Yes, the more fingers you put into use, the easier it is to have fingers available to smoothly transition between notes. So, using thumb on melody helps a lot. I also use my PINKY a LOT on the melody string. So, basically, I'm playing the melody much of the time with my pinky and thumb; that leaves three fingers (ring, middle, index) to negotiate all the other notes. Another strategy that adds a bit of sustain to notes is to use vibrato.
Nina
A follow up, because I do think that smooth playing can go a long way to making dulcimer playing sound beautiful:
a) Another great way to connect the notes is to slide from one to the next. Not on every note, but I remember once LInda Brockinton telling me that she "slides all the time", and that helped me think more about playing smoothly.
b) Another analogy that I use with my workshop classes is to think "glue fingers": keep each finger down until absolutely necessary to lift it up. And, by "down" I mean close to the wood. The result will be that you'll be making your dulcimer "sign", with the notes very connected, as in vocal music (or violin music).
c) Recording yourself, even tho' yes it makes us all nervous, is a wonderful way to hear where the "gaps" are.
d) One final suggestion: to see this technique of "glue fingers", you might try going to you tube and watching videos of folks who make it a priority to put this smooth ("legato") style in their playing. Plenty of good dulcimer players do, but Linda Brockinton and Janita Baker come to mind (and, oh OK, my own vids will show it, too). A guitarist who does this beautifully, and really makes his guitar "sing" is El McMeen.
Happy playing!
Nina
Marion--The EXACT same thing happened to me at the same time in my learning (and I have not been playing long)--I,too, posted the question (but not as well). Nina Zanetti has explained above exactly what I was doing wrong. Also, I found that I was extra choppy because I hit "record" and became nervous.
On a completely unrelated note (generally-speaking), after I improved my fingering so that the notes were ringing properly, I switched to noter/drone almost exclusively in my learning. I found that I really liked the traditional sound and to have a drone along with the melody more to my liking. Not to say that is what you would experience, but since one of my favorite players responded above, I thought that I would throw that in there. Happy Playing!
Marian; please post a sound clip so we can tell what you mean by "choppy". As mentioned, it could be several things. But with only a two month learning period, you may have opted for quantity (number of songs) over quality (several technical glitch possibilities). If we hear you we can better help you sort it out.
Hi, I just saw this post , and it seemed to me that maybe by "choppy" you meant that there were little gaps between the notes, as tho' the sound of each note was being stopped rather than sustained. If that's what you meant, then I think the problem is more a matter of left hand technique than strumming. That is, it could be how you are fretting the notes, or- more to the point- what you do with your LH once you have played a note. With the dulcimer, after you've played a note, the tone starts to die off. But, the tone will completely stop if you lift your LH finger off of the position on the string. In fact (and this is important), the tone will stop completely even if you keep your LH finger in contact with the string, but if you lighten the pressure so much that the string lifts up from the fret. I've seen people do this, and what's happening is that they are inadvertently "muting" the strong after they play the note. It's the technique that we might use intentionally to produce "chop chords", i.e. when we WANT the sound of a chord stop abruptly. But, in song-like, sustained tunes, we want to the notes to flow smoothly, one note connected to the next. Again, the important thing is this: if you lift up your LH finger enough so that the string no longer contacts the fret (I think of it as contacting the wood of the fretboard), then you will have created a gap in the tone, and there will be silence until the next note is plucked.
Any chance this is what you're experiencing? If so, you've taken the first step to correcting the problem, which is to be aware of it! If you can hear those "gaps", then you at least know where you need to connect or smooht out the notes. Next step is to figure out how. The trick: never lift a LH finger (that has just played a note) until it is absolutely necessary. So, you'd never want to the finger (LH) of the note that's just been played until you set down the finger (LH) of the next note. Janita Baker gives a wonderful analogy of dancing: one foot always has to touch the floor/ one finger always has to remain pushing down the string. This takes practice, but is a habit well worth developing, if you want to have your playing sound smooth and song-like. If you are playing chords or across the strings, it's really good practice to hold down any note as long as possible, sometimes holding down a note on one string while you move a different finger to a new place on a different string.
Hard to explain all this in writing, but hope this helps some. Feel free to ask more questions.
Nina
Well the good news is that you have noticed!!!! 
The bad news is that there are no shortcuts 
You just need lots and lots of practice like Robin T said above. Strumming is a very complex skill - it is physically difficult and musically difficult and it is the most important aspect of your playing. If you are not struggling with strumming, then you are not pushing yourself hard enough. I always struggle to get my right hand exactly how I want it. When I learn a new tune I'm constantly trying tofathom outhow I should be working my right hand and I'll try differnt picks, grips, and rhythm patterns until I'm happy.
Howdy, Marian. What Robin said is a great way to get the rhythms ingrained in your system (so to speak.) Another thing which may help is to pat your foot at a steady beat (or use a metronome set to a fairly slow tempo.) Strum out in out in on each beat (pat of your foot or click of metronome.) When you're steady and clean with that, then strum out in for each beat. Do each of them 16 times before starting to play as a warm up, gradually getting faster, but not so fast you lose the steady rhythm.
Enjoy
Rob
Hi, Marian! To me, strumming is the most important aspect of dulcimer play. Thus, it takes time to settle-in to learning how to strum and feel comfortable strumming. (I'm always working on my strum and I've been playing about 6 years.)
I suggest this exercise: Put on any music you enjoy. With your left hand, mute the strings. With your right hand, experiment strumming rhythms with the music. It really helps one get a feel for rhythm and, over time, your strumming will improve.
Happy strummin'!
Linda, can you explain exactly what you are trying to convert?
If it is only the melody, there is a pretty easy method that is described by Linda Brockinton in the Music Theory group where you just number the notes according to scale position. If you are trying to convert chords, then you just need a chord chart to show you where to find the right chords on the dulcimer, and not conversion is needed.
If you are trying to convert an entire arrangement you may have difficulties, since a guitar is chromatic, meaning your dulcimer may not have all the notes needed, a guitar has greater tonal range than a dulcimer since the open strings span two octaves rather than one, and the guitar can play more notes at a time since there are six strings as opposed to the three on the dulcimer.
Ok, I made a mistake above. Fretboard Road Maps isn't what you want. I was thinking they were charts showing what notes were at what frets. They kinda are, but more on the order of patterns for improvising. What you need is a chart of all the notes on a guitar fret board, so you can see what note a tab is showing when it gives a string and fret number. A finger board chart, like this one: http://egalo.com/guitar-fretboard-visualization-chart-with-note-names.pdf
This can be downloaded, and printed. I have seen these for sale at music stores, as well. You set it on your desk and learn your way around the finger board. For converting guitar tab to dulcimer, you look up each note in the guitar tab, write down it's name, and locate that note on the dulcimer. You will need a chart showing the dulcimer fret board as well, some dulcimer books have a few charts, at least for one or two tunings used in the book.
Once you have identified the notes, and located their position on a dulcimer chart, mark them on a blank dulcimer Tab sheet. You can keep all the bar, timing, and other info from the guitar tab as it doesn't change. Try a simple song, such as Frere' Jacques, Hot Cross Buns, or London Bridge. Play the new tab and let your ears tell you if you have made any mistakes. If it doesn't work in an ionian tuning, try mixolydian, then aeolian and dorian. Give us a full report of your findings. You have until the end of the semester to complete your work, and this will go in your permanent record. And bring enough chewing gum for everyone.
Paul
Ok, in doing a quick search on youtube I see there are no dulcimer versions of this yet on youtube. There is a great tutorial on a tin whistle though. I've watched this girl before because I'm learning that instrument too. But, the whistle is a D whistle so you can literally copy the notes by sound. You could play the lower notes and it would sound great. Here's the vid if you want to try it My Heart Will Go On - D whistle
Heck i really love that song too and may try it on whistle and dulcimer.
Hey Linda,
This is an idea. Have you ever tried to pick out a tune (a simple version of it) on the dulcimer? You would really be surprised at how it's not as hard as you really think. Picking out simple versions of tunes will allow you to add in filler notes that compliment those simple notes also. I have ZERO music theory. I have no clue the names of any chords or notes on the dulcimer, but I can pick out simple tunes and spice them up a bit. Here's how I would go about it if I were you.
First see if there are any dulcimer vids out there already of that particular song. If so, if you like the arrangement try to mimic it by watching their hands or listening to what is being played. If I can see round about where someone is on the fretboard I can usually pick it out. If there aren't any dulcimer vids, then I would either listen to the actual song or a vid of someone playing the tune (on any instrument) where you like the arrangement.
Then if you can get a few notes here and there you can start to fill out in front and behind the ones you are sure of just by trial and error. In my opinion you will get so much more satisfaction out of picking out a tune yourself vs. reading some tab. Tabs are great, but they are limiting IMO. I feel so much more freedom doing it this way, but I do still sometimes use tabs for certain parts of songs (knowing that I will change them to suit me).
Good luck and I hope this helps a bit.
FWIW, there is a free download of a (limited) TablEdit version here: http://www.tabledit.com/download/index.shtml that may be of some use to you...
Is there a certain guitar tab you have in mind, or are you asking for a general concept of this fret on guitar equals that fret on a dulcimer?
Guitar tab is usually lead parts, not chords. The lead may be melody, but more often is an improvised solo part. The real problem with converting it to a dulcimer tab is dulcimers don't have near the range of a guitar. Low parts would have to be moved up an octave to fit on a dulcimer. High parts could not be moved up an octave because the guitar can come up at least as far as the dulcimer. The relocated low parts then will not be quite in relation to their guitar counterparts, but it can be done. It would be best to move a whole section, rather than just certain low notes.
Converting may work, if the solo is not too far outside a certain key. If the guitarist makes a lot of use of out of key chords, the notes of a solo reflect those chords. They have to, to harmonize. For a dulcimer to play this note for note, it may be necessary to use a chromatic dulcimer. CAUTION: OPINIONATED CONTENT! It seems to me it would be better to create a dulcimer solo, rather than try to convert one from guitar. But that's just an opinion, and creating new solos may not be what every player likes to do.
Look for a guitar chart called "Fret board Road Map". It shows what note is at what fret, assuming standard guitar tuning. If the guitarist is using a different tuning, there may be a chart for it, I really don't know. I never bought them. In standard tuning, the 4th string on the guitar is tuned to D, the same D as our bass string if we tune to DAA, or DAD. The 3rd string is G, same as we use for DGD tuning. The second string is B, one tone above our A middle string, and the 1st string is E, one tone above our D melody string in DAD. The tricky stuff starts on the guitars 5th string, where we can't reach any notes below the guitars 5th fret. The 5th is tuned to A, an octave below our middle string. The 6th is E, almost an octave below our bass string. If you have a tab in mind, the starting point is to decide what key it's in, and see if it changes keys or modes. Hopefully, we can find a dulcimer tuning we can use for it.
Paul
Put the tune in TablEdit, then change from guitar to dulcimer as the instrument. The dulcimer part [module] would be missing notes because of being diatonic. I've done it, but I set up a custom chromatic dulcimer module in TablEdit. This allows me to get to a 3 string form which then can be modified to the various tunings.
The woman I bought it from has several instruments she plays but the whistles and concertinaare her passion. She had,had this dulclimer custom made for her by Allen Wood but she said she didn't play it very often. You can tell it hadn't been it is in fantastic condition. I told her about KMW and some of the other festivals and she is excited about maybe coming to some of them. I hope she does.
I sometimes frown when I see such sales and the prize asked for it. $ 100 is okay when it is not wanted by the seller, but under the $ 25 I always wonder if the seller is the rightful owner... Sure, I didn't saw the face
At the other hand, I sometimes get instruments cheap because the owner is pleased I can play it... Also for nothing at all! Those lucky moments
Wout
Holy cow Dana, what a SCORE!!! And the jimbow too. Dang girl that is awesome! I love that she pulled out a tin whistle and ya'll played some. The universal language of music will make friends for you! Great find and great story!
Great story Dana ... one that memories are made of. I bet you have a relationship with the German lady like no one else ... an' that's a GOOD thing!
Dana R. McCall said:
LOL I'm pretty good at fiddlin around just don't know about with a jimbow.
@ Sam, Sam I do love making new friends, my husband says I never meet an enemy. Once a friend of mine years ago that was German and her mother was still in Germany. He mom was going to visit, so when she got here a lot of us got together, I said Hi to her and started talking
to her, she would nod her head and say Ya Ya
, I thought she was agreeing with everything I had to say LOL. soon a crowd was gathering around us and I saw a lot of snickers
and giggles
. I was flabbergasted
, I said well we were having a heck of a conversation
!Needless to say we got along great I did all the talking
HAHA I took her for a ride in my little green dunebuggy and she had a ball, we understood each other
on a different level, we enjoyed laughing
and having fun
.
LOL I'm pretty good at fiddlin around just don't know about with a jimbow.
@ Sam, Sam I do love making new friends, my husband says I never meet an enemy. Once a friend of mine years ago that was German and her mother was still in Germany. He mom was going to visit, so when she got here a lot of us got together, I said Hi to her and started talking to her, she would nod her head and say Ya Ya , I thought she was agreeing with everything I had to say LOL. soon a crowd was gathering around us and I saw a lot of snickers and giggles . In a few her daughter Linda came up to me and said Dana Mom doesn't speak a word of English . I was flabbergasted , I said well we were having a heck of a conversation !Needless to say we got along great I did all the talking and she did all the listening HAHA I took her for a ride in my little green dunebuggy and she had a ball, we understood each other on a different level, we enjoyed laughing and having fun .
I suspect that anyone you meet will very likely become a friend. How could they not?
Lisa the woman I bought the dulcimer from brought out her penny whistle and a larger one she had and we played afew songs on her porch. It was fun and I made a new friend.
Hey Geekling, It was you with the jimbow not mandy. I'm going to have to figure out how to use it. :)
Geekling said:
Wow, Dana, you scored againthat's gorgeous!
And it's so great that it came with a case and a JimBow! I hope you enjoy your new JimBow as much as I'm enjoying mine! At any rate, you found a unique dulcimer at a terrific pricehow cool is that? I can't wait to hear it!
That's a great story Ben
Benjamin W Barr Jr said:
Definitely a keeper and a heck of a find. It's sort of how I got my first dulcimer. I stopped at a flea market and this dulcimer was sitting on a table and the wind was actually making music on the strings. I had never seen nor heard of one at the time. The fellow selling it gave me a brief rundown of how he came on it and asked if $30 was a fair price...he said he had bought it for $20. I replied for someone who knows the instrument it probably is. I then started to walk away and he asked if I had $25 for it. I thought for a couple of seconds and figured that if I didn't like it, I could probably get my money back from selling it. Well, I still have that dulcimer!
Cool find! The only one I've seen "in the wild" was at a pawn shop in North Carolina, but the staff was too busy visiting and drinking coffee to offer any assistance to customers. Congrats on your find!
what a great find. love how it looks,
Definitely a keeper and a heck of a find. It's sort of how I got my first dulcimer. I stopped at a flea market and this dulcimer was sitting on a table and the wind was actually making music on the strings. I had never seen nor heard of one at the time. The fellow selling it gave me a brief rundown of how he came on it and asked if $30 was a fair price...he said he had bought it for $20. I replied for someone who knows the instrument it probably is. I then started to walk away and he asked if I had $25 for it. I thought for a couple of seconds and figured that if I didn't like it, I could probably get my money back from selling it. Well, I still have that dulcimer!
Nice find at a yard sale for sure!
Nice find Dana. Can't wait to hear it
Great find Dana !!! Hope you'll put up a vid soon. I bet it sounds as good as it looks. Very good price. Congrats!
Don't know anything about Allen Wood his site is no longer up but he made a nice dulcimer. this one is number 87 and was custom made for the woman I bought it from.
