Forum Activity for @linda-w-collins

Hi Anne,

Beth Lassi and Nina Zanetti have done a series of four lovely duet books.  The Dulcimer Association of Albany has played some of them at meetings I have attended.  I recommend them highly.  Check them out at http://www.ninazanetti.com/.  Enjoy!!

I include two duets (Morning Has Broken and Scarborough Fair, and a round, Oh How Lovely is the Evening, in my instruction book, Beyond the Basics .  Details and sample tab at www.cabinhillmusic.com.

Best wishes,

Linda

Banjo Strings work well if you need a loop end. Sometimes they can be found as individual strings. Just cut the string about 3-4" from the peg it will be wrapped around, and carry on. In case you aren't aware of the string sizes you have currently, take your dulcimer with you to the store. They can measure them.

Of course, you can also order strings from dulcimer builders/shops. You'll need to know the gauge, unless you order them from the builder.

Good luck,

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Fabulous! The weight of my Simerman in a hard shell case is too much for one hand/arm. This would really help. Some other shops are bound to have old stock... or

Here's the link to the company. (Is this how you tried to reach them, Susie?) The small size is out of stock, but if we all clamor for them, perhaps they'll make more! www.backaxe.com We can try!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Hi Gary,

Too hard in what way? It takes some "fiddling" to get the angle right - too great an angle from the horizontal of the lap, and the left hand has a hard time with fretting. Was that the problem you had? This has worked for all my students, though the angle varies, depending on the person and the style/size/shape of their dulcimer. If you want to Skype sometime, I'll talk you through it.

Linda

Gary Major said:

Thanks Linda.

I tried that and found it too hard for me to play. Great idea though and I think it may work for others also.

Gary, The increased resonance of a dulcimer tilted up off the lap is one more reason that I, like many others including Steve Seifert and Aaron O'Rourke, play with my dulcimer strap around my back and the dulcimer tilted away from the body. The scroll end is out on the left knee and the bridge end is tucked close on the right side. Though I made this choice mainly for ergonomic reasons, the improved sound is very noticeable and welcome.

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

This is quite a varied list. How about adding:

Red Is the Rose

Will Ye Go, Lassie Go? (Wild Mountain Thyme)

If you need it, TAB for each of these is in my book Beyond the Basics .

Best of luck with the jam!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Monica, For the top and middle strings, are you using .010 and .012? For your fret scale, those may be better than the .012 and .014; however, the instrument maker will advise you on which strings are best. What to watch for, if you use a thicker string, is that the tension not be too much, compared to the other strings. They should all have about the same amount of tension.

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

I meant the Simerman shiftsto my RIGHT - dyslexia!!

Linda W. Collins said:

Hi James,

Working with a variety of students, with a variety of body shapes, I find the hourglass to be preferable from an ergonomics standpoint. The teardrop can be difficult for some folks to get positioned in a stable fashion against their belly! The only difficulty I've had with an hourglass shaped dulcimer is with the concert model Simerman; it tends to shift around my body to the left, due to the large lower bout, so that I have to periodically "retrieve" it!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Hi James,

Working with a variety of students, with a variety of body shapes, I find the hourglass to be preferable from an ergonomics standpoint. The teardrop can be difficult for some folks to get positioned in a stable fashion against their belly! The only difficulty I've had with an hourglass shaped dulcimer is with the concert model Simerman; it tends to shift around my body to the left, due to the large lower bout, so that I have to periodically "retrieve" it!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Val, I would love to hear that recording! Paul Brady on dulcimer with Mick Moloney - wow!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Thanks, Bab! While there are a few familiar tunes here, such as Mrs. MacLeod's, there are also some new-to-me tunes. These will be fun to use with my violin students - and fun to play on the dulcimer, too. Much appreciated!

Linda

Randy, I believe it's not an alternate bridge per se, but the way the bridge is aligned on the dulcimer. A tuning with an octave spread requires a slight change in angle in the placement of the bridge so that the bass string (which of course is thicker) is in tune with the much thinner high string. This change is significant from a tuning such as DAA to DAd.

Randy Adams said:

McSpadden would send along the alternate bridge for a couple of bucks?

Hi Monica,

As I'm sure you know, many folks are using DAd as their "usual" tuning these days, and much TAB is written for that tuning. If you expect to rely on TAB to get you started on tunes, then it would make sense to go with DAd and have the compensation set for that. It is a tuning that is very well suited for Celtic music. If you already have a dulcimer, you could leave that instrument in another tuning that you use - perhaps one that is the most different from DAd, such as DAA.

I'm not sure what you mean by "more complicated tunes." One can play very complex music out of a DAd tuning. Can you elaborate?

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Hi Joe,

"Diatonic" refers to any scale that consists of a combination of whole steps and half steps . (The large spaces and smaller spaces on a dulcimer fretboard, for e.g.) This is as compared to "chromatic," which is all half steps . (The spaces between frets on a guitar or mandolin, for e.g.) The term "diatonic" really isn't about sharps or flats - it's about the size of the interval between successive notes in a scale. A diatonic scale can be major, minor or modal; any scale with a mixture of whole steps and half steps can be called diatonic.

A dulcimer is a diatonic instrument because it is NOT chromatic - it does not consist of half step intervals between each of its frets. It doesn't have all the notes.

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

It's from bass to treble, i.e. lowest string to highest string in pitch. As others have explained, the lower case "d" means it is an octave higher than the upper case "D". Clear as mud, right?

Tim McNamara said:

Thanks, Linda. Just wondering if that D-A-d tuning is left to right? Also: why do you have the third string written as a lower case d?

Thanks again for your help.

Hi Tim,

You are already tuned to the most common tuning used these days, often notated as D-A-d (whether the highest string is doubled or not.) The tuning (and chords) are most often called from the bass (lowest in pitch) string. You will find much music written out for this tuning, and if you have an ear, you can sound out melodies easily, using the open d string as the first note of the scale.

The dulcimer is a wonderful instrument to add to one's repertoire. Happy dulcimering!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Marg,

I keep an old yogurt lid in my shoe box that also has strings, needle-nose pliers, instrument polish, fretboard oil, 0000 steel wool (for polishing frets), etc. My kit. I trim off a tiny piece of plastic and shape it on the spot as needed for any students' instruments with buzzing issues. The shim doesn't have to fit in the string groove - sometimes it goes perpendicular to the string. It will settle in as the string is tightened.

It can be surprising to have to deal with instrument issues, but they do arise. A bit of knowledge can help keep you playing. All things need upkeep!

Hi Marg,

If the twang sound is coming from only one string, a temporary (but long-lasting temporary) fix is to use a tiny sliver of plastic, cut from a food container lid, placed at/in the string groove in the bridge or nut, as needed. I have found this to help quite a bit - until the instrument can go to a well-trained luthier. [That is a very important person to locate!]

Good luck,

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

You're welcome, Michael. I'd love to be able to have a 1 1/2 fret at this stage in my playing, but I would need a smaller fret scale instrument.

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

One thing to consider about whether to add a 1 1/2 fret is where your fingers land when you play the 1-2-4 A chord. If, like me, your index finger lands in the middle of the 2nd fret space (just where the 1 1/2 fret would be), adding the 1 1/2 fret could be problematic. Janita Baker of Blue Lion pointed that out to me.

LInda

cabinhillmusic.com

Hi Derek,

I just noticed your post from last month. Perhaps you have already found an answer to your situation. I'll give my input, just in case you are still looking for an answer.

Hard cases, being heavy, would be quite expensive to ship from the US to the UK. Have you considered a high-quality soft dulcimer case? I use cases from Blue Heron. I have used one of mine for 14 years and have taken it from Florida to Ireland, and to a few US destinations by air, plus taken it around by car. It is still in excellent condition. Being lightweight, shipping would not be such an issue for you. You can check them out here: http://www.blueheroncases.com/

When traveling by air, I pack soft clothing such as socks, underwear, T-shirts, etc. around it for additional padding; then I use it as my carry-on. I would never put it in the cargo hold!! However, I have not had any trouble bringing it onboard; though the shape is longer than the norm, it fits even in small overhead bins just fine.

Hope this helps!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

I'm coming late to this discussion, but I also had noticed no comment, until Brian's, about key. Carrie, I know what you mean about folks being scared to lower a string. It's frustrating, as it isn't that hard - it just takes a bit of practice to get used to it. But, it is not necessary to retune any string to play in a different key. E minor, G major, A major and others are all pretty accessible in DAd tuning. A tune in a minor key can really help add variety to a set. Just be sure to add tunes in a variety of keys to your usual playbook so you can insert them in a set list. Have fun!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

You are welcome, Phil. That's a Blue Lion Dulcimer!

Linda

I have a few free TABs on my website, and more will be added.

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Best to all,

Linda