already.

updated by @strumelia: 01/27/16 01:21:53PM

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Here's my Mirliton, made from $5 worth of 1/2" PVC fitting and pipe.

On the right is a Compression Slide-Repair Coupling, then a plain 1/2" coupling rounded on both ends, a 4-5" length of 1/2 pipe and last, a second coupling sanded into a mouthpiece. A 1/4" hole is drilled below the end. A membrane of plastic bag is held in place under the screw cap on the right end.

Sounds pretty good, actually.

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

love the sound of it.

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Maybe I'm just not as funny as I think I am...

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Ah - sorry I didn't get that, John... blame it on the fact that English is a foreign language to me.

Thanks for the additional info on the crumhorn.

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I was making an attempt at humour, Peter. But your onion flute does indeed sound very similar to a crumhorn. They had a brief (50 years or so I believe) period of popularity in the late 1500s I think. They are a fairly simple reed pipe - double oboe type reed in a wooden pipe with a windcap over the reed to protect it, the lower end of the pipe bent up presumably imitating a horn. Limited to a 9 note scale they have a deep for their size buzzing tone.

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Thanks for the reply, John!

Actually, I am not familiar with the background of medieval instruments, so I can't answer your crumhorn question (in German: Krummhorn"). To play the onion flute (or kazoo) at least half-decent, you should have some singing skills - otherwise an instrument would still be the better alternative. I think the onion flute has never been an instrument that has been taken too seriously.

Yes, I have played MD and kazoo together (by using a harmonica holder and one of my selfmade wooden kazoos):

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/photo/kazoonica-harmonikazoo

Here's something with kazoo and MD I recorded a few months ago...

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/video/st-louis-blues-kazoo-and-box...

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Just watched the video you put up - it sounds great, and also when you strum along on the dulcimer. You can hardly tell that you're not playing melody on the dulcimer as well. Is this why the crumhorn had such a short existence, because the onion flute could reproduce the sound with such little effort?

Presumably you could make up a wire `harmonica holder' type thing to have both hand free so you could play and kazoo at the same time?

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Thank you, Phil.

for you and all others who are interested: here is a sound sample, a solo in the first part and accompanied by mountain dulcimer in the second part. Enjoy.

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

wow never realized that the kazoo was that old? can't wait to hear it played. Might have to get one of my own.

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Thank you, Frank.

Yes, it is beautiful - and it's a joy to hold it in one's hands...

Maybe I can make a recording this weekend.

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Very interesting, Peter, and well researched. I had no idea that the kazoo had such a background. Your onion flute is easily the most beautiful kazoo I've ever seen.

The Onion Flute - mother of the kazoo

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I always liked the kazoo as a "melody instrument" that allows you to have your hands free for playing guitar, ukulele - or MD or Kantele at the same time. As I did some research during the last time I found some information about the history of the instrument.

(One of) the oldest printed descriptions seems to be on p. 229f of the book "L'Harmonie universelle" by Marin Mersenne from 1637. In a row of 5 "chalumeaus" the 4th instrument is an "onion flute". It is mentioned and described on the next page:

Source: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k54710466/f432.image

There also appears the name Eunuque (Eunuch flute), but it seems that "Eunuch flute" has up to then never been the name for the instrument. It is more likely that this was a misinterpretation of a word Mersenne wasn't able to read in a hand written description of the instrument he had received in a letter about 1633.

The principle of the instrument is described correctly by Mersenne - it is really a kazoo. At that time the membrane must have been of organic material, e.g. onion skin (is that word right in English?).

In the 18th century the name "Mirliton" was used for the instrument, that was often just made of a tube, like bamboo kazoo is still today.

And then I found that there are still makers who build that "mother of the kazoo"! Mine is mady by Thomas Rezanka, a teacher and bagpipe builder from Austria. I just like to share some photos with you. I don't have a sound sample yet - it sounds like you expect to sound a kazoo. Rezanka uses Bamboo skin as a membran (so that's very close to onion skin) - but of course if it breaks you can also use a piece of a (PE) sandwich bag etc.

Ah - one thing: you need one hand to hold the onion flute. But you could still strum your MD as a drone instrument with the right hand and hold the onion flute with the other and play both instruments together.

Just a joke: "onion flute" - literally...

Onion flute - removed membrane cover:

t Onion flute by Thomas Rezanka and Mersenne's illustration:

updated by @peter-w: 06/11/15 07:40:28AM

she does some nice work.

I just looked at her website - I love what I see!

5,000! What I'm most grateful for. . .

OFF TOPIC discussions

I don't know whether I would've stuck with playing if not for FOTMD. Though I have fun with the lap dulcimer, learning new things and sharing music here helps keep things fresh.Oh, and the number of luthiers who are either building replicas of old instruments and/or drawing heavily from old ways of building is great to see. I don't own any that are new yet look old. . . Not yet, anyway. ;) I've gotten to see and hear some of these beauties here at FOTMD and I'm grateful for that, too!

5,000! What I'm most grateful for. . .

OFF TOPIC discussions

Wow, Geekling, what a wonderful tribute to FOTMD, thank you so much. Thank you all so much.

I do feel like we all have sooo many great dulcimer friends here, and the nature of the site is such that it really encourages everyone to share equally, learn from each other, and get to know each other as well.

5,000! What I'm most grateful for. . .

OFF TOPIC discussions

I'd more or less abandoned the Mountain Dulcimer until I found FOTMD which brought me back into the fold enough to make me start making them again - a TMB and a Swedish Humle so far.

I have to say that FOTMD is the best `social media' site I've ever come across to do with music, so well done Strumelia for starting it off, and of course everyone else who's kept it going by contributing to the site.