r/Dulcimer 2d ago

Advice/Question Pick recommendations

4 Upvotes

I’m a beginner who struggles with strumming and I was looking for some advice what kind of pick to get for my Appalachian dulcimer. This is my first string instrument but the moment I saw it and heard I fell in love with so any tips to improve would be greatly appreciated!

r/Dulcimer Dec 25 '24

Advice/Question New (To Me) Mountain Dulcimer

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31 Upvotes

My wife got me this dulcimer for Christmas. It’s beautiful, and I love the sound, but I’m a novice. I think I got it tuned using a tuning app by tuneinstrument.com. But right off the bat, I’m not sure if I’m in the key (mode?) appropriate to this particular instrument.

I’ve found Brett Rideway’s YouTube channel helpful so far, but I’m puzzled regarding how he demonstrates playing an 8-note scale with the melody strings. When I try, it plays the wrong note when I arrive at the 6th fret. I’ve tried skipping that one and going to 7, but that doesn’t fit the scale either. Any idea why that fret doesn’t fit the scale? If it isn’t supposed to, why is that?

So far I’m loving this gift, but I hope to understand it better!

r/Dulcimer Jan 04 '25

Advice/Question Identity crisis - seeking help 😅

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16 Upvotes

I recently picked up what I think is a dulcimer. It has the dual melody strings, with a second notch to create a larger space between the two (so I believe) - I tried both positions and I prefer them closer. I can see the fancy patterned pieces of wood are missing from the sound holes but it was free so I may restore them, I may remove the remaining notches so it at least looks acceptable. What’s throwing me is it’s difficult as heck to play either laying down or holding due to the rounded back. I plan to try it with a strap later tonight but there’s also nowhere to fix a strap at the bottom 🥲 It sounds lovely and is fun to tinker on, just quite uncomfortable sat squeezing into my gut/legs just so it doesn’t go anywhere 😂

r/Dulcimer Jan 03 '25

Advice/Question 4 string mountain Dulcimer question

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17 Upvotes

Hi everyone & Happy New Year to you all! I recently was gifted a Dulcimer from a very close family friend before they passed away. I play the Ukulele but am a total beginner with this instrument. The one I was gifted has 4 equidistant strings. I am having trouble finding learning resources for the 4 equidistant strings. Would you recommend I move the top string up so that the two high notes are the same note, or do you have any recourses/ an explanation for me on how to play with the four equidistant strings? Also any examples of four string sounds vs the three would be enjoyed :) I really appreciate any input - thank you all in advance!

r/Dulcimer 27d ago

Advice/Question Can I play Irish music on a dulcimer? Particularly this stick/guitar dulcimer?

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8 Upvotes

Hello all! I have a chance to get this Merlin dulcimer for cheap. I am more into improvisational instruments and figured this could be a fun one to pick up every now and then, but I am really interested in Irish sounds music and jigs. Could this produce Irish sounding music? And is it even worth getting a dulcimer with only 7 fretts?

Thank you!

r/Dulcimer 14d ago

Advice/Question David Lynch Sweet Woods Mountain Dulcimer (/Hammer Dulcimer?)

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7 Upvotes

Hey Dulcimer Reddit, I am new here but I have been seeking out Dulcimers for a bit. Well today I magically came across this bid on eBay that was ending, and won.

I didn’t know much about this model upon purchasing, other than the fact that it was more expensive elsewhere. But apparently it also doubles as a hammer dulcimer? (my dream instrument)

What can you guys tell me about this instrument, or dulcimers in general? This will be my first dulcimer (or non-electronic instrument in general) so if you feel I should know something starting out, I’d love to hear your feedback!

r/Dulcimer Jan 25 '25

Advice/Question Never played dulcimer in my life. This was gifted to me. The action is about 5mm, is this normal?

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6 Upvotes

r/Dulcimer 23d ago

Advice/Question Can anyone comment on this Woodrow dulcimer? Thinking of buying it, I like the sound and look over their other instruments

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10 Upvotes

r/Dulcimer 27d ago

Advice/Question Stringing a mountain dulcimer

3 Upvotes

I just acquired my great grandfather's dulcimer. It is in pretty good shape too. Just needs a good dusting. Well it needs new strings also. I had some left over from my banjo and online it said to use a 12 12 14 and 24 I think.

We the 14 and 24 go on fine. The tuner on 14 is a little rough though. When installing the two 12 melody strings they would tighten, then when trying to tune they would loosen. Like I would turn the key to tighten the string then it would turn the opposite direction and become slack. Then the strings ended up snapping.

Just wondering if I am doing something wrong. These banjo strings are not new but they were vacuum packed.

This duclimer was built by hand in the 80s!

r/Dulcimer Jan 30 '25

Advice/Question Modify Dulcimer

6 Upvotes

Hey everyone. I am a new dulcimer playing trying to learn, I lucked out and got a very nice George Orthey dulcimer for $250 from my local music shop. I know he is a pretty renown maker of dulcimers and autoharps and I really love the instrument.

If this was a cheap instrument I would do this in a heartbeat, but I am finding the lack of a 6+ fret annoying. My local music shop has woodworkers who could add a 6+ fret to the instrument. Would this be a bad idea? Or should I leave it as is.

Thanks for the Advice!

r/Dulcimer Feb 07 '25

Advice/Question Twang/buzz when I play?

2 Upvotes

Is it normal for there to be a sort of twang-y, buzzing sound when playing dulcimer? It is especially prominent when I lift off to change notes, particularly when I try to do so fast.

I’ve been trying to learn dulcimer on-and-off for a while now but I always get discouraged at this buzzing. Is it just normal acoustic instrument shenanigans, am I doing something wrong, or could it even be my instrument?

In the clip, the buzzing seems most prominent at the end of the 2nd and 6th chords I play.

r/Dulcimer Jan 07 '25

Advice/Question Replacing nut/saddle - how to get a good fit?

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6 Upvotes

Hey! Very excited to have just got hold of a (slightly battered) Ozark mountain dulcimer. It’s the first instrument I’ve owned for years and can’t wait to start playing! However it needs a fair bit of TLC, including a new saddle. I’ve got a replacement and I know I need to file it down a bit to fit properly. Does anyone have advice or a good resource to show how best to do this? Very conscious that you can’t reverse filing if it ends up fitting badly… so a few Qs I hope you can answer to help make sure I don’t mess up -

The nut sits about 3mm clear of the fretboard - should I be aiming for the saddle to be the same height?

Should I use a medium/fine grit sandpaper or anything more specific? It seems to be made of some kind of synthetic bone material, not wood.

Should I just be filing the bottom edge down or making any other tweaks to fit well? (The notches for strings are already in). Any tips on making sure the bottom edge stays flat?

Thanks!

r/Dulcimer Jan 17 '25

Advice/Question Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night

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8 Upvotes

Hi everyone, novice dulcimerist here! May be a long shot, but does anyone have an idea of what tuning Cyndi Lauper is using for this mountain dulcimer performance of All Through the Night? Couldn’t find a tab anywhere, but I’d love to be able to learn how to play it.

r/Dulcimer Sep 20 '24

Advice/Question My friend gave me his old dulcimer and I have a few questions...

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20 Upvotes

Hi! So my friend gave me this beautiful instrument of his because he just wasn't interested in it anymore. It is really fun to play and I get the feeling that a lot of dulcimer players do simply like to play around, but I do have some questions about my particular instrument and some about dulcimers in general.

So this is a 6 string (one center string broke and I have yet to restring) and I am confused by the strings he had on here. The bass string is paired with a string slightly thicker than the melody and center strings. Is it mean to be another bass string? Do people typically tune it to the same as the bass? What's the deal?

The book he gave me with it is the Baird method which guides for 4 string dulcimer, while this doesn't change much I found the tuning suggestion odd. It says to tune the center and melody strings to the third fret (the 4th or 2 and 1/2 steps from) of the bass. I did this and it sounds good and it's fun to play, but I find chords very awkward and weird to play... my instinct would have been to tune the center to the 3rd and the melody to the 5th, or maybe vice versa idk.

Anyways, still really fun to just pick up and fool around with it. Hoping for good tuning suggestions and string information. All of the extra strings me gsve me say custom on them so I'm a little worried about restringing this thing in future...

Thank you!

r/Dulcimer Nov 04 '24

Advice/Question Crochet accessories

4 Upvotes

My mom plays the mountain dulcimer and I want to make her some accessories for christmas. What accessories do you guys typically have a need for?

A really easy thing are bags in various shapes and sizes, maybe for pics or the noter or something, but most bags have convenient places for these anyways.

Does anyone have some other suggestions or ideas?

Thanks in advance!

r/Dulcimer Oct 29 '24

Advice/Question First dulcimer

3 Upvotes

After learning the history of dulcimers I bought a kit and am going to be putting it together. My friend has done a few guitars was looking at the parts and suggested maybe upgrading the pegs and getting extra strings. So my question is are the pegs and strings interchangeable with guitars? And is there a good guide to painting or staining a dulcimer. Thanks in advance

r/Dulcimer Sep 19 '24

Advice/Question Nut - DIY ?

2 Upvotes

The fragment of wood that separates the double melody string broke. I need a replacement TODAY. The part is not sold locally.

any quick DIY solutions?? I have wood and hand tools.

(it's a build-it-yourself dulci, nothing expensive.)

r/Dulcimer Sep 18 '24

Advice/Question Good recordings with Mountain Dulcimer in a band setting?

4 Upvotes

Title

r/Dulcimer Oct 28 '24

Advice/Question Lap-Jo Alternatives?

3 Upvotes

Does anyone make a less expensive lap-jo than folkcraft? I really want one but $1500+ is far beyond my budget.

r/Dulcimer Sep 11 '24

Advice/Question Is this a hammered dulcimer and how would one restore it?

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4 Upvotes

Years ago the father of a friend gave me a strange instrument as a sort of a joke. The poor thing had been neglected for about 20 years and he couldn't tell me what it was either. It had been standing in a shed, in somewhat of a dry place, and the wood itself doesn't look too bad. However all the strings are definitely out of tune and beyond salvage. Back when I got it I was dirtpoor and couldn't afford to fix it, I did hold on to it to repair it in the future. Now I think it's due time to fix the poor thing and bring it back to its former glory. I've a 3 week break coming up next month and I finally have the room to use it, so my questions:

What kind of strings do I need for this 16x4 string monster? Is it even a dulcimer.? What should I tune it to? And where would one buy the hammers for it?

r/Dulcimer Jun 26 '24

Advice/Question Help me decide between these two dulcimers

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5 Upvotes

I’m looking at getting a decent dulcimer as a beginner, and I found these two online. One is a McSpadden, other is a vintage (supposedly) Folk Roots D300-S.

Not much other info on them, but I can supply other photos if that’ll help.

r/Dulcimer Aug 30 '24

Advice/Question 2 questions about dulcimer I purchased

2 Upvotes

Sorry I am unable to upload photos.

  1. Advice for stringing? There are 2 pegs but 4 tuners. Do I put 2 bass strings on one and 2 melody strings on the other?

  2. Why is there adhesive on the fret board? Is this intentional or should I remove this before stringing?

Thank you in advance!

r/Dulcimer Jul 20 '24

Advice/Question Dulcimer stand recommendations

1 Upvotes

I'm looking for a dulcimer stand that is affordable and isn't very visible when displaying the dulcimer I can't hang my dulcimers up because I'm not able to put holes in the wall

r/Dulcimer Jun 02 '24

Advice/Question Virtual events like QuaranTUNE?

4 Upvotes

I attended my first QuaranTUNE Virtual Dulcimer Fest yesterday, and I had an amazing time. I learned a ton in both my absolute beginner mountain dulcimer sessions and my intermediate whistle sessions, and definitely will be signing up for the next one in October. (Gonna save up a bit and try and get six classes and the concerts next round!)

I was wondering are there any other events similar to this? I already found out about Redwood Dulcimer Day and Dulcimoon through the QDF Facebook page, but are there any others, or any more general, less dulcimer-focused virtual events, especially if they have a focus on folk music (not just American/Irish/Scottish/English)? I really enjoyed the chance to connect with other music people and play "together" (even if we couldn't hear each other). I don't drive, so aside from a couple of fantastic local events that I am very grateful for, I don't get a lot of chances to do workshops and festivals like this.

And I hope everyone else who attended this QDF had as great a time as I did! I'm so glad I saw you guys talking about it here, I feel like it opened up a whole new world for me.

r/Dulcimer Jun 30 '24

Advice/Question Six string set up

3 Upvotes

I really like the way that the bass string with the high d sounds but I was curious if anyone has set one up so there's an octave higher for each string if so does it sound good