Search on E-Bay for "turkey call striker dowels". They are available in a variety of hardwoods, can be purchased pre-rounded, and cost about $10.00 for ten dowels - each dowel is about 5-6 inches long.
Ken's right; don't bind yourself to round. One of my favorite noters is a rectangular one from Keith Young. Oh yeah, Jim Good's kind of looked like a spoon.
That's very kind of you, Ken.
Neither Home Depot nor Lowes near me have dowels of maple. I'm actually ok with what I have, for now. Enjoy your trip!
Noters don't have to be round. Or perfectly circular. Surely one of the Big Box stores near you has Maple. Or a local sawmill/lumber yard. I'm getting ready for a trip to the UK in a few days, or I'd send you some maple and other hardwood bits.
Rob, I actually tried a chopstick. Too small for my liking. Sorry about your river cane noter and lanyard. Sounded like it was just the thing!
Skip, I could never get used to a slide while playing guitar, no matter which finger or what size I used. Don't think it would work for me for a noter.
I did soak my oak dowel noters in Howard Butcher Block Conditioner. Contains mineral oil, carnauba wax and beeswax (Robin's prior comment about beeswax made me think of it). They seem to slide a bit smoother now. I know oak isn't as hard or long lasting as a noter as other woods, but I now have 15 noters of 3/8" or 1/4" size, homemade, aside from my original 2, so I should be good for awhile.
And Ken, the pen blanks would be an excellent source of raw materials for me if I had a belt sander or any kind of carving skills! As it is, I'm barely able to cut the dowels straight.
Thanks to all, as usual, for the helpful suggestions!
I used a heat gun in a home built, stove pipe oven to harden mine when I was making split cane fly rods.
Try a dobro [bottle neck] slide. Pretty much the same thing, just bigger and it could fit over your thumb/finger.
Richard Farina used a chopstick. I had a great big river cane noter made by Bobby Ratliff it had a leather lanyard attached so I could "drop" it and play with my fingers. Looked for it one morning and found the lanyard and some splinters on the floor. Seems my dog, a puppy at the time, decided it was a great chew toy (while it lasted.).
Skip, I had read about that when making my bamboo flutes. Problem is I'd probably fire harden my apartment in the process!
You could fire harden the bamboo.
Thanks Ken. Yes I have your booklet. One of my standard go to references. I'll look into tung oil. Hardest wood that was readily available was oak.
Did I give you this link to my Get Noterized booklet? All sorts of good info on choosing and using a noter:
Ken Hulme's "Get Noterized!" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com
Bamboo is one of the all around best and least expensive materials for noters. I've used them for decades. River Cane is one native species of bamboo that was common used for noters in Appalachia. I personally use noters about the size of my index finger. Some people like 'em smaller -- like 1/4" but i find it hard to hold something that small.
Oak I consider the minimum hardness for a noter, and it's very open-pored which isn't that good. Maple, all the way to Lignum Vitae are better choices -- from 1200 to 4500 on the Janka Hardness scale. Fine sand (400-800 grit and polish the wood. Then I use 3-4 coats of Tung oil to give it a smooth harder surface.
I get a lot of exotic hardwoods by buying "pen blanks" from Ebay. The blanks are about 3/4"x3/4'x5". Then I use my inverted belt sander to round them out:
Janka Hardness chart for Exotic Wood and Domestic Wood | Bell Forest Products
Robin, I've also created a noter out of a slice of bamboo, a la Strumelia's video, showing how your thumb or finger can fit into the hollow of it. I have been having trouble with hands lately, too, part of the reason I'm moving away from guitar and toward dulcimer. Still trying to find the best and most comforatble way to hold the noter (thumb over, finger over, sideways, knuckle against the fret board, etc.). I'm pretty sure I'm still pressing down too hard on the strings, though. Trying to see how lightly I can do that, and still get a sound.
RoyB, I really can't use round noters due to soft tissue problems with my hands. The pad on my thumb (I hold the noter with my thumb on top) needs a larger point of contact than round noters offer so I use flat noters. I don't know what makes a bamboo noter hard on your fingers but round noters don't work for me. Just a thought.
Dan, I have two river cane Native American flutes made by an excellent maker in Alabama, so I'm familiar with the material. My bamboo noter slides well but feels very hard on my fingers for some reason.
Robin, maybe I'll try beeswax, or a similar material. I have some Howard butcher block conditioner that I've used on my bamboo flutes, so I thought maybe I'd try that.
I believe river cane makes the best noter. (Historically correct and indigenous) Bamboo is very similar being high in silicon content that makes them last a very long time and slide quite nice.....
I've used beeswax on noters to get them to slide real slick-- I have a small slab of it and it can just be rubbed onto the noter. Just keep your string wiped mostly clean when using it.
I've been trying out different size and material noters, mostly handmade. I have a 1/4", 4.5" long noter than came with my Apple Creek dulcimer, and I've cut a 3/8", 4.5" long hollow bamboo noter. I've now made several of those two sizes out of oak dowels. However, they don't slide as well up and down the fret board as the original two. Should I be treating the dry wood in some way - oil, stain, paint, etc.? (I've also watched Strumelia's excellent review of different kinds of noters - wish I had the carving skills to make some like the ones she shows).
Also, I'm frankly allergic to spending $7-$10 or more for a commercially made plain 5" piece of dowel, when I can buy a 36" long piece of wood for $1-$2.50, out of which I could make several. :)
That flathead looks like a Cripple Creek Aspen model. IIRC Lori is/was Bud & Donna's daughter in law; but don't quote me on that...
If it doesn't have a CC maker's label inside it may be one of their kits of this model.
Or when was Lori with the Dulcimer shop
Is this a Cripple Creek Dulcimer from about 20 years ago? Did they have a style like this with the pointed head?
Or was it by someone else but sold at Cripple Creek?
Two weeks from today, friends. :)
John Knopf made a very good replacement peg. It is great to hear the sweet voice of the John Maxwell dulcimer. Jim
Dave, this is an interesting question and subject.
I can see that you are a pretty accomplished musician. I'm afraid I can't think of examples of the kind you are looking for in particular, but it shouldn't be a hard thing to do if you have musicians who can play along with each other by ear.
I went to our site's video section, and punched in "mandolin" in the search box, and came up with this:
https://fotmd.com/search/results/jrVimeo,jrYouTube,jrVideo/1/25/search_string=mandolin
There looks like maybe a couple of examples of dulcimer and mandolin playing together in a group, but you'll have to look through them.
Sorry I can't be of more help!
Thanks much, I really enjoyed those and duh, why didnt I think of that.
cheers
Dave, this is an interesting question and subject.
I can see that you are a pretty accomplished musician. I'm afraid I can't think of examples of the kind you are looking for in particular, but it shouldn't be a hard thing to do if you have musicians who can play along with each other by ear.
I went to our site's video section, and punched in "mandolin" in the search box, and came up with this:
https://fotmd.com/search/results/jrVimeo,jrYouTube,jrVideo/1/25/search_string=mandolin
There looks like maybe a couple of examples of dulcimer and mandolin playing together in a group, but you'll have to look through them.
Sorry I can't be of more help!
When the McSpadden's owned and operated McSpadden Dulcimers, the solid soundboard was offered as an option. When Jim Woods purchased McSpadden Dulcimers the solid soundboard became a standard feature on all their dulcimers. I don't know the exact dates, but there would be two dates:
Date One - McSpaddens offered the solid soundboard option for the first time.
Date Two - Jim Woods made the solid soundboard a standard feature of all McSpadden dulcimers.
Jim Woods purchased McSpadden dulcimers in 2001, so the switch to the solid soundboard on all instruments would have occurred sometime around 2001-2002.
Hi All,
I'm new here and looking for examples of videos or audio of dulcimer and mandolin played together in an ensemble. I hope this is the correct place to put this. I love Appalachian Mandolin & Dulcimer by Butch Baldassari & David Schnaufer. My latest project shown in this video (thanks for the comments many have made) is more of an ensemble encompassing multiple genre's I'm more interested.
Thanks much for this wonderful site.
cheers,
Dave
Melanie -- send me a PM with your email address, I can't seem to get you 'friended' for some reason. I have PDFs of two of your songs so far -- Star of County Down and Wayfaring Stranger.
Thanks everyone for your input. If nothing else, this was a source of interest and curiosity. But, unless the maker chimes in, I guess this will remain a music mystery.
If you Google "true temperament frets" you see lots of guitars with the squiggly frets. Makes you feel like you poured bourbon on your cereal instead of milk.
I doubt that's what's going on with the Goodwill dulcimer.
I've seen some guitars made with slanted or curvy frets. It's an overly-complex way of avoiding a compensated bridge. A compensated bridge is a heck of a lot easier and gets the job done, maybe a tiny bit less precisely than curved/slanted frets.
I think Richard is right about the date for the switch to solid wood. If not, I just don't see that a laminated soundboard would make any difference in sound on any instrument, let alone one as small as a Ginger.
I just looked at the pictures, and I don't recall ever seeing anything like that. Maybe some weird attempt to compensate/intonate for string thickness; but 30 degrees seems 'way off the mark? If it weren't for the ludicrous 33 pound shipping weight for a $30 shipping fee it might be worth the $15 bid price just to see in person.
"Shopgoodwill" has an interesting duclimer up for auction (refer "Unbranded 4 String Wood Dulcimer"). It's obviously very old but the distinctive characteristic are the frets. Instead of being installed perpendicular to the fretboard, they are positioned at about a 30 degree (estimated) angle from perpendicular. I've never seen anything like this on a dulcimer or any other fretted instrument. What do you make of it?
If my memory is correct it was in about 1996 that McSpadden switched from laminated soundboard to solid wood. So the 2001 Ginger I would think would be solid wood. Others will chime in I am sure.
Thank you, @ken-hulme!! I suspected Star of the County Down was a minor tune. I've seen someone play it with a capo on the 1st fret. I remember hearing the Clancy Brothers playing Star. I think it was on You Tube. Thanks again for all your help! Can't wait to get going with these!
Actually, all four of those tunes can be played from DAA. Although I admit Shady Grove and Wayfaring Stranger sound much better played in Aeolian DAC (first note of the scale starts on fret 1) which (as minor tunes) is where they are intended to be played. I play primarily by ear, and don't collect tab, but I'll put those four tunes together in DAA for you.
Danny Boy is almost the perfect Ionian tune fitting between the 1st and 12th frets, ending on fret 3. I learned Star of County Down from an old Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brother's album.
One of the "things" about Noter & Drone [layers is that we're not afraid to change tunings to fit the song. We know it's only a matter of changing the pitch of 1 string! Chord-Melody players try to play virtually everything from DAd.
The noter certainly adds a certain 'flavor' to the dulcimer sound, like nothing else.
Fingerdance is much the same as Noter & Drone -- in that you play the melody on the melody string(s) only while the drones hummmm along. The sound is different because your finger absorbs sound differently than a noter does. FWIW you can't play "Noter & Drone style" by fretting with your finger. A Noter is a separate object held in the hand; not part of the hand itself. It's not just a matter of semantics but also the performance of certain techniques like slides, pull-offs, hammer-ones etc..
I've heard that earlier model McSpadden dulcimers have a laminated soundboard, and that later on McSpadden dulcimers were built with solid soundboards.
Does anyone know if a 2001 McSpadden Ginger dulcimer would have a solid soundboard or a laminated soundboard?
Thanks, Ken @ken-hulme. My very favorite Celtic-type song is Star of the County Down. I'd love to learn Danny Boy (Londonderry). As far as Americana-type, Shady Grove and Poor Wayfaring Stranger. Is it even possible to play them with DAA? I'm guessing I can with Shady Grove maybe. Thanks for the link. I'll be checking that out. Dusty has sent me Sweet Hour of Prayer for DAD. I'm fascinated with noter drone and I think I'm going to tune to DAA for a while and see how it goes. Fingerdance style sounds interesting! I appreciate any help you can give me!
Melanie -- Sorry to hear about your information overload. When I started there wasn't much more than Jean Ritchie's first book. No internet. No overload! I had to make my first dulcimer so I could learn to play it. I taught myself Noter & Drone and have stayed with it ever since. I play primarily Scottish Celtic and Americana type music.
As Dusty suggests, put down the books, pick up your dulcimer, and play. Since you want to go with N&D and Celtic and simple (yes the dulcimer really is "simple" to learn if you want to play Noter & Drone or Fingerdance style); then tune to DAA and between you and Dusty and I and a couple others we'll get you well on your way.
Don't worry about Dorian Mode or capos or anything right now. The majority of the music you want to play can be played right from DAA. Dorian and Aeolian and Mixolydian mode are "special case" tunings for a limited number of songs in the world of English and Scottish Popular Ballads as Francis James Child called them in the 1880s when he collected over 300 of them with their American variations.
If you tell us a couple of your favorite Celtic or Americana songs we'll have something to work together with you. Feel free to send me a PM here so I can help you most efficiently.
PS. I know I said put down the books, but there is a little booklet/essay I wrote a number of years back called Get Noterized -- all about how to choose and use a stick to make beautiful music. You can find it here:
Ken Hulme's "Get Noterized!" Article - Strumelia | fotmd.com
