Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

Most folks today play in either DAAA or DAdd. Both work fine with American folk music. The advantage of using DAAA when beginning dulcimer is that the musical scale begins at the 3rd fret. In DAdd the scale starts on the open fret which means you need to play some of the melody on the middle string. Mountain dulcimers are usually strung with a melody string (often doubled), a middle string, and a bass string. It makes me think that the your bass string is not in the right place. From what you have told us so far you might be leaning toward chord/melody style playing which is more people play in DAdd also known as 1 - 5- 8 tuning or mixolydian mode. DAA is 1 -5-5 tuning or ionian mode. Old Joe Clark is a mixolydian tune which need the 6 1/2 fret to sound good. During the Christmas season I am playing many carols in DAA. When I play Silent Night, I go as high as the 13th fret. Today there seem to be more teaching resources available for DAd, but you can find some DAA books as well. Go to  Folkcraft  and click on the Books and Videos tab. You will find lots of resources there.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Follow Steve's advice. A problem in the late Fall and winter is a lower humidity which causes the scroll walls (sides) to shrink a little. This causes the peg to slip. Tightening the screw in the peg button should take care of it. Should you choose to replace the friction pegs with geared tuners, that can be done. Depending upon the type of tuners you choose you may need to enlarge the holes for the tuners.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

KenH already told you what I would tell you. Have fun putting it together. The kit makes a very nice dulcimer. Take your time. Don't hurry your work. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Biblical scholars tell us that "dulcimer" is a mis-translation. The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible contains this list: "horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum." There is no evidence that the "translators" of the King James Version of the Bible used any ancient manuscripts as a source. Their task was to put the Bible into an understandable English rendition of the scriptures. The NRSV, the NKJV, NIV and other "newer" translations use older and more reliable source manuscripts. There is no archaeological evidence for a mountain dulcimer-like instrument in the time of Daniel (400-100 B.C.E.). There are some depictions of hammered dulcimer type instruments during that time period. I realize that this is a brief and simplistic statement of a complex issue. It would take more time than I have at the moment to go in to the nuances of biblical translation, reliability of manuscripts, and biblical archaeology to do justice to this discussion. My point is that we do a gross injustice to lead people to think that people in the middle East in 400-100 B.C.E. knew of or even played a dulcimer-like instrument.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

A basic rule of thumb is "if you are comfortable, your instrument will be comfortable." I find that my mountain dulcimers are not as sensitive to humidity as my guitars and banjos. I keep the latter in their cases to help maintain humidity. I also use humidifiers in the cases. Only once have I found the need to humidify my mountain dulcimers which was during a particularly cold winter here in Pennsylvania. I notices the fret ends stick out from the fret board. I stuck a wet sponge in soap dish in which I drilled a few holes in dulcimer's case. That solved the problem. What Ken said about the strings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I found this  listed  Capritaurus dulcimer for sale at Mandolin Cafe. I like the work that Howard Rugg does in building dulcimers, but I wonder if this is a realistic price.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thinking a little more about this, I have been known call them a "herd." A friend of mine, an autoharp player, would walk out on stage with about ten or so harps to give a concert. I believe he called them an "embarrassment" of autoharps. We could probably appropriate that for dulcimers as well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, Dan, I've never really thought about this. I usually just say I have "a lot" of dulcimers or sometimes a "bunch." All I know is that I keep enlarging the "herd" despite trying to thin it from time-to-time.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

...

Dan does a very good job of making things from wood. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The site looks good. It is easy to navigate. Thanks for keeping it simple and elegant.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sorry. I've never heard of him, but his dulcimers look very nice. Enjoy playing them.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Lorraine and Ken, you have made some very nice instruments. I'm sure yours are nice as well Irene. I just can't see them at the moment. It is good that you play them for people so that they can get an idea of how music was made a long time ago. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Dulcinia, my main noter/drone instrument is one I built based on the C.N. Prichard dulcimer. It is three strings, wood pegs, and a 28" VSL. I use a plain 0.020 and two 0.014s for the middle and melody.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Take KenH's advice. Just make sure you purchase the appropriate end (either ball or loop) string depending on how they attache to the dulcimer. I couldn't see that in your photo. I'd measure the VSL and check the calculator for the tunings I want to use. If you tune DAA and DAd (switching between the two) you might want a thicker middle string. On my dulcimer with a 27" VSL I use a 0.011 melody, a 0.013 middle, and a phosphor bronze wound 0.024 bass. I use a different set on my strictly noter/drone dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

You have received good advice. Put new strings on it of the right gauge, tighten the tuners that slip, make sure your electronic tuner is calibrated to A=440 and tune as Skip said, A and D below middle C.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks, Lisa. I was able to download the file after you changed the setting. I had to delete the "dms" at the end and add the "." before the mp3 to get it to play in "iTunes". 

David, you did a good job in restoring the Keith Young dulcimer. It sounds great. Thanks for sharing your work with us.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

When I try that Lisa, I get a message that says "mp3 files are restricted to streaming only." Is that just a Mac problem? I tried a drag and drop and got this message from https://fotmd.com/forum/download/forum_file/32795/Baby-O%20Audio%20recording%202018-11-02.mp3 Error: offsite media downloads are blocked

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Glad to hear that the new strings are working out for you Clare. Have fun playing.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, we kind of got off track here. I have to agree with Richard that $225 would be a more realistic price.

Ken

The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Great find, Richard. Enjoy your second hand dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Using a dulcimer made of laminate material (plywood) is not against the tradition. I have seen and handled many older dulcimers may of plywood.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I do not know for sure, but I was told that he played a dulcimer made from a cherry laminate and liked it. Thus, when he designed his own model, he specified the cherry laminate. I am not sure where I read this. Since my files are not very organized, it may take me some time to find the original information.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Dusty, McSpadden stopped making dulcimers with laminate back and sides when the supplier stopped production of walnut and cherry plywood. I do not remember the year. It also was when the Schnauffer model was discontinued as David specified the cherry laminate for the back and sides of the model named after him.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's a nice looking Jeffreys. At this point in my life I'm only collecting photographs of instruments. I like the dulcimers that Jeffreys made.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Was it perhaps this one?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

 Appalachian Dulcimer Music.jpg - 8KB

I agree with Stephen that it would be good to see a list of all dulcimer festivals in a given year. I thing, however, that it is an impossible task. We depend on volunteers to post notices of these events. Some get posted and reported to sites like FOTMD or the old ED. Some are not promoted outside of a specific region. One might be able to construct a list for given year doing some kind of internet search, but that probably will not get all of them. It also would require an awful lot of work. We can keep hoping.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It sounds like the tension on the bass string is greater than the tension on the other three strings. Once you remove all four string you should be able to push it back in place with your fingers. If the nut is very loose, you can use a drop of white glue to hold it in place, but don't use too much. You should be able to remove the nut if you need to make adjustments like lowering the action. When you restring the dulcimer, start with the middle strings first and bring them up to proper pitch. That should hold the nut in place while you add the melody and bass strings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I dug through my file on Keith Young, but found nothing about the finish he used on his instruments. My suspicion is lacquer, but I am not 100% certain. Here is a link to a  Wood Magazine  article about how to identify finishes. I hope this helps you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Plain steel 0.020 string should be available in a local music store. As Kusani said, "opinions vary." I use squeakless wound strings for chord/melody playing. I like the plain steel on my noter/drone dulcimers. Your dulcimer looks like a Tom Yocky instrument. If it is I would think Tom set it up to take a 0.020 - 0.024 bass string. If it is set for the 0.024, the slot may cause a 0.020 gauge string to vibrate in the slot causing a buzz. This can be corrected by any luthier or even yourself depending upon how handy and confident you are. I hope the new set of strings will work well for you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Given that VSL I would try .010s on the melody strings, .014 on the middle, and a .020 for the bass. You could go up just a little if these are still floppy. If you can't find them locally as single strings, PM me and I can send you a set as I described.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Diane, the size of the strings you use is determined by the vibrating string length (VSL) of your dulcimer. That is the distance from inside the nut to the place where the strings contact the bridge. If we knew that length, we could make better suggestions. Just looking at the dulcimer in you avatar I would guess you should have the .012s on the melody strings, the .014 in the middle, and what Dusty suggested for the bass; .022 or .024 wound string.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Don, the fix will depend on what type of finish Keith used on his dulcimers. I will look and see if I have any information on this and get back to you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I think of Oliver often. My wife and enjoyed visiting with him and his wife Sharon. He was a man of many interests. I liked talking about hat making with him. He had a very nice collection of hat making tools and moulds. He had other musical interests as well. We shared a fondness for banjos. His turtles were interesting to see and hear him talk about them. Yes, I miss Oliver.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Here is a photo of the cantilevered fret board on the first dulcimer I built. I only made two like this.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

 IMG_2533.jpg - 172KB

The first dulcimer I built (back in 1974) has a cantilevered fretboard. I used plans made by Joseph Wallo who worked at Weaver's Violin Shop in Washington, D.C. I made the fretboard from three pieces of wood and after 44 years of constant tension the on the strings (mostly in DAA tuning) there is no curling of the fretboard. Although this is not the largest dulcimer I own, it is the loudest. The top vibrates as well as the back but not as much as the back. I thought I had some photos I could easily find, but I don't. I'll try to take a few and post them for you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, no one else showed up, so I played solo. I did a few tunes on mountain dulcimer and then a few on banjo. No videos.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch and playing a tune or two. If any friends stop by they are welcome to play as well. I left the invitation opened ended so anyone can show up between 1 and 4 p.m. After that we are heading to a baseball game. We will see what happens. Have a good day everyone.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I wonder how I missed this thread 4 years ago? I do remember the first tune I played on the dulcimer: Go Tell Aunt Rhody. That was 44 years ago.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Before I moved to Mac, I used a program from SouceForge called Audacity. It is a free download. I found it easy to use. If you do not have an audio interface for you computer you can get around using two microphones by using the overdub feature in Audacity. I do not think it gives as good a quality as recording with two microphones, but it is certainly a lot less expensive. Audacity is a free download and can be found here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/ After moving to OS from Windows, I now use Garageband and find that they are somewhat similar in how they operated.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sorry I missed that you mentioned the 28" VSL. KenH's suggestion for strings is good. A 6.5 fret can be added if you don't have one and really want one.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."