The nice thing about the whistle is that you can spend under $20 for a Generation and it will perform just as well as the $200 whistles.... Robert
Forum Activity for @robert-schuler
@robert-schuler
09/25/16 03:42:16PM
252 posts
@robert-schuler
09/25/16 11:51:47AM
252 posts
I have two high C a Bb and D. All are tweeked. Tweeking makes the whistle sound more even and predictable in the second octave. I have a Tony Dixon polymer low D which is a relatively inexpensive low D whistle that sounds great but takes a pipers grip to play. I don't recommend low whistles for people with small hands.... Robert...
@robert-schuler
08/22/16 08:50:30PM
252 posts
Thoughts on Harmonicas
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I got a four way traffic light down my road. Stopping at red takes two minutes out of my life. Now I use that time playing harp. Most times I don't mind if the light stays red a little longer... Robert.
@robert-schuler
08/09/16 09:01:54AM
252 posts
Help! (dulcimer acquisition disease)
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Like John, I build and sell dulcimers. My advice to you is ... Feed your habit... ... Robert.
@robert-schuler
08/04/16 09:11:30PM
252 posts
The fun thing about diatonic instruments is working with a limited scale and octaves. If you play a whistle you know what I mean. An option in Dad or Ddd to reaching over, is to play from the upper octave and use the lower octave for the reach over notes. One reason I play mostly in Daa is because I get most of those lower notes on the melody string... Robert
@robert-schuler
07/10/16 05:07:44PM
252 posts
Three or Doubled Melody Dulcimer?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I always build with a double melody string. Buyers expect it. Although I never use it in my own playing. I think most players come around to single melody eventually... Robert.
@robert-schuler
06/11/16 04:55:13PM
252 posts
Just intonation and limitations
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Kevin's comment reminds me to add that I'm playing dulcimer with D tuned guitar in noted drone style... Robert.
@robert-schuler
06/11/16 01:28:03PM
252 posts
Just intonation and limitations
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I have no problem playing my ji dulcimers with guitar. They sound absolutely great togerter. The important thing is this... Say your playing in D... Tuned Daa...the guitar must be tuned in open D... That is DADF#AD... And tuned to the dulcimers D&a strings. Unfortunately most guitar players cannot play in open D... Shame shame shame.. Their loss... Thanks Anne !!!..... Robert.
@robert-schuler
04/29/16 05:40:19PM
252 posts
Richard Fariña -- 50th anniversary
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Strange coincidence... Without thinking about the anniversary I spent yesterday and today listening to all their too few albums. I remember 1966 as a big year in pop music. But lacking in creative genius. R&M Farina were truely creative at a time when we needed it most. Which is why the radio never played their music... Robert...
@robert-schuler
04/15/16 11:07:49AM
252 posts
How and if to add a 1 1/2 fret
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Also. To match your fretwire you can exchange a little used fret like the 13.5 for the 1.5. With care you can make a fret slot with a box knife. Just an idea... Robert...
@robert-schuler
04/15/16 09:44:37AM
252 posts
How and if to add a 1 1/2 fret
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Simple way is to CA glue a piece of wire in the location. Find the location by ear or measure it using Stewart Macdonald fret calculator. Doing the job yourself even buying tools will be cheaper than a luthier... Robert.
@robert-schuler
03/15/16 12:57:46PM
252 posts
Possum board search!
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I'll second Cynthia's ironing board. Off course finding an ironing board today is almost as hard as finding a possum board. Playing standing up allows you to swing with the beat.. Robert.
@robert-schuler
03/09/16 06:50:14AM
252 posts
Let's talk about VSL and Scale and smaller hands and other wonderful things...
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Fret spacing and scale length are fixed amounts. Compensation will add a millimeter more or less but has nothing to do with fingering. Once your string gauge and compensation is set you can forget it and get on with the fun. I tell people all the time to take advantage off all your fingers. Over time you get the dexterity to play equally well with every finger. Once you get there scale length doesn't matter much... Robert...
@robert-schuler
03/05/16 04:51:15PM
252 posts
Sad news- Rest in peace our good friend John Phillips
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
A good man indeed... With sadness... Robert
@robert-schuler
02/28/16 06:46:47PM
252 posts
Let's talk about VSL and Scale and smaller hands and other wonderful things...
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
I build dulcimers with scales from 24" up to 30". If you measure the separation from the nut to the third fret of finger stretch in chording the distance on 24" vsl is 6 3/16"... 25 vsl is 6 3/8"... 26 vsl is 6 9/16"... 28 vsl is 7" and 30 vsl is 7 5/8"... I like 26" overall for chording and noter playing. Although 25" is incredibility easy to chord on. For only playing in noter style nothing beats 30" for tone. Robert
@robert-schuler
01/29/16 09:59:14AM
252 posts
@robert-schuler
01/28/16 09:53:14PM
252 posts
Wayfaring Strangers
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Play books has a 60 page free sample. I read most of it this evening. Very through to say the least. If anyone wants to know how all this great music came about this book is an excellent place to start. As for me after reading on a tiny phone screen I think I'll just rest my eyes and play some banjo. Thanks Ken.... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/24/16 05:28:59PM
252 posts
Wayfaring Strangers
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Fiona ought to know. Love her radio program... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/22/16 08:59:25PM
252 posts
Gaspe Reel - Canadian fiddle tune
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
On utube look for Gavin Atkin. He's a button accordion player who plays this tune and many others slow. Very easy to learn from his videos..
I discovered my recorded version has a c part that was not part of the original tune. It was added by some Canadian fiddlers, taken from the tune Money Musk... neat huh... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/21/16 07:16:12PM
252 posts
Gaspe Reel - Canadian fiddle tune
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I made this recording of Gaspe Reel a few years ago in Dadd although I play it today mostly in Daa. I learned mine from listening to fiddle players and is a bit different than the Bill Spence version your thinking of. Although challenging at first its a simple tune and fun to play... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/20/16 12:48:56PM
252 posts
Banjo tuning aAEAE to match cross-tuned fiddle
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I built a 10" A scale banjo just to play with fiddle. As you can see it's the same size as a dulcimer. When I started playing fiddle, I retuned in fifths so fingering would match fiddle. Much like octave mandolin, capo to viola or fiddle.
Playing frailing style banjo doesn't sound as good in fifths as with traditional banjo tuning. The haunting sound isn't there.
In fifths I play banjo with a pick mandolin style making it easier to transpose to dulcimer.
WARNING...Yew piney mountain is a great tune. I spent 4 months last year playing it everyday until I broke the spell. Dwight Diller is serious about putting rhythm before melody. And you can hear it especially in his fiddle version. He just put out a bunch of really great OT recordings.
Go to Slippery Hill fiddle tune web site. There tunes are listed based on tuning and modes... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/19/16 07:49:05AM
252 posts
Let's talk about "Floating Bridges"
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
You can set the bridge at an angle too. Usually angle it toward the nut on the high d and towards the tailpiece on the low D. Once you get it set it should work in any tuning. Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/17/16 09:03:29AM
252 posts
Here I built a bunch of identical dulcimers with a mix of woods. All sounded maybe 90% in common with each other. Type of woods and weight defined the last 10%. Although I've come to my own conclusions about wood choice another person probably would not agree. Butternut, poplar, cherry are my favorites... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/16/16 08:37:44PM
252 posts
Folkcraft Hickory question
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
James, my hickory model is exactly the same as your poplar model except 3/8" deeper body. Defiantly a more mellow tone and notes have a very clear undistorted quality. Less overtones perhaps ? This is the only hickory dulcimer I've made so can not say if all hickory dulcimers will sound this way... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/16/16 12:24:10PM
252 posts
Have you tried an all hickory dulcimer? I think they are one of the most muted dulcimers I've every heard. It is a lovely sound. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Ken, I couldn't agree more. I built a hickory top and back model with a 1.75" deep body. Somewhat muted but a remarkably balanced tone. A great dulcimer to sing along with.
No two dulcimers ever sound alike and you don't know how a dulcimer will sound until its tuned up. Half the fun of building dulcimers is the surprise you get when you first play them... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/10/16 10:00:09AM
252 posts
How to tune wooden pegs
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Marg the good news is that it takes a lot less tension to tune light gauge strings to pitch than heavy strings. The dulcimer in my avatar is 25" and tunes very easy with .010 strings. I use viola pegs on that model. Once the strings got settled in I only have to tune it once every few months!!!. Robert.
@robert-schuler
01/09/16 01:13:27PM
252 posts
How to tune wooden pegs
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Electronic tuners are good to get the root note but after that its always better to tune the dulcimer to itself. Unless someone has invented a tuner that hears the suttle nuances...
Everyone should own at least one dulcimer with wood pegs. Preferably a set that's properly installed... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/09/16 10:52:30AM
252 posts
Warren May Dulcimers, Feedback?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
20" scale is a G dulcimer. Ment to be played with light gauge strings in Gdg tuning. Put a capo on your dulcimer at the third fret, retune down to Dad and listen. It won't sound quite as good. Adding heavier strings makes a small dulcimer grone not drone... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/09/16 10:06:10AM
252 posts
@robert-schuler
01/09/16 09:34:16AM
252 posts
@robert-schuler
01/08/16 11:03:23AM
252 posts
How to tune wooden pegs
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I have a peg reamer but never could get pegs to work well because commercially made pegs were never a perfect match. So I built this simple peg shaft sander out of scrap maple. Now pegs work much better. Look at the two pegs. One is reshaped the other raw... Robert.
@robert-schuler
01/07/16 01:07:43PM
252 posts
How to tune wooden pegs
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Here is a picture of two banjo's I built. One has a $4 set of ebony fiddle pegs. The other $80 geared fiddle pegs. Can you tell the difference. ?.
We have the technology... Robert...
@robert-schuler
01/07/16 08:04:23AM
252 posts
How to tune wooden pegs
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Basically you turn them while gently pressing them in. Even properly installed pegs can be a problem to tune. They work like a charm one day and stick and slip the next. They look great, and their cheap, about $4.00 a set. But most folks convert them to geared pegs at some time. A geared conversion will cost around $100.00. A common sound I hear in the night is the sound of pegs popping loose on my pegged instruments... Robert.
@robert-schuler
01/02/16 11:31:59AM
252 posts
recommendation on a capo for the dulcimer
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Kitchen Girl is a fiddle tune that could be called mixodorian. Since one part is mixolydian and the other is dorian... Mixing modes is like mixing paint. Leave it to the listener to decide... Robert
@robert-schuler
01/02/16 10:17:58AM
252 posts
recommendation on a capo for the dulcimer
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Robin. Misirlou is copyrighted... Except for my little movable nut pictured above, I've managed to get through the last 45 years without a capo... There are ways... Robert....
@robert-schuler
12/29/15 06:36:33PM
252 posts
@robert-schuler
12/29/15 04:31:34PM
252 posts
@robert-schuler
12/28/15 08:04:30AM
252 posts
Jane. Every dulcimer like every person has its own voice. People can change, dulcimers can't.. There is a tyranry of tuning when in a group that says everybody must tune to Dad... But at home alone find the key that sound best. At some point you want to try different tuning / modes.. Daa will definitely sound a bit more warmer. The dulcimer was never intended to be tuned only to one key and one mode. This is what makes this seemingly simple instrument so complex and exciting.. Robert.
@robert-schuler
12/22/15 08:18:59AM
252 posts
I just bought a 27 year old dulcimer and I have some questions
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Your tuners are the low end ukulele friction type. They work well enough on short scale nylon strung ukuleles but not suited for long scale steel string dulcimers. There should be two friction washers against both sides of the peg box. Perhaps they are missing. Did you tighten the screw's enough. There are very good inexpensive tuners you can replace them with. Contact a local music store for leads to a repair shop.... Robert.
@robert-schuler
12/16/15 05:52:55PM
252 posts
Thoughts on Harmonicas
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
The harp I use the most today was one I bought back in 1970 that did not work for me then . its a Hohner 364... key of C. 12 holes three octaves. You can see the versatility of being able to go between three octaves. Too bad its not made in other keys, I could really use a D... Robert...