KWL

Here is a link to another discussion at is similar to this one. I don't know what parts you can find around you, but the capo below works well and is easy to make. https://jcdulcimer.ecwid.com/Working-Class-Capo-p51492762 Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Charles, I think you made the right decisions. Yes, removing one melody string will affect the volume. "Brighton Camp" is a nice tune and fun to play. I would have enjoyed it the organist in my church broke out with tune after worship. Enjoy your new dulcimer. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

On Facebook today, 01 February 2023, Ashley Ernst announced that DPN will cease publication in 2024. She did not give a volume or issue number, but I suspect the last issue will be the first one that comes out in 2024. Again, that is just speculation on my part. Having been a columnist and contributor to DPN over the years, I will miss the magazine. I understand why Ashley made this difficult decision. Many print publications are ending that aspect of life and shifting to electronic (online) editions. There was no mention of this as a possibility for DPN. In the early days of DPN it seemed the "newsletter" worked to create a community of dulcimer enthusiasts. It helped people share ideas, arrange meetings (festivals), and find places to buy instruments. It also kept us posted on what we were all doing. While these things continued over the life of the magazine, over the last 10 or 15 years the emphasis seemed to shift to teaching techniques or songs. In a sense it became a quarterly lesson for mountain or hammered dulcimer. The connection of getting to know "dulcimer people" seemed to have been lost. We knew contributors were good players and provided excellent lessons without learning what brought them to play the dulcimer, desire to teach, etc. I know that much of that community building happens at festivals, but with so many festivals going virtual what we are experiencing is group video lessons and little real community (but that is a whole other discussion). I offer my thanks to Ashley, Dan, Maddie, and Phil for their hard work and dedication to DPN and the dulcimer community it created. Without them who knows where we would all be. So to those five folks and all who contributed to the magazine over the years, "So long, and thanks for the all the fish." Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Using the Strother's string size calculator F = 0.017, C = 0.023, and f = 0.008. If the "C" is supposed to be middle C the designation in the calculator would be "c" and then the string gauge would be 0.011. I am assuming that you are tuning the strings two steps higher than DAdd. Here is a link to the calculator: http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html I'm thinking an acceptable string set would be 0.017 (F), ).011 (C), and probably a (0.008 or 0.009) for f. You can buy individual strings (loop end) from www:juststrings.com Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The House of Musical Traditions is in Takoma Park, Maryland not far the D.C. border north of the city. I think there is a Metro stop nearby which makes it easily accessible from anywhere in the Metro D.C. area. You can check their website or call before going to find out what dulcimers they have in stock. Looks like currently they have five for sale (four used, one new). At least you could try a few to understand differences in sound and playability. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

And Bobby is in the southwestern corner of Virginia. I don't know of any current builders with a store in Virginia or any music stores that sell them. There are few shops you walk in to but they are in Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Some places like Elderly Instruments in Michigan, the House of Musical Traditions in Maryland, and McCabe's Guitar Shop in California usually have a few dulcimers for sale. There are probably others, but I'm just sharing the ones I've visited. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Off hand I don't have any knowledge of this builder. Do have any idea where where the builder lived? It might help us so some research. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The two largest makers of mountain dulcimers in the US are Folkcraft and McSpadden. That said, Folkcraft has two or three people actually involved in the construction of an instrument and McSpadden has a little more (maybe four or five). Blue Lion dulcimers in California and Bear Meadows in New York are a couple of the higher end dulcimer builders currently. Some single person shops are Ron Gibson, Ben Seymour (Kudzu Patch), Bill Berg (Mountain Made), New Traditions dulcimers, June Apple, and others. I am not sure if there are any builders currently working in Texas. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Here is a link to the album Dulcimer Heritage. https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/FLG00087-LP.pdf If you click on the Download Liner Noters LP and scroll through It includes all the music on the album. Baker's March is on side B track 8 and the music for it is on page 36. You can buy the whole album on CD for $16.99 or $9.99 for a download of the album. You can also purchase individual tracks by download. I think it is wonderful that the Smithsonian Institution continues to offer the entire catalog of the Folkways Records. Did I mention that the download is free? Well, it is, but you might consider at least purchasing the track to keep this vital resource alive. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The 2023 International Appalachian Dulcimer Day is March 25th. I thought I'd let you know now so you can begin your planning. Have fun with your music and the day. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

And here an the instructions for the Music Makers kit for a scissor stand: https://www.harpkit.com/mm5/pdf/Instructions/scisstandkit.pdf Hope these help. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

This isn't plan per se, but it does give dimensions and I think you can figure out how to make a stand from it. http://www.oocities.org/whamdiddle/cat12.html Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hi, Sandy. You've placed this in the Classified For Sale section of the forums, so you may not get many replies here. You might send a message to the administrator and ask to have this move to Playing Mountain Dulcimers. Click on "Staff" at the top of the page, You will see Admin with a small box (message) to click on to send a message to the administrator. Having suggested this I'll follow with I've never used a wireless microphone setup on my dulcimer. The two that I have that have built in pickups I plug directly in to an amp. Playing dulcimer in a jam is a real challenge. Good luck to you.

Dave, somehow I missed this post from almost three years ago. Thanks for sharing it. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Noterman is correct. Avoid the Western Maple. It is too soft. A simple test of the wood is to push a small brad into the wood surface. The more resistance offered as you push the brad agains the wood, the harder the wood is. If you can't get Sugar Maple, use the Eastern Maple. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song."