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Location:

Location: Morgantown WV
Country: USA

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images: 3

events: 1

My wife, Norma plays dulcimers. I make musical instruments as a creative activity, and play ukulele and U-Bass.

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@wally-venable • 2 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "dulcimer kit":

"Your picture of the "bridge" end doesn't show enough to make good guesses about it. Two photos, top and side, could help. A straight on side shot of the head..."

@wally-venable • 2 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "dulcimer kit":

"Hill Country Dulcimers, successor to The Dulcimer Factory (TDF), used a variation of that style head and a zero fret in 2002. Possibly TDF also made a..."

@wally-venable • 5 days ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Optimum spacing for the two melody strings":

"You don't need to buy a replacement blank made of bone, or other super-hard material. Those can be a good choice, but they are hard to shape. You can use..."

@wally-venable • one week ago • comments: 1
Posted a new Comment on 2025 Gardner Winter Music Festival -(WV):

"Applications for performance slots are now open. There is a registration form accessible via..."

@wally-venable • one week ago • comments: 484
Posted a new Comment on @ken-longfield:

"Virtually any lap dulcimer can be strung with the common package sets for either DAA or DAD. Typically plain Steel .012, .012, .014, Nickel Wound .022. I'm..."

@wally-venable • one week ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Optimum spacing for the two melody strings":

"Ken Longfield said "Back in 1974 I would guess that McSpadden recommended using a wood glue like Original Titebond or Elmer's Wood Glue." I would agree as..."

@wally-venable • 3 weeks ago • comments: 5
Posted a new Comment on Lucy M. Long's brief history of the mountain dulcimer:

"The history page is a good summary. If you work upwards from that page, you get to the Sweet Music Index..."

@wally-venable • one month ago • comments: 1

Is attending an Event:
2025 Gardner Winter Music Festival -(WV)

@wally-venable • one month ago • comments: 1

Created a new Event:
2025 Gardner Winter Music Festival -(WV)

@wally-venable • one month ago • comments: 6
Posted a new Comment on Gardner Winter Music Festival:

"2025 Gardner Winter Music Festival Traditional Appalachian acoustic music February 21st and 22nd South Middle School in Morgantown, West Virginia..."

@wally-venable • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "String guages for slide dulcimer":

"The page is STRING TENSION GUIDE FOR ACOUSTIC GUITAR It includes equations and the weights and cross-sections for various GHS strings plus a number of..."

@wally-venable • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "String guages for slide dulcimer":

"Sloppy URL citation. This gives access to a relevant document http://www.ghsrep.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/2/5/22258814/2020-ghs-acoustic-guitar-tension.pdf "

@wally-venable • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "String guages for slide dulcimer":

"Bing Futch has a good 9-year old video - Dulcimerica 273 - "Sliding On The Resonator" - Mountain Dulcimer His instrument is very much a "non-standard"..."

@wally-venable • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "String guages for slide dulcimer":

"Good luck on your explorations. Please give us some reports since there is little information on slide playing available. Most slide work seems to have been..."

@wally-venable • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Differences between two dulcimers":

"I am currently the custodian of two "cardboard dulcimers" which have been used in classes and as loaners for about 20 years. They still play well, although..."

@wally-venable • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Differences between two dulcimers":

"Have you actually played both of them? If you are buying a musical instrument, the sound and the way it fits your playing should be the deciding factor."

@wally-venable • 2 months ago • comments: 0
Posted a response to "Barbry Ellen Tab Experiment":

"You might consider looking at Jean's The Dulcimer Book. She has a TAB for Barb'ry Ellen on page 27, along with about 12 verses of lyrics. The record you are..."

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Liquid Electrical Tape

Posted: Saturday November 25 2023, 9:30 PM
By: @John C. Knopf

Looking for a Small Dulcimer

Posted: Wednesday October 26 2022, 11:06 AM
By: @Tom McShane

Comments

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01/15/22 11:49:34AM @strumelia:

Wally, thank you SO much for your very thoughtful donation to FOTMD! It is deeply appreciated. sun -Strumelia

11/25/19 02:27:14PM @wally-venable:

The photo shows my first dulcimer project and my third.

The design of the first was based on a cardboard body instrument Norma borrowed for her first dulcimer class.

The third is an octave dulcimer tuned DAA, but an octave above the usual set of notes. It is short enough to fit in an airline carry-on bag.

Both have fingerboards made from 1x2 lumber, with most of the body constructed from 1/8" and 3/32" birch plywood.

02/19/19 08:26:15PM @richard-streib:

Welcome Wallyvenable to Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer. Glad you joined. Sounds like a great event you will be attending. Best wishes on your musical journey.

02/18/19 02:08:20PM @wally-venable:

I'll be at the Gardner Winter Music Fest this Saturday. http://www.gwmf.org

I'm playing with the DAA Strummers and OLLI Orchestra.

The GWMF has a lot of room for mountain dulcimer player or wanna be's. We enjoyed it last year. You can't beat the registration fee - FREE if you bring an instrument.

02/18/19 05:43:39AM @benjamin-w-barr-jr:

Hi Wally, and welcome to the wonderful world of the Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer. It's a good place to come, spend some time, learn about the dulcimer, and to meet some good people.

Ben

02/17/19 08:54:20PM @jim-fawcett:

Hey Wally, welcome aboard. Glad ya found us.

02/17/19 07:37:53PM @ken-longfield:

Welcome to FOTMD, Wally Venable. It is good to have you aboard. Look for West Virginia players under Groups and join that group.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."