I asked my kids to get me a bodhran kit from McNeela's for Xmas because the up / down tipper motion is very similar to strumming and I thought if I played it while listening to Irish, Finnish and other folk music, the muscle memory would help me develop my strumming versatility. Anyone have any experience with this?
How was your experience with that bodhran?
Patricia, as per your wish, I'll lock this discussion.
Thanks Ken and Jerry. I actually already got what I needed a week ago, but thanks for sharing! I'd like to close (or delete) this discussion, but it seems that I don't have the rights to do that.
I didn't buy any dulcimers in the 1970s but made my own. I do have many catalogs and price lists but not sure of the dates. There may be one or two from the 1970s and early 1980s. Of course, I have a lot old issues of DPN from that time with prices of some instruments. Let me know if you are interested in any of these. I can scan and send them to you.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I did buy a Musical Traditions dulcimer from Hank Levin in 1970 or so. The price might have been $125. I also bought a no-name dulcimer around that year from the Music Inn in NYC for, I believe $60.
@davisjames , if the cicadas are singing in the note of E, then they should harmonize nicely in a 'fifth' interval with the key of A. (Think of how fiddles are sometimes cross-tuned to AEAE) Can you test this theory by playing something in the key of A against your cicadas? Also, supposedly most telephone landline dial tones are set to the note of A, so that would be an interesting test as well, to see if they harmonize well together. 👂🏼 🙌🏻
Jennifer, you might get a better a response if you post this as a separate inquiry rather than in the discussion where few people will see it. I have not seen any dulcimer tab for it or even sheet music. I have found guitar chords, but that is all.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Has anyone seen tab for Bonnie Bessie Logan, as recorded by Dougie Maclean?
For Pete Seeger fans, there is a new book out, Pete Seeger with David Bernz Chopping Wood Thoughts & Stories of a Legendary Folksinger. It has a forward by Arlo Guthrie. It is not a biography but as the title says, thoughts and stories. David Bernz, the editor of friend of Seeger's provides some commentary and context.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
The first songs I ever knew were from the Pete Seeger children's albums. The fact that I still love acoustic music so much is certainly due to his influence.
I have a photo of his banjo up on my dulcimer wall , and across the room are three framed pictures of record album art from Folkways: one by Pete, one by Woody, and one by Leadbelly.
I didn't know about the memorial. I'll have to make a point to get there next time I'm on the east coast.
Thanks for sharing, Ken.
Thanks for sharing the photos, Ken!
Pete Seeger was a man of deep convictions and all his work seems to have sprung from those convictions. He and Jean were folk musicians who have had lasting influence on the lives and music of so many-- truly, gifts to us all.
I was in New Jersey this past weekend and made it a point to stop at the Pete Seeger memorial. It is behind the Puffin Foundation building at 40 Puffin Way and at the entrance to the Teaneck Nature Preserve. Pete is recognized not only for his contributions to folk music, but also for his community activism in cleaning up the nearby Hudson River and other activities. Whether or not you like his politics, no one can deny his positive influence in getting folks to sing and play musical instruments. I think he is one of the most underrated banjo influencers. His book, How To Play The Five-String Banjo , started many on a lifetime journey. Well, today is the anniversary of his birth so I thought I'd share a photo of the memorial and one of me with Pete. BTW, he did a lot to encourage Jean Ritchie's participation in the folk revival (scare?) of the 1940s, 50s. and 60s.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
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...
