In 1969 Michael and Howard Rugg formed a company called Capritaurus. Their low cost and resistance to damage make them particularly suited to institutional settings, such as elementary school classrooms. [11] John Bailey's book, Making an Appalachian Dulcimer,[12] is one of several still in print that provide instructions for constructing a dulcimer. The soundbox will typically have from two to four soundholes, two in the lower bout and two in the upper bout. ", "Eleven pounds, eleven ounces in the box. [7] In the early 1960s, Ritchie and her partner George Pickow began distributing dulcimers made by her Kentucky relative Jethro Amburgey, then the woodworking instructor at the Hindman Settlement School. Event Details more Event Details Virtual Fiddling Demystified with Andrea Beaton! Chromatic fretting, however, remains somewhat controversial among dulcimer players, with traditionalists preferring what they feel is the greater authenticity of the diatonic fingerboard.[14]. Increasingly, modern musicians have contributed to the popularity of the solid-body electric dulcimer. Because it is easy to play, many music teachers consider it to be an especially good educational instrument. They also describe playing "autoharp style" where "the dulcimer is held vertically with the headstock over the shoulder." Appalachia (/ Ë æ p É Ë l æ tÊ É,-l eɪ tÊ É,-l eɪ Ê É /) is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. In addition to Amburgey, by then winding down his production, influential builders of mid-1960s included Homer Ledford, Lynn McSpadden, A.W. In return, your patronage will be recognized for a year with a special Patron designation banner that will be displayed prominently under your member picture on your profile page. ", "Thank you, Lisa! email contact@fotmd.com Together we can keep FOTMD up and running! It has spare...". ", "That Seigrist is in unbelievable condition! Cheap imports from Romania, Pakistan and China are slowly making inroads into the American market. I can really visualize the creek water rolling and tumbling over rocks on its way to the river. Michael Fluegge is a well respected luthier. Bass dulcimer: Very rare, these monsters may approach four feet long. [8], At the other end of the neck is the tailblock which contains pins or brads for securing the other (loop) end of the strings. They are designed to support higher pitches, and tuning is typically a fourth higher: G4-D4-G3 or G4 G4-D4-G3. This convention will be followed for the rest of the article. The vast majority of Appalachian dulcimers are single-neck, single player instruments, and these have been made with anywhere from two to a dozen strings, three being the most common number on older instruments. The instrument is generally strung with the melody string (or string pair) on the player's side of the instrument, and the bass string on the outside. Soprano or piccolo dulcimer: These are smaller dulcimers which range in size from about 80% all the way down to about 50% of the regular dulcimer in length. This was one of the factors which led to the building of the dulcimer, which has less dramatic curves. Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer is the most extensive site for Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer players and builders on the internet. [15] That is, the tonic note of the diatonic major scale is on the bass string and the middle and melody strings are at an interval of a perfect fifth above it. The instrument achieved its true renaissance in the 1950s urban folk music revival in the United States through the work of Jean Ritchie, a Kentucky musician who performed with the instrument before New York City audiences. Become a member of Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer (FOTMD) community -it's friendly, and totally FREE! Typical instruments are 70â100 cm (27 1/2â39 1/2 in.) Love it. •, • 6 hours ago The emergence of full-width frets also compelled makers to fret their instruments in equal temperament. Dulcimer players, however, are accustomed to naming their strings from lowest to highest (as would a guitarist or violinist). However, due to limitations of budget, time, and craftsmanship, they are usually made from cardboard. You can play it on your lap if you have a large lap. At one end of the neck is the headstock, which contains the tuners. Organologically, the Appalachian dulcimer is a plucked box-zither; it is considered to be a folk instrument. They eventually began producing their own instruments in New York City. • an hour ago With Andrea Beaton! :)", "Thought I'd give this a little bump. In between the nut and the bridge lies the fingerboard, which is fitted with (typically) 12â16 metal, diatonically-spaced frets; a zero fret may or may not be employed. At that time, it was very difficult to find a high quality mountain dulcimer (at least ⦠There is no one "standard tuning" for the Appalachian dulcimer, but as with the shape of the instrument, certain tuning arrangements have proven more popular than others. ", "Thank you both! Both of you. Join our 'block party'! The general format has a long narrow soundbox, with the "neck" centered in the soundbox and running the length of the instrument. The fret patterns on the older half-width-fret instruments rarely adhered to equal temperament, and intonation varied from builder to builder. In consequence, the original traditional tunings migrated up a whole step, and became: D3-A3-A3; D3-A3-D4; and D3-G3-D4, which are the most common modern tunings for three-course Appalachian dulcimers. The overall shape of the instrument has taken many forms, but the most popular are the hourglass (or figure 8), the ellipse, the teardrop, and a long narrow trapezoid or rectangle. These strings are very similar to those used on banjos and guitars, and before manufacturers provided special "dulcimer sets", banjo strings were frequently used. 2010, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, See, for example, the prominent use of Appalachian dulcimer by European bands such as, Social and economic stratification in Appalachia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Appalachian_dulcimer&oldid=1005649381, Wikipedia articles incorporating the Cite Grove template, Wikipedia articles incorporating the Cite Grove template without a link parameter, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Perhaps one of the most famous players of the Appalachian dulcimer is singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, who first played the instrument on studio recordings in the late 1960s, and most famously on the album Blue (1971), as well as in live concerts. This style of play is now referred to as "noter-drone" play. Between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge the neck is carved down creating a scalloped hollow that passes close to the top of the soundbox. Contemporary professional musicians who view the dulcimer as their primary instrument include Stephen Seifert of Nashville and Irish blues guitarist Rory Gallagher, who used a dulcimer on his later albums. Nina", "Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome, you really make me feel like home. Strings are stretched between the end pins and tuners, passing over a bridge (at the tailblock end), and a nut (at the headstock), which determines the sounding length of the strings. Questions about using the site?- ask them HERE . The organological development of the dulcimer divides into three periods: transitional (1700 to mid-1800s), pre-revival or traditional (mid-1800s to 1940), and revival or contemporary (after 1940). I assume a box like that really needs to be placed on a table to play, right? [5] Folk historian Lucy M. Long said of the instrument's history: Because few historical records of the dulcimer exist, the origins of the instrument were open to speculation until recently when Ralph Lee Smith and L. Alan Smith reconstructed the instrument's history by analyzing older dulcimers. Tune the dulcimer this way: the string...", "So, following on from my post in the 'Introduce Yourself' forum here is the dulcimer I bought earlier this week. Note: Because the dulcimer is most often played on the lap or with the instrument laying on a table, when the instrument is held upright (headstock at the top), the highest pitched string will be on the leftâthis is the reverse of most other string instruments (e.g., guitar, bass, fiddle, etc.) D3-A3-A3, is in a I V V harmonic relationship. Above is what the Patron label looks like on member profile pages, right under your member picture. This facilitates playing the Aeolian mode (the natural minor scale), where the scale begins at the first fret. Courting dulcimers: One unusual variant is the "courting dulcimer." which means that the strings are usually named reverse order from which they appear on the instrument, i.e., right to left. Lauper plays dulcimer on her ninth studio album The Body Acoustic, and the tour to support the record featured her performing songs like "Time After Time" and "She Bop" solo on the mountain dulcimer. Often sold as low-cost kits, cardboard dulcimers offer surprisingly good sound and volume. The instrument is laid across the laps of two facing individuals (the eponymous "courting" pair) and used to play duets. The reason is the frets [excluding any half or plus frets] are laid out in...", "Not sure if the photo is here but...The first one i made had knife shaped sound holes because that was during my knife making days. [8], As with many folk instruments the Appalachian dulcimer has been madeâand continues to be madeâin many shapes, sizes, and variations in construction details; however, certain forms have proven more popular than others, and tended to predominate. Since 1980, more extensive research has traced the instrument's development through several distinct periods, and likely origins in several similar European instruments: the Swedish hummel, the Norwegian langeleik, the German scheitholt, and the French épinette des Vosges. This is in contrast with instruments like the guitar or banjo, which are fretted chromatically. The frets of the Appalachian dulcimer are typically arranged in a diatonic scale. and 0.010 in. •, • 3 days ago The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic. Get rid of the "peg turning tool", you don't need it. To some extent, the shape of the headstock may be dictated by the style of tuners chosen. Some players exploit its similarity in tone to certain Middle Eastern and Asian instruments. Double-neck dulcimers: Somewhat the same as a "courting dulcimer", but with both fretboards (or "necks") facing the same direction. It also became common to add a fret one octave up from the 6+ fret, called the "13+" fret, and by the late 1970s these additional frets had become standard. Your generosity makes a big difference in what we can do to improve FOTMD! We began building instruments in the mid-1970's; when Robert gave Janita a mountain dulcimer she fell in love with the instrument and she began using it on stage with their band. After joining, please read the Site Rules before posting. Arts Ball online auction underway February 19, 2021 Itâs beginning to sound like a broken record (for those who remember records) â another event cancelled because of COVID-19. It is still available, but only for a few more weeks. The Old Town School of Folk Music's full-service music store houses a nationally acclaimed collection of instruments, accessories, and educational materials for musicians at any step of their journey. guitar) style. [19], Though the mountain dulcimer has long been associated with the older generation, it has gradually attracted a number of younger players who have discovered its charms. The frets on early mountain dulcimers were usually simple wire staples spanning only halfway across the fingerboard, meaning only the melody string course could be fretted. The Appalachian dulcimer is now a core instrument in the American old-time music tradition, but styles performed by modern dulcimer enthusiasts run the gamut from traditional folk music through popular and experimental forms. Orlando-based musician Bing Futch performs using a special dual-fretboard mountain dulcimer as well as a custom resonator and is one of only two mountain dulcimer players to have competed in the International Blues Challenge, advancing to the semifinals in the 2015 edition of the competition;[23] during the 2016 edition, Futch made it to the finals and was awarded "Best Guitarist" in the solo-duo category, despite performing solely on the Appalachian mountain dulcimer.[24]. ", "Great tune and great playing. •, "Paul Seigrist Instrument For Sale - $15000", Paul Seigrist Instrument For Sale - $15000, This Tennessee Music Box is headed for Colorado, "This Tennessee Music Box is headed for Colorado". Still other dulcimer players use a fingerstyle technique, fingering chord positions with the fretting hand and rhythmically plucking individual strings with the strumming hand, creating delicate arpeggios. Few true specimens of the mountain dulcimer exist from earlier than about 1880, when J. Edward Thomas of Knott County, Kentucky, began building and selling them. Don't be shy- you've come to exactly the right place to receive or give free help and encouragement in playing music. in diameter, although gauges outside this range may be employed to facilitate special tunings or extended range playing styles. For example, to play a minor mode melody the instrument might be tuned to D3-A3-C4. ", "After speaking with Ralph Lee Smith about this instrument, my Mother won an auction over 20 years ago to add this historical instrument to her collection....", "What a great project! The top of the fingerboard sits about 1.25 cm (1/2 in) above the top of the soundbox. Yes indeed, water is life! In their book In Search of the Wild dulcimer,[17] Robert Force and Al d'Ossché describe their preferred method as "guitar style": The dulcimer hangs from a strap around the neck, and the instrument is strummed like a guitar, although their fretting style is still overhand. A variety of new, "noter-less" playing styles emerged now collectively referred to as "chord-melody" play. But a wide variety of playing styles have long been used. All who love the Appalachian dulcimer are welcome here no matter what your style, skill level, or musical tastes. Well to be more specific, the flesh is definitely past its sell-by date but although I play guitar, double bass, keyboards, autoharps and...", "I remember like 30 years ago, every Daylight Savings Time I would have to run all over the house changing clocks. The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. But for the first half of the 20th century the mountain dulcimer was rare, with a handful of makers supplying players in scattered pockets of Appalachia. Dulcimer festivals take place regularly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, because the Appalachian dulcimer has achieved a following in a number of countries. Modern instruments typically have 3, 4, 5, or 6 strings, arranged in either three or four courses. He too cited the langeleik, scheitholt and épinette des Vosges as ancestor instruments.[6]. B. Founded in 1957, Chicago's Old Town School Music Store houses a nationally acclaimed collection of guitars, banjos, mandolins, and accessories for players of all levels! Dulcimers are also made of cardboard. ", "Love it! ", "Hey Robin and Mark, I really like this tune. By the early 1960s, many dulcimer makers had abandoned staples in favour of manufactured fret wire extending across the entire width of the fingerboard. They were geraniums!!! I never actually thought there was something 'wrong' with the dulcimer... much more likely that it's my lack of knowledge. [9], Both single-player and two-player instruments have been made, as have multi-neck single player units (see Variants). Popularized by performer. •, • 7 hours ago ", "I have a very cheap plastic peg winding tool that i use and after a couple uses it stopped turning easily but with a bit of graphite in the bit that tends to...", "I remember sitting at a light in California's Silicon Valley and wondering what were those bushes of flowering plants. Instead of strumming the strings with a pick, for example, they might be strummed or picked with the fingers, or even beaten with a small stick. It looks very 'old traditional' for sure, especially with the tin overlays. As the modern dulcimer arose in America, and the bulk of them are still made there, American hardwoods such as walnut, oak, cherry, and apple are also still frequently employed by makers. Thus the tunings cited above would more commonly be given as: C3-G3-G3; C3-G3-C4; and C3-F3-C4. Become a special 'Patron Member' simply by making a single donation of $35 or more. He was influenced to use the instrument after hearing recordings of Richard Fariña. Consequently, it is often used in educational settings, and some music classes make their own dulcimers. ", " Derik, you need to start at the third fret to get the scale you are expecting. The instrument became used as something of a parlor instrument, as its modest sound volume is best-suited to small home gatherings. •, • 4 days ago A harder wood, such as mahogany or rosewood, will be used for the back, sides, and neck, and a hardwood such as rosewood, maple, or ebony is used for the fingerboard. I raced through the construction, only to be stymied at the end by the string attachment to the...", "Just saying- I've had a few sets of geared tuners on banjos that I would have given a lot to have had a string winding tool for. The Appalachian dulcimer has many variant names. •, • 8 hours ago Virtually no audio recordings of the instrument exist from earlier than the late 1930s. Age 83 of the Mountain Ash community in Williamsburg, Kentucky passed away Thursday, October 29, 2020 at the family residence. Probably my questions will start soon. In traditional play, fretting is achieved with a "noter"âtypically a short length of dowel or bamboo (see photo at left)âon the melody course, while the middle and bass strings ring as unfretted drones. Your Patron ID will show others your generosity in supporting this special site! ", "Wow, the guitar and dulcimer just complement each other so well! While the most common current tuning is D3-A3-D4, some teachers prefer the more traditional D3-A3-A3 or the so-called "Reverse Ionian" tuning, D3-G3-d4. Other sizes have been experimented with, including contrabass dulcimers. This enabled players to fret all the strings, allowing for chording and an expanded melodic range. Meanwhile, the American folk musician Richard Fariña (1937â1966) was also bringing the Appalachian dulcimer to a much wider audience, and by 1965 the instrument was a familiar presence in folk music circles. •, Liked a forum discussions item created by, • 2 days ago Questions? Have a nice day!! Ever since I...", "My dulcimers have geared tuners and I can honestly say that my multi use string winding tool has served me very well indeed. Jean Ritchie's The Dulcimer Book[16] has an old photograph of Mrs. Leah Smith of Big Laurel, Kentucky, playing the dulcimer with a bow instead of a pick, with the tail of the dulcimer held in the player's lap, and the headstock resting on a table pointing away from her. This tuning places the tonic (diatonic) fret on the melody string. In some traditions, players use a feather quill with the barbs removed to strum the instrument. Join in Groups and Forum discussions that interest you, connect with new music friends. Most often it is simply called a dulcimer (also rendered as "dulcimore", "dulcymore", "delcimer", "delcimore", etc.). Appalachian dulcimers are often made by individual craftsmen and small, family-run businesses located in the American South and particularly in Appalachia. Click the Paypal button below to make a quick site donation: NEW!- Would you like to become a Special Patron of FOTMD? More recently guitar aesthetics and construction ideals have been applied, with a tone wood such as spruce or cedar preferred for the top of the soundbox. Research Excellence Framework 2021 Key researcher As was probably inevitable, this trend eventually led to the availability of fully chromatic dulcimers, with twelve frets per octave, permitting playing in any key without re-tuning. Traditionally, the Appalachian dulcimer was usually tuned (from left to right) to G3-G3-C3, C4-G3- C3, or C4-F3-C3. With the Appalachian dulcimer revival of the 1950s and 1960s players began to favor higher-pitched tunings; this is not uncommon in the history of many stringed instruments, with players often claiming that the higher tunings make their instrument sound "brighter". Here on FOTMD we all learn from each other, as friends. Now, it's just my one alarm clock, the...", "Thanks Ken! ", "Cool, I love it. As well as being the first to mass-produce the instrument, they made design changes to make the instrument easier to produce and to play. What you have is a traditional diatonic fretboard. Always good stuff. The body was made larger, and they installed metal friction or geared tuners, rather than traditional wooden pegs, to make tuning easier and more reliable. "Reverse" tunings are ones in which the key note is on the middle string and the bass string is the fifth of the scale, but in the octave below the middle string. ), for example: mountain dulcimer; Kentucky dulcimer; plucked dulcimer; fretted dulcimer; lap dulcimer; teardrop dulcimer; box dulcimer; etc. At the same moment there rose from the house a rending, crashing sound of woodwork, broken or thrown about, mixed with a quick scream so appalling that Adam, stout of heart as he undoubtedly was, felt his blood turn into ice. I've edited the original link so that it now works, and deleted a couple of posts about the link not working. Saturday, March 20th, 2021 12pm-2pm EST Bring the Philadelphia Folk School to the comfort of your home!Read more Nevertheless I'm...", "Derik, this is not a problem, at least not in the sense that there is anything wrong. The traditional way to play the instrument is to lay it flat on the lap and pluck or strum the strings with the right hand, while fretting with the left. I'd be interested in knowing how heavy. He can be seen playing the instrument during their performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. To play in a different key, or in a different mode, a traditional player would have to retune the instrument. Welcome! Details of 'The Phoenix of Persia Childrenâs Book Project', which is an Iranian music impact case study from City, University of London. With only three or four strings and a simple diatonic fret pattern, the Appalachian dulcimer is generally regarded as one of the easiest string instruments to learn. Appalachian dulcimers are strung with metal wire strings; wound strings may be used for the lower pitched courses. Click on different areas and links to get familiar with where things are. 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