Forum Activity for @strumelia

I could actually change everything about this site... how it is structured, how it looks, and how it functions.

It is the way it is, folks.  Nothing much can be done given the software involved.  The massive amount of time and expense to replace the site with something else just isn't on anyone event horizon. 

The perceived shortcomings cannot magically disappear.  It'll be easier if some of you "old dogs" can learn a few new tricks.   Let's not beat the dead horse.....

i liked this site but trying to figure it out all th time drove me away … i even had a hard time posting this ….. formd should follow format of places like guntalk …. as large as it is it is simple to follow… no offense meant ….😬

To be honest, I find the separation of Groups and Discussions kind of confusing. Im never really sure where I should be posting. I've also gotten confused a few times when I click on a group discussion from google search, and it doesnt show the replies because I'm not in the group. For non-members this is probably very confusing. For what it's worth I'm not great at navigating this site but I think it is very well put together considering just how much information is packed into this place!

i think people have gotten more used to mobile-favoring 'endless scroll feed' social software like twitter, YT, tiktok, and facebook. I myself find it very frustrating to try and navigate websites on my phone when a website encompasses multiple different areas such as forums, videos, profile pages, photos, events, and home feeds. For most websites that are not feed-scroll based, I'm way more comfortable navigating from a laptop or tablet. The original ED site was really just a PHP forum (no multimedia sections), which was pretty easy to navigate as well.

I'm sorry I can't realistically make FOTMD more intuitive and simple for everyone to figure out. Maybe if I simplified fotmd by removing the Groups feature altogether (leaving just the Forums area instead), it would remove some of the periodic confusion that people seem to have about Groups and how to participate in them?

You ain't the only one Kendra I don't get it either a lot of the time.

Not looking for suggestions/explanations. 

Kendra, are you referring to within the Galax Group?  If so... you made a Comment on the group's comment wall, which is simply a feed, not a discussion with formal 'replies'. Also, you created a new discussion a few hours ago in the group, about the Galax festival, but it has not had any replies yet from others, so there are no replies to see yet in that discussion.

If you are referring to a different discussion you made in a different group, please say so here.

Also, it helps us if you say what kind of device you are looking at/working from... a phone, laptop, tablet, or desktop?  And if possible, give a LINK to the place or discussion you are having trouble in.

@kendra-ward, are you referring to the discussion within Groups?  Make sure you have joined the group first. Then you should be able to see everything.

I still can’t see the replies from earlier, but maybe I have finally figured out a little more about posting…so never mind…thanks…

Once again, I cannot see or find the replies to a comment/thread/ that I just made. It says there are 11 replies which I cannot access. I can’t even find my original post now within the group but it was there earlier. I see my comment on the home page, but it won’t take me anywhere. I just cannot seem to understand how to navigate this site. Sigh…

I never could read the replies from when I had this problem several years ago. I do belong to the particular group and have for years. I am logged in. 

One of my favorite Vonnegut stories. In recent years it has inspired me to do what gives me and others joy, and to hold my tendency toward perfectionism in check. It's the joy that really matters!

Hey Dusty! I noticed that I was able to improve quickly at the test, probably because it used the same tone each time. I also went from 28-31 after retrying. I think your math is right that 1-64th corresponds to 1.5 cents. Not that it matters for me. Being able to tell one tone is a cent and a half higher than another would be much more helpful if I also knew which one is the correct tone. XD

Thank you Ken! I have bookmarked the chord wizard, and expect I will be consulting it often.

I have a copy of Merv Rowley's definitive article on Chord-Melody playing in DAA tuning  -- An Approach to Learning Chord-Melody Style .  The chord-charts there do not include any plus frets because it was written for those of us who only have pure diatonic fret layouts -- not even the 6+ fret.  

Your best bet in to learn to use the Strothers Diatonic Chord Wizard:
Tom & Missy Strothers | Diatonic Chord]

Do you have a comprehensive DAA chord chart you could post? The chart I have shows only D Major, E Minor, F# Minor, G Major, A Major, B Minor, E Major, C Major, and C# Minor. I am especially interested in what additional chords may be formed using the 1 1/2 fret. Thank you!

There is also the possibility that the builder cut the fret slots too wide and those frets eventually worked their way out. As one hammers in frets the slots in toward the center of the fret board tend to compress a little bit which may be why the ends came out while the middle frets stayed in.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Nate, I just did the test and got 29/32.  All my mistakes were 1/64 of a note.  There were four such questions, and I got the last one correct, which makes me think you could get better if you practiced and trained your ear to hear such minute differences in pitch.

Edit: I did the test again and got 31/32.  Still, the one I missed was a 1/64, and I was kinda sorta guessing on the other 1/64 questions.

So I can clearly hear the 1/32 interval, but the 1/64 is still giving me trouble.

Any idea how the quarter tones relate to cents?  My understanding is that when we measure pitch in cents, each of the 12 half-notes of the chromatic scale measures 100 cents.  So is the 1/64 equivalent to 1.5625 cents (1/64 x 100)? I'm trying to figure out how accurate an electronic tuner has to be for it to be better than my ears.

"There's no right way or wrong way to play the dulcimer".  -- Tom & Missy Strothers

A test to determine how well you can discern subtle differences in pitch. I always assumed that I had poor pitch perception, but apparently I can detect a 1-16th of a note difference reliably! If anyone else would like to take this test, I'd love to know what you score!
https://www.themusiclab.org/quizzes/td
Nate

On a serious note though, I am quite curious about what would compel someone to remove frets from the fingerboard...it strikes me that the frets are removed from the outer ends of the instrument. Is the dulcimer 'bowed' downward such that the bridge and nut are lower than the center of the fretboard? Maybe the frets were removed to prevent buzzing? If so, the repair might be a touch more complicated. Is the fretboard level for it's full length?

Haha I found the misunderstanding about 'missing frets' amusing. Surely you guys must be aware that a  truly traditional dulcimer only has 3 frets to an octave. This was increased to 7 during an early surge in popularity known as the "vival" hundreds of years before the 1.5 and 6.5 were later also added during a period called the "re-vival."

My cat is very indifferent to the dulcimer, but gets very concerned when I play the harmonica and hates when I play the pennywhistle. More than anything, I think he doesnt like that my dulcimer occupies my lap when he wishes he did.

"Folk music is high-class music. There's a lotta low-class people singin' it. Matter of fact, most so-called folk singers don't even look like folk." -Abner Jay

John and Ken gave you the advice I was going to offer. You don't say where you are located in British Columbia but if you are near a shop that works on fretted instruments (guitar, banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, etc.) you should be able to have the proper frets installed. Good luck.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hi everyone!

There are a lot of new folks on board, so I thought it would be fun to dig up this old discussion to share and see if maybe we could add some new “Just for fun” phrases!

Thank you and have fun!

Lovely dulcimer.  As John says, measure the width of the fretwire where the "mushroom cap" touches the wood, in millimeters or 1/100ths of an inch.  A caliper will do the job.  Thenyou can (hopefully) acquire some appropriate fretwire and either insert the frets yourself, or have someone do it for you.  Look for fretwire on sites like Stewart Macdonald (stewmac.com) or other places that sell luthier supplies.  To replace those 5 frets you'll need less that 2 ft of wire (but may have to buy 10 ft).  Find the wire, and we can probably find you someone to put them in for you for less than two arms and a leg...

Along those lines: "Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get."  I don't remember where I picked that up. 

I'm a cobbler gobbler!  When I can find one, that is...  Best is blueberry or peach, but I'll settle for whatever you've got!

Our backyard blueberries are winding down, while the tomatoes are now gearing up. Yet another cobbler!

This concept puts me in mind a bit of past blog posts i made long ago, like these two:

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-is-it-taking-so-long-for-me-to.html

https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2011/01/down-with-tyrant-carrot-or-dont-punch.html

This!  💯   I have never excelled in anything, but have learned to love time spent playing music, gardening, catching some pretty cool pictures, etc etc!  I have found much true happiness in these things even though I am not at the top.  Well, I AM  at the top of what matters to me 🎶 😊

I just love that. I was raised playing sports; competing; excelling; career, etc. I reached a point where I got tired of it and just wanted to enjoy doing what I loved to do, one of which was music (since 1973). Now retired, it's a nice place to be in life, with my husband, family, and doggos. 

Yes, you're correct, you'll need those slots filled with frets.  Frank didn't put any "extra" frets in on this dulcimer.  If you can measure the size of the fret-wire on this, you may be able to have the missing frets added back in.  You could also just replace ALL of the frets at the same time, practically guaranteeing an accurate fretting job.  That's an attractive dulcimer you have!

The other missing/empty frets are down near the tail end. 

Closeup of one of the missing frets

Label inside the sound hole.

Thanks for the welcome and advice! This is the instrument in question.  It measures about 28" from nut to bridge, and has 17 frets but 5 are missing the wire. If it was modified to have a non-traditional tuning, I'd like to restore it to traditional  number of frets.

Thank you guys for all your feedback.

Regardless of the veracity of the story, there is wisdom therein.