That certainly is difficult to read Richard. Looks like it might have been made from a kit.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Jim, John does indeed produce some fine books. I am glad that you found them and like them. For those interested in learning more, here is a link to John's website: http://www.johnsackenheim.com/John_Sackenheim/Home.html
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Hi Susie. I don't have a battery powered amp, but I do have a Loudbox Mini. I'm not sure how much sound you are looking for from the amp. A 1 watt, 3 watt, or 5 watt battery powered amp will not give you the punch of the Mini. Having said that, I have heard good things from the Roland Mobile Cube. Here is a link describing it: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MobileCube One of my friends has one and uses it primarily in small groups of around 20 people in a room about the size of a typical school room.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Happy New Year friends.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I use the Folkcraft sets with the flat wound bass strings. Certainly cuts out the noise when you slide on the string. If you don't play chords, squeakiness strings are not needed, IMO, as plain steel strings do not squeak.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Maria, you shouldn't have any problem with the Lemon Oil. I disagree with Bob on the use of Pledge or any polish that contains silicone. It can cause problems with trying to match the finish if a repair is needed. Just speaking from experience. Stick with polishes made for instruments.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I think Randy Adams tunes his dulcimers to banjo tunings minus the fifth string, but, then, Randy is a banjo player. He does some amazing things with a four equidistant string dulcimer in banjo tunings playing noter/drone style.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Brian, those are wonderful instruments and I'm sure a pleasure to play. Have fun with them, which I am sure you will.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Here is a photo of the Ritchie family dulcimer that Ron Pen shared with folks at the Homecoming.
Nice summary of your activities Rob, but you forgot to mention how great your roommate was. LOL! I did something a little different this year and decided to have a table in the vendors area to show my J.E. Thomas dulcimer and have some dulcimers and accessories for sale. Although I did not sell any dulcimers, I did sell some books, picks, noters, a tuner, etc. I had a wonderful time, enjoying workshops and the seminars, playing dulcimer and guitar, renewing old acquaintances, and making new friends. I'll post some photos of the museum.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Welcome back, Kimberly. Our group meets monthly for two hours. If you have beginners I suggest devoting some time (1/2 hour as you mention is good) for someone to work with the beginners, perhaps separately from the main group. This lessons the intimidation factor. Then, have the beginners join the main group and let them jump in as they feel comfortable. I find that some time for chit-chat before or after the meeting is good for folks to get to know one another. You might even take a ten minute break as the beginners join the main group.
Whenever you perform, aklways get the name and a phone number for anyone who says they have one of those funny looking instruments hanging on the wall. Call them invite them to the next meeting. We have recruited new members this way.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
My first dulcimer was made from plans obtained from Joseph Wallo in Washington, D.C. It is an hourglass and has a cantilevered fretboard. I made it out rosewood for the back and sides, spruce for the top, and the peg head and fret board are walnut. The fret board is three piece. I laminated a piece of hickory down the middle of the fret board figuring that with string pressure pulling against the cantilever, a three piece board would be less likely to warp. Forty-one years later the fret board is still flat. I do not play it as much as I did, but still use it for noter/drone playing. It has four strings and no 6.5 fret. It is one of my louder dulcimers.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Cool! Thanks Lisa.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Very nice Susie. You and your husband did a fine job on the conversion. Thanks for sharing your handiwork.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Yeah, it does kind of favor a Galax, although all the Galax I've seen do not have a strum hollow. That's an interesting peg head design. I guess the builder was making sure he/she had enough space for six pegs.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
What a great deal Dusty. Must be a really nice music shop to give you such a good offer. Enjoy.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Nice find. I would certainly look at it and admire it if any of your folks bought it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Good job Patty. I'm sure your neighbor will enjoy the bow.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Best wishes. I hope it goes well.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
On my Folkcraft I have 0.011s on my melody strings. I have no problem playing in Cgg with this configuration. The Folkcraft has a 27 inch VSL.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Glad to hear you are making progress on getting your dulcimer repaired.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings sweet song."
The simple answer is yes. I don't know how close you are to Chicago, but if you are near there, you could call the Old Town School of Folk Music and ask who in your area could do a repair for you.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
That's the next phase of litigation. We will see what the judge decides.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Really good job there, Patty. Looks professional. I'm sure your neighbor will enjoy using it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
The strings gauges used on the Sweet Woods instruments are for playing in DAdd. There is no reason they can't be used for C - G - C, but will be at lower tension when tuned to pitch. The "ideal" string for the "C" bass would be a 0.023. Wound strings have an inner core that is a smaller gauge. If you tried to tune up a 0.023 to the C bellow middle C you might break it. In the usual DAd tuning the Ds are an octave apart. The high d being a note above middle C and the low D below middle C. Do you want to go an octave below that?
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Well, how about that! Happy Birthday everyone!!
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Joe, I suggest that you stop by the Old Town School of Folk Music. If they don't have books you want, they can probably tell you where to find them in the Chicago area. Here is the website: https://www.oldtownschool.org . Hope this helps.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Oh, no problem, Sheryl. We don't learn if we don't ask questions. DPN is Dulcimer Players News, a quarterly journal for both mountain and hammered dulcimer players. http://www.dpnews.com
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Sheryl, I will eventually share the information I collected including the pictures. Right now I am working with this information and with Ralph Lee Smith on an article for DPN.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thank you, Sheryl. Recently I was able to examine the instruments (PA German zithers) in the collection of the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum that are pictured in L. Allen Smith's "A Catalogue of Pre-Revival Appalachian Dulcimers." Unfortunately none of zithers are on public display. While doing so I found that there is another one in the collection that Allen did not examine. Perhaps it was not there when he visited. I also examined that one taking photos, measuring, and tracing it. These are very interesting instruments.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thanks for sharing that information. I haven't liked the slot head screws either. I will have to try this on one of my dulcimers that still has the Champions on it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Sheryl, you're welcome. Here ia a fake book that I use occasionally, but like. http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Fake-Book-Instruments/dp/0793529395 I use it occasionally because I don't own it, but my son does. So when I visit him in California I dig it out and play some tunes. If you like fiddle tunes, the Fiddlers' Fake Book is excellent. Many of those songs need to be transposed. Many fiddle tunes are in "A" but quite a few are in "D." Again, I don't own, but my son does. You can get fake books for many genres of music.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
A fake book usually contains the words to a song and a simple melody accompaniment. Chords may be inserted above the music staff as names "E," "A," "D," etc. It is up to you to figure out any chordal or harmony accompaniment. In other words, it gives you the bones to the song and it is up to you to put flesh on them. I like fake books in the key of C because they easily can be played in DAA.
Ken
"The dulcmer sings a sweet song."
