Hi Jeff,
Yes - I've had strings break tuning down. If they are old and have been in one tuning for a while then there can be a weakness at the tuning peg. Mind you I've broken strings, old and new, either simply through lots of re-tuning causing weakness (I use lots of different tunings) or because of another factor such as a burr on the tuning post. If your strings consistanly break then I would look for a specific cause - but if they justoccasionally break then that's just what strings do!!!!
You can do whatever you'd like. I would like to answer YES, use 12 gauge strings, because for most VSLs above 24", .012 strings will work just fine, ut a whole bunch of people will come along and tell you something else anyway.
The most correct answer depends on the VSL of your instrument and the note you want to tune a given string to. So measure your VSL (the distance between the inside of the Nut and the inside of the Bridge). Then plug tha number in the String calculator at www.strothers.com . You must use the lower case d, not D to specify the melody string octave higher D. The Strothers' calculator is notoriously "light" in its recommendations, but certainly gives you usable answers.
No problem Mal; that's why we're here -- to help each other flounder around
The "scale length" measurement Paul is saying to make is also called the VSL (for Vibrating String Length). It always helps to know what that is for each of your instruments, because it will help you get the strings you want/need.
The .010 string will reach the same pitch as the.012 string at a lower tension. The .012 may be a bit stiff for D, depending on the scale length of your instrument. This is where the calculator Ken mentioned helps. Since we don't know the different dimensions of every instrument, we tend to check string gauges when we change tunings or instruments. Measure the scale length of your strum stick, from the nut to the bridge. A ruler or tape measure id fine, you don't need to be within 1/1000" of an inch. Within 1/8" is fine, then convert it to a decimal for the calculator. For the strings you have on it now, try tuning to DAA, or CGC The high C string will be noticeably tighter, but we tend to live with that when using multiple tunings on our instruments. If it seems too hard to play at that tension, use the string calculator to find a suggested string gauge to replace that one. Keep a record of what you put on it, so you can buy spare strings. They go dead before they break, in my experience, though sometimes they break before I replace them.
Paul
Mal - you need to have appropriate gauge strings for the VSL and the notes you want to tune the strings to. A given set of strings will only go so high before they break or so low before they flop. That 12 gauge string tuned up to G4 might be on the edge of breaking, depending on your VSL.
Use a String Calculator such as the one here: http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.htm You plug in the VSL and the note you want to tune a particular string to -- A, a, D, d, C, c etc. and high calculate.
In general though, I think dulcimer and other steel strung instruments are under higher tension than nylon/gut uke strings. As the creator says " The calculations are based on a string tension of 13.8 pounds-force and a string density value of 0.283 pounds-mass per cubic inch. Not many of us are using nylon or cat gut so the density for steel is OK.
Mal, I have one of those as well. With those string gauges, I highly suggest staying away from G and F using the 1-5-8 tunings. D or C should work just fine for you.
Recorded arrangements will follow the chord changes theoretically, but not always in identical fashion. The player you hear on a recording way use partial chords,for some or all of the song. If they are playing on a guitar, as Simon does, he has more strings available, which means he may have some notes duplicated in a different octave than your dulcimer can provide. There are also other instruments playing along on most S&G recordings. All this conspires to make your solo version sound different than the recording. Simon also finger picked a lot of songs, and sometimes used altered chords. He may have changed the key to suit his or Art's vocal range, as well. When I bought the first S&G song book in 1966, I had been playing guitar for all of 1 week. Several songs were in very unfriendly keys, such as Bb and Eb. These were a real problem, and I later found that to be common in published songs. Some composers "kept it all in their heads," and an arranger sat and listened to the recording, learned the song, and put it on paper so it could be published. But this arranger often worked it out on piano, in keys most folk guitarists tried to avoid. If you are using the chords as listed on sheet music for the song you are playing, you can keep on as you are. We can't always get a dulcimer to sound like a guitar, but we don't always want to, either. As Ken suggested, give us more details about the song, and we can try to make a better response. If you are playing along with a guitar, piano, etc, you need to match keys and chords pretty closely.
Paul
Dusty has given you The Right Stuff, Rachel. The dulcimer was never intended to be a chord playing instrument, but people do play that way. If you feel you must play chords, there are two sort of basic techniques used -- Accompaniment Chords, and Chord-Melody.
Accompaniment Chords are usually only one chord per measure of the song, with you singing the melody around that chord. This is like the guitarist who can only play 3 chords but claims that he can knows 500 songs!
Chord-Melody is where one chord is played for each note of the melody. This is a very common modern way to play the dulcimer.
In the traditional ways to play - Noter & Drone or Melody-Drone -- you play the melody on the Melody string(s) closest to you while the others just humm along. That too is a chord (3 notes sounded together), that some of us call a Drone Chord where two notes (the drones) stay the same in each chord.
As a beginner it is often simplest to start picking out melodies on the Melody string and adding Drone Chords as you get more confident with the melody.
Tell us which S&G song you're trying to learn, and we can probably help you better. Not every tuning has every note you may need for a particular song, and you may need to re-tune. Scarborough Fair, for example is best played in a Dorian or Aeolian modal tuning not the Mixolydian modal tuning you are using ( which does not have all the notes needed for that song).
Rachel, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "interchangeable," but a chord is a chord regardless of the instrument.TheC major chord, for example,is comprised of the notes C, E, and G. If you play those notes at the same time you are playing a C chord. It doesn't matter what instrument you are playing. Similarly, G major involves the notes G, B, and D. D involves the notes D, F# and A.
Remember that the chords only provide the harmonic structure of the tune and do not sound like the melody. If all you do is play the chords, it may be hard to hear what song you are playing. Only a few--like "The 59th StreetBridge Song (Feeling Groovy)"--will be easily identifiable.
Why not start with a simple, two-chord song? Play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" with the chords D (002) and A (101). Strum the chords while you sing (or whistle, or hum, or whatever). For the first line, strum your D chord. For second line, strum the A chord. For the third line go back to the D chord. And for the fourth lineplay the A chord until the end when you resolve to the D again. The first line of the melody is the note you make when you play the melody string on the second fret. Try playing those chords and singing. Do the chords seem to accompany the melody correctly?
Stephen Seifert's chord chart is an excellent chord chart, but you might not be ready to use it on its own if you are just beginning to play chords. Instead you need to gain practice fretting and strumming chords and understanding the role of chords in music. Once you learn that, then you can use Stephen's chart as a resource to learn how to play chords all over the fretboard and how to play some more complicated chords.
One way of playing the dulcimer is indeed to strum chords as backup to the melody or lead being sung or played by another instrument. But many of us who play chords do so in what is called a chord/melody style in which we combine chording with playing the melody. In that style of play, the melody is more easily identifiable than it is if you just strum chords as backup. Another style--in fact the traditional style--of dulcimer is a drone style in which the melody is played (either with fingers or a noter) on the melody string and the other two strings are allowed to ring out (drone). In that style of play as well, the melody is easily identified.
But if you are just strumming chords, you will likely not hear the melody from your strumming alone. That is why I suggest you hum or sing or whistle the melody and play the chords as backup.
I'd go with making a scroll or flat peg head an option. Another option would be to have some sort of geared tuner available.
Personally I prefer a flat peg head with guitar type tuners (2 to a side) over a closed bottom scroll with any type of tuner. Since my hands haven't aged well, I just can't handle the wooden pegs at all. Even the zither pin type tuners I have on a couple of instruments are almost impossible to accurately tune any more.
Leaving your options open gives you a wider customer base.
You're very welcome Robert. I believe elderly carries them. I got mine from a small private seller(can't remember the name now) but they took forever to get them. Good luck. BTW, do have a website that shows your dulcimers?
Ah, ha! Thanks Scott. I saw these tuning pegsonce and I wondered where I could find them. You lead me to them. I'm going to look into getting some.
I'm late into this topic but wanted to add my 2 cents. I love the traditional look of a scroll head but hate to see guitar style tuners sticking up on them. Just looks weird to me. I'd rather see the banjo style planetary tuners but I do like the traditional wood tuners. Anothercompany who makes wood look tuners but with modern gears is www.pegheds.com . I have a pair on an old ukulele and they work great.
Sor Robert - what are you waiting for? Get building!
Paul - that's why I think scroll head makers should open up the bottom of the scroll. Hate that needlenose plier stuff! Mine that have open bottoms are as fast and easy to change strings on as any flathead.
I've had some scroll pegheadsfor some time andIwanted to use them, cherry, walnut, sycamore and mahogany. I want to make those dulcimers with the sides and fingerboards from the same wood.
Offer it as an option. Some players prefer the traditional look, and many of them may want traditional carved wooden violin pegs as well. Others won't care how much is modernized. After they request several non traditional features it stops making a difference. Personally, it takes me almost as long to put 4 strings on my scroll peg head dulcimer as to put 12 on my 12 string guitar. Working inside that tiny peg box is a pain, even using needle nose pliers. But a choice will cover a lot more folks preferences for you.
Paul
Frankly these days, folks would hardly notice 'only' a $25 price increase. and only if they've been looking at a particular instrument for quite some time.
No reason you can't use guitar machines (not those 'on a stick' though) with scroll heads. Folks do it all the time.
Or offer the Knilling/Perfection "looks like a violin peg but has gears inside" tuners and charge the extra $50 cost of the tuners.
I have made dulcimers with both guitar and scroll pegheadsand I think the scroll looks more traditional. Guitar machines are easy to tunebutI am thinking about making some with the scroll.I want to use good quality tuners to make tuning less difficult but I would have to raise the price of a dulcimer by $25. Any thoughts?
Hi Breanna,
I used to own a McSpaddenstandard hour-glass (spruce and walnut)dulcimer. My grandsons (beginning with the oldest who will be 18 this week) all learned to play on it. In fact, the oldest started "playing" when he was old enough to sit in my lap, with the dulcimer in his lap (probably about 18 months old at the time). He absolutely LOVED the dulcimer, and still does! While it did seem big for them, they quickly learned "Bile them Cabbage Down" and other simple tunes on it. It plays very easy and has a wonderful sound. Chords were a little more difficult for little fingers, but they were never afraid of it or discouraged by it. It now resides at their house - permanently. All 3 boys can play a variety of tunes. The 10 year old has been able to play Wildwood Flower for a year or so now.
I know there are different things to think about before buying an instrument, but I wanted to share my experiences with you. On a side note, the small dulcimers are fun, easy to travel with and I have a 3 string Ron Ewing dulcimette that my sister-in-law gave me and I happen to love it! I guess the reason I say this is - whatever you get, you probably will end up playing it too!
Good luck!
Cindy
Breanna, I think there are two different issues when getting a dulcimer for a kid. One is the cost. You don't want to spend a lot of money on an instrument if your child will lose interest after a month. For that reason, the cardboard dulcimers might be an option. Then again, they cost about $70 new, andDavid Lynch's student dulcimer is only $125.
The second issue, as you mention, is the size of the dulcimer. Wayne has linked to my list of little dulcimers. For small fingers, the VSL obviously makes a difference, but so does the width of the fretboard, at least if your little one is likely to learn chords on the dulcimer. A couple of years ago I got my daughter (who turns 8 in about a week) an octave dulcimer by David Beede (the model he calls the Eddy Beede). It is a tiny dulcimer that allows my daughter full control over the fretboard. The fact that it is also an octave dulcimer means that we can play duets, with me on a standard dulcimer at her on the octave. Assuming she continues to play, eventually she will want a full-size dulcimer, I am sure, but the small size of the fretboard on her octave allows her fingers to stretch in ways similar to ours on a full-size dulcimer. In other words, the dulcimer itself poses no impediment to the development of her command of the dulcimer, which would be the case, I think, with a full-sized fretboard.
You might consider an octave dulcimer or perhaps one of the dulcimers with the VSLs similar to theGinger by McSpadden, Soprano by Blue Lion, or Baritone Dulcimette by Ron Ewing. Those dulcimers are in between an octave and a full-size dulcimers. They are not all intended to be tuned to the key of D, though, so if you want to accompany your child you might look into that issue. Those dulcimers can be pricey, though. I justified an Eedy Beede for my daughter with the logic that it was an instrument I would enjoy should she not develop a long-term interest in playing.
Breanna, I would highly recommend the student dulcimer that Sweet Woods has. I have several dulcimers, and this one, though it has a birch body, has a mighty great sound to it, and is easy to play. And if your 8 year old sticks to it, Dave Lynch does have a trade-in policy with the student model, but not a lot of people have traded them in as they love them a lot.
If you want to play with drones, from DAD you almost have to use a capo. Either standard capo at the first, or a reverse capo under the drone strings at the first fret. It can be done without a capo, but you have to fret a lot of chords. The DA drones will clash with all the Em phrases. An alternative would be to not strum the drone strings at all, and just play the melody. That's what a fiddler does, though most modern fiddlers embellish the daylights out of tunes. You don't need to do everything a fiddler does. The whole melody can be located between the the nut and the 3rd fret, if you start on the bass string. Perfect for walkabout dulcimers. Another alternative is to raise the bass string to E, and the middle to B. This eliminates the capo, and gives you the correct drones for this song. You will then be tuned to EBD, and play all the melody notes on the melody string. More than one way to skin a cat. But beware of the ladies- As I understand it,the annual Faire in Lisdoonvarna was a place ladies went to find a husband! You could come home married!
Paul
Hey you old dusty turtle...hehehee
Thanks.. yeah.. I can pick. (need to get some ideas and forms down).. my fingers are bent and locked up a bit, so I can not stretch and curve to form chords..(Hence why I am diggin' the dulcimer).. So if I can pick up a few pickin' techniques then your right.. I can probably make the song come alive.
Some one did start a ren fair thread I thought.. I will search it and see. They just recommended books.
I will zip over the help me with this song and see what happens.
Thanks again.
Hi Bradford. You might consider joining the group I created a while back called Help Me Learn This Song, Please . You can start a new discussion with Road to Lisdoonvarna--or any other tune you needhelp with--as the title.
Quick thought: It might be easier to use a capo on the first fret for this one.
Quick question: You describe your difficulty with chords; what about with your picking hand? If you can pick individual strings rather than strum across all of them, you will indeed be able to play this song without too much difficulty. If you have trouble holding a pick, you might consider a thumb pick.
Quick suggestion: You might consider starting a discussion asking for ideas for songs to play at a Ren Fair in a droning style. I bet Ken H. and folkfan alone could give you dozens of good ideas.
Especially for Renn Faire things, I'd keep it simple, one strum per note -- no fancy back and forth strums, bum ditties, filling in the blank spaces with extra strums -- those sorts of things. IIRC early instrument frets were relatively fragile, especially frets tied on or made of wood and glued on; so I suspect that playing was, relatively speaking, calm.
Thank you... that was very helpful.
The other thing I need a little help on is strumming technique. Any good videos or material giving ideas or how-to's.
Here's a link to a discussion on ED, where you'll find a link to Mark Gilston's version, which you should be able to play just on the melody string with drones, tuned DAd. Yes it has a few 3 finger chords, but ignore those and just play the melody line notes at those places.
http://everythingdulcimer.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?t=25813
Here's a link to Gary Gallier's version, also in DAd, again mostly melody line:
http://dulcimercentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/the-road-to-lisdoonvarna-key.pdf
Hi all,
I am getting close to the next renaissance faire and want to take my stick dulcimer with me to play as I walk around. There was a good discussion on Ren music on another link so I got the books that where brought up. I found this one song that I really like:
The Road To Lisdoonvarna
I don't read sheet music that well, but it is a 6/8 beat. The notes are for guitar and it has the chords listed as well.
I found it on you tube and listened to multiple ways to play it. (sounded great on a lap dulcimer). but no real instructional videos. I can play it "okay" with the dulci on my lap.
Here is my issue: I have damaged fingers from arthritis, so I can not form chords while holding the dulci stick like a guitar.. in order to play this while walking around, I need it to be in the guitar position.
So any of you really talented music folks out there that might be able to look at this song and come up with a way to play it by droning? Or at list a simple finger pluck of some sort..
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much
Patty, I really think you've hit the nail on the head. Having an accurate and detailed description of what a workshop entails is infinitely more valuable to deciding on whether to take a class than a simple general labeling of classes as beginner, intermediate or advanced students. Especially since it's difficult to really decide what those labels should encompass.
My preference for a workshop description is one that gives details as to playing style that the class will use as to both left and right hand, the tuning that the class will start out in, if a capo will be needed, what tunes will be used and if tab will be available or is the class a strictly "play by ear". Having such information gives the individual enough knowledge to decide whether the workshop will be at his or her level of performance, an interesting challenge, or way over head (as in sinking from the moment the instructor starts speaking.) Personally, I've been in the way over my head type of situation
and spent sometime figuring out how to apologize to the instructor and get out of the room with as much dignity as I could. 
Having descriptions for workshop classes is helpful especially if classes that you want to take are at the same time. It helps with making decisions. When I attended Shenandoah U. I took the beginner classes. I did know some of the basics already but it doesn't hurt to review them. I agree Rob!!! Anne Lough encouraged me to challenge myself and take a class that is above my level. I had trouble with some elements but I learned a lot and enjoyed it. As always, I'm learning a lot from members here. Thank you John Keane and Robin Clark for your how to videos! I guess I'll always be a beginner for some aspect of the MD. It is such a versatile instrument. Thank you Lisa for this web site. It's the best!!! Wayne, I didn't realize you no longer have pennies. When you come to my neck of the woods I'll give you some, LOL,
Beginner - someone who needs help learning a tune.
Intermediate - someone who doesn't need help learning a tune.
Advanced - someone who needs help finding tunes to play.
Expert - guitar boy.
john
I'm barely starting and hoping to make it to intermediate. However, I hope I never get to the point that I would consider myself an expert. There should always be more to learn, more to look forward to. Aw heck, no one has reached perfection yet so I guess there are no experts. 
Thanks, Robin, but if you noticed Dusty said we were both nuts.
And thanks, Dusty, for your assessment of my real level. I do think though that I would rank as a beginner when it comes to playing ability. Realistically, on a good day, I can only manage to play in the most basic manner with either right or left hand. On bad days, now, I don't play at all. 
Lisa, Have you ever heard the Oysterband's version of the False Knight On The Road? The knight was a nut for thinking he could get around the child. That little boy knew to stand fast and face evil.
