Forum Activity for @robert-schuler
Good Wood Gone Bad :(
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Sam. I often see purple to pink and even dark red but 99% is bland tan. I guess it depends on the minerals in the soil the tree grew in. The color intensity fades as the wood dries. It seems like a thin piece would bend easily into an hourglass shape without heat or soaking,because planks are very springy. The only dulcimer related use I have for my poplar so far is in making shipping boxes with it. I use solid poplar for the sides and luan plywood for top and back... Bob
Good Wood Gone Bad :(
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Every year I get about 200 boards of poplar from the local sawmill 1x6"x6ft long. I cut it up for making grave blankets. I always save a bunch of the nicer boards to dry and use for building bluebird houses. I never found much use for poplar for anything lasting outdoors. The wood rots in a heartbeat. It does make nice movable shelving in my plant delivery truck but that's it. If I ever get a way to resaw it into thin stock I would love to make dulcimers out of it. Although the grain is a bit dull to look at. I hear poplar is used by food bowl turners because poplar imparts no allergic reactions.... Oh well.... Bob
Bill, The Dixon is a quiet whistle at least on low D, E & F#, pushing for volume breaks into the octave. With most whistles that's a good thing, but not here. I use mine just to play alone, so volume doesn't matter. C&F has some really great whistlers. They are to whistles what FOTMD. is to the dulcimer... Best of luck... Bob
Playing with Guitars
Playing and jamming difficulties...HELP ME!
As long as they are playing in D. And you are tuned DAD.You can follow along by only freting a single note for each chord. So when they play the A chord you only fret the A note and strum the remaining strings open. You can't go wrong that way... Later on get the guitar player to retune to open D.. or DADF#AD and let him play along with you doing the lead...Bob.
My 40 year old box of harmonicas
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Leslie, Do you have any Scotch tape? preferably the gift wrap type. After reading about your mom I applied scotch tape to a nickel harmonica cover and the tape in no way hindered my ability to play the instrument. My lips never touched the metal and the tape is invisible. I think its a workable idea. Yes there are chrome harmonicas as an option but if you still have any nickel harmonicas I would go with the tape... Bob.
My 40 year old box of harmonicas
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Back in the late 1960's I got my first introduction to playing music as a blues harmonica player. For myself it was an easy style of music to master but as I became better at playing guitar I put the harmonicas away in a shoebox never to be played again. In the last year I have spent much of my time learning old time Irish and British tunes on the whistle and this was a good time to pullout my old harmonica box and try what I learned on the tin whistle on harmonica. I was surprised by how many harmonicas I had and in so many keys. Its like opening up a time capsule. Everyone should own at least one harmonica. They fit in the smallest pocket and you can make music everywhere... Bob.
updated by @robert-schuler: 02/25/19 11:59:57PM
What's your favorite mournful, spooky, or lonesome song to play?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Did anyone mention Omie Wise. Another might be Old True Lovers by Edden Hammond. Or The Carpenters Wife... Actually anything played on the banjo in sawmill tuning... Bob
updated by @robert-schuler: 07/04/15 01:45:05PM
What's your favorite mournful, spooky, or lonesome song to play?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Tam Lin and Allison Gross... Bob.
What's your favorite mournful, spooky, or lonesome song to play?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
John I like your version on dulcimer. I recently learned the song on low whistle and I am presently working out a minor key version for dulcimer... Bob.
John Henry said:
Sorry Bob, should have mentioned that I posted it under another name commonly given to this tune, "Velentia Harbour" (posted oct 12 th, 2010)
John
What's your favorite mournful, spooky, or lonesome song to play?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
A slow air called...Amhran Na Leabhair. Don't ask me to pronounce it but the alternate name is, Song of the Books and or Valencia Harbor. Its a song about an 18th century professor who is sent to a new school. He loads all his worldly possessions on a ship including his beloved books while he travels by land. The ship sinks and all his books are lost. He morns the loss of his books. Its a popular song on the whistle and is sung in a style the name of which I forget. That is sung almost in one continious way without breaks or pauses a very mornful sound.. Bob.
Show us your sound holes!
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Here are some of my psaltery sound holes. The diamond pattern I got off a psaltery web site long ago sorry I don;t remember who's. I enjoy making this pattern with a 3/8" wood file. The hummingbird came about after I inlaid a hummer marquaty on a cedar top... Bob.
I add markers at the 3,7,10 position. And I place a marker at the 6fret on 6.5 instruments. I find markers look nice some can be quite artyfarty but having too many becomes a distraction. If you play a traditional diatonic dulcimer you develop a mental image of the fretboard and don't need markers.... To each his own... Bob.
A W Jeffreys Jr.
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Last week whilst sleeping I was woken by a strange sound coming from the corner of my bedroom. It was the single walnut dowel string post on my old Jeffrey's popping out. Lasted 42 years. Installed a new dowel and I'm good to go for another 42... Bob.
A W Jeffreys Jr.
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
I looked inside my 1972 model it says JR. coincidentally I just started building a replica of my Jefferies. Here's the lumber pile that in a month will become another dulcimer.. Bob
A W Jeffreys Jr.
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
I learned to compensate for the intonation problem. Without thinking about it I just bend the strings where needed. I don't know or care much about its resale value. But the aged spruce top is priceless to me... Bob.
A W Jeffreys Jr.
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Richard. I have a letter from Mr Jeffreys from 12/72 that said that his 4 string dulcimers at $70 were all walnut and his 3 string dulcimers $65 were all cherry. He said that he was out of cherry lunber at the time so only 4 string walnut models were avaliable. He said in his letter that he builds reproductions of ancient musical instruments as a hobby. and I quote.... "The dulcimer I make on order, partly because I believe such a beautiful and useful instrument should be better known".... He enclosed a photo of his dulcimer and requested I mail it back so he could pass it on... Them were the days... Bob.
A W Jeffreys Jr.
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Here are some pics of my AW Jeffrey dulcimer I bought back in 1972. Included is the supplied carry bag and a very useful instruction manual written by Mr Jeffery's... Bob.
A W Jeffreys Jr.
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
I have number 1865. It was my first dulcimer. I bought it back in 1972. I still play it and its still in mint condition. I would never think of selling it. What a wonderful tone it has. The top is spruce, sides and back are walnut plywood. Fretboard is 3/4" high and easily played with noter. I still have the original noter that came with the instrument, a skimpy 1/4" walnut dowel stick. It came with a really nice pick made out of something resembling a thin strip of electronic circuit board material that made Galax style tunes sound real good. 27" scale and rosewood pegs, intonation is a bit off for finger style but I learned to compensate for that. Bob.