Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

Joellen is a treasure. I will enjoy listening to her. Thank you for continuing these podcasts.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Congratulations, Rob! A well deserved honor.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I didn't check this, but I seem to recall on the Stew-Mac calculator it automatically calculates the position for the 6 1/2 fret but designates it the 7th fret making the 8th fret the 7th fret. So, using their terminology, the 8th (7th) fret would be the octave.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

From what I can tel from the photos, the first piece of metal after the peg head is a Zero fret. The next is one and so on. Measure the distance from the middle of the zero fret to the middle of the seventh fret, double it and you have the place where the bridge (in this case another fret) should be. It is difficult to see, but do the strings pass along the slots in the tail piece? It was also constructed before the 6 1/2 fret became popular, so I would place it nearer to 1963 than, say, 1975.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I use a variety of picks, but my "go to" pick is a Herdim three point pick. After that I use a V-pick but not the Bing ultra-lite. I use a different shape and it come is red as well as clear. Over the years I've used picks cut from plastic milk containers, margarine containers, Cool Whip tops, and credit cards. I've also used thin strips of wood and leather as well as turkey and goose feathers. I choose the pick according to the type and style of music I am playing. There really is no right or wrong pick. It is just what works best for you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I would be interested in hearing your music. So, yes. You need to follow the rules of which include the music must be in the public domain and you must perform it. Click on you name (it's in blue in upper right hand corner next to the search symbol. Just click on you name, not the drop down menu. You will find a button that says "Audio." Click on it and then on the + sign to add audio files. You can do that from either Soundcloud or a file on your computer. Choose the file and the click upload. Then click on "create." That should do it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Nice new pegs John. The old ones look like planetary banjo tuners.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

John and Jim, I'm glad to hear that both of these fixes worked.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Enjoy your "new" to you dulcimer. Keep us up-to-date on your progress and don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sounds like you've got yourself a sticky situation there John. (Pun intended) The big problem with that glue is it expands as it cures so you have a very tight fit. You might try knocking it out from the side, but you risk damaging the slot if the glue bond does not break. I think I would try to either rout or saw it out and make a new nut. I know that is not easy to do and would require making some type of jig to do the job. Of course, if this is just going to be a wall hanger, you don't have to worry about any of this.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I was there a little over a week ago. Unfortunately a snow storm kept the shop closed and I couldn't hang around. I needed to get back to Pennsylvania. Next year (2019) in May we are having a noter drone festival in Berea. Some of the group did get to meet Warren.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

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Richard, at this point we are planning to meet in Berea on March 8. I am staying at Boone Tavern and so are David and Karen Bennet. KenH is staying at an AirBnB. I don't know what the any of the others are doing. There are many places to stay around Berea. We have exchange mobile phone numbers and will make contact with each other via phone when we arrive. At this point we are thinking of going to Hindman on Friday and maybe U of K's JJ Niles center on Saturday. The rest of the time we will talk and play.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I sent out an email tonight to a few folks who expressed interest in still getting together. If you want to be included, please let me know.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I could do Friday and Saturday. I have a reservation at the Quality Inn for Sunday night, but don't mind moving.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I have not received the official notice yet. While I am not out as much as you are Ken, I do have a non-refundable motel reservation in Berea for Sunday night. Is there a way a few of us who might be interested can meet, visit, and play together? It doesn't have to be in Hindman (not lodging there).

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Great John. I can't wait to see you again.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Richard, I find that "traditional" means different things to different people depending upon their knowledge of mountain dulcimer history. Many of the older instruction books used a 1 - 5 - 5 tuning and quite a few used CGG. In the area around Galax, VA a unison tuning was quite common and one could say traditional for that area. As Ralph Lee Smith says, when he asked an older Appalachian man how the dulcimer was tuned, the man replied you tune the thick string to a "good" note and the others in relation to it. I think that meant that the bass was tuned to a key to fit the player's voice and the drone and melody were tuned a fifth above that, but I didn't talk with the man. I think we should be less concerned about trying to emulate a "traditional" style and just play the way we enjoy playing.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song,"

I also made a contribution.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

For those going to Hindman next month, you might be interest to know that there was severe flooding around the settlement school. Here is a link  Hindman Flooding  with a couple of photos and a link to donate to recovery efforts if you so choose.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I never had a FOTMD button, but I think we will find each other. Let's try to remember to organize and take a group photo at least.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Richard, I had a small stand for two years at Hindman. I am not vending this year. I sold books and accessories rather than instruments. I think those who did bring instruments the first year found that there was not much of an interest in buying dulcimers by participants. Maybe this year will be different.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It looks like a homemade instrument to me.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Nice work, Ken.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

You're welcome, Robin. I remember you being there. This will be my fourth. Haven't missed one yet.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks. Lisa. I found a few minutes to sit, so I worked on it. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I created an event notice for the Homecoming. Once Lisa approves it, it will appear in the Events listings. I supplied the date, place, and link to the Homecoming website. Let me know if you think there should be more there.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's a good question John. My guess is that none of the organizers are members here. If I had time I would do it, but I'm really busy tomorrow and heading out of town for a few days and will have spotty internet connections. Maybe I'll do it when I get home, if someone doesn't do it before me.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Richard, as fas I know, the workshop offerings have not been posted yet. I know a couple of people made the suggestion to Lorinda Jones that she offer such a workshop. There will be a few noter drone players there.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yes, that is a bobbin. A spool of thread would have been put on that and then then run through the loom.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Your welcome, Don. I figured it was easier to post the link rather than try to summarize all the information here.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Here is a link to a discussion of this very topic at Everything Dulcimer: 

http://everythingdulcimer.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=33782&p=377292&hilit=Herdim#p377292

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Nice.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sorry to hear that the senior housing fell through. I'll miss you. I took care of my mother and father at different times. Cherish your time with them.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I just received information on registration for the 2018 Hindman Dulcimer Homecoming. Here is the link: https://www.hindmansettlement.org/programs/cultural-heritage-programs/dulcimer-homecoming/ This is the first year that the homecoming will be under the direction of the Hindman Settlement School rather than the Appalachian Artisan Center. I am registered and look forward to seeing other mountain dulcimer enthusiasts there.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Nice, I'm partial to walnut instruments. Enjoy.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I would put some super glue in the crack and use a clamp to see if the crack closes up and glues together. Actually I'd try the clamp first and if the wood moved with the clamp then I would remove the clamp, put glue in the crack, and then clamp it. A little accelerator sprayed on the crack after it is glued and clamp will harden it up quickly.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Removing a fret is not as easy as it sounds. You need to be very careful. Frets have tangs which hold them in place and when the frets are pulled the tangs have a tendency to pull some of the wood out of the fret board. Once the fret is removed, you need to fill that empty space. There are special tools designed to pull frets with minimal damage. Various types of wood used for fret boards react differently to having frets pulled. If the builder of your dulcimer glued the frets in, you have another whole set of problems. I am not suggesting it can't be done, but it is not a job for the faint-of-heart.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Caleb, I do not use a heating blanket for bending the uke sides. It was just too much for me to invest in for this project. I steam the sides and then place them in the bender. I use a heat gun to heat the sides as I bend them. I make a sandwich of galvanized steel, wet paper towel, side, wet paper towel, and galvanized steel. The first bend went well. I'll see how the rest do; especially when I change from mahogany to rosewood.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Work on my 00 size guitar is stalled as my friend who is helping me with it is renovating his home. The renovation is taking most of his time, so we do not find time to get together. So I looked through my shop and discovered that I have lots of scraps waiting to be used on other projects. When my son was here from California in June, I asked him if he would be interested in a soprano size ukulele for himself and one for his son. He replied in the affirmative, so I decided to go ahead with the project. I am now making six ukuleles; three from mahogany and spruce and three from rosewood, spruce, and mahogany. I spent the last few weeks thickness sanding wood, making forms, and other prep work. Today I bent the first set of mahogany sides. I have one neck roughed out. Here are a couple of photos of the bending.

 IMG_1899.jpg - 169KB

George, that is a very nice find. If you can close the crack by squeezing the sides, a little CA glue in the crack and clamp across the body should do the trick.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."