A Day In The Life Of A Dulcimer
Good Morning, Y'all & Happy Friday!
We're always making instruments. I suspect that many of you know that already. We usually work on a combination of "stock" instruments and "customer" instruments.
Over the course of a typical year, we make between five and six dulcimers a week. Some weeks we may complete eight or ten dulcimers, other weeks, we may complete one or two dulcimers. Or even "none"! But our average is somewhere between five and six instruments per week.
Generally we have a handful of dulcimers in our workshop, in various stages of completion, and another dozen or more instruments on carts just outside the workshop door. The carts outside the shop door are our "Staging Area." Each instrument in the staging area is missing a part, often a top, or a fretboard - something that's customized for each individual customer's order.
Here's a photo of our staging area:
When you place an order for your dulcimer, I make up a worksheet that has all the specifications of your new dulcimer, and then start gathering parts for your instrument. Dad sees the specifications sheet, and makes a fretboard, and a head. I generally make the top, back, and sides. Once we have all the parts ready for an instrument, Cheyenne will take the complete set of parts back to his workbench, and start fitting and assembling the parts, making a beautiful dulcimer.
Our stock instruments (dulcimers destined for our showroom and website inventory) take up about half of our time, and our customer instruments (your orders!) take up the other half of our time. I keep a good selection of parts in our staging area for Cheyenne to make a variety of stock instruments, so there's always something new coming through the workshop.
Here's what Cheyenne is working on this week: a set of three matching MaxDADs!
Overhead view
These dulcimers are identical, spec-wise: black walnut body, Eastern red cedar top, and a purpleheart veneer. They all have our "Classic F" sound holes, and they all have the nice fretboards and backs with the three racing stripes. (The racing stripes allow the player to play faster, of course...)
Side view
Look at the fretboards, specifically the fret pattern. See the groups of 4 - 1 - 4 in how the frets are laid out? What does that tell you about "extra" frets? (Look back to last week's newsletter for a quick tutorial on that important subject!)
Here are the backs:
Back view
Cheyenne will have these MaxDADs fully sanded in a few hours, and I'll probably have them lacquered by the time you get this newsletter (I'm writing this blog on Wednesday afternoon, August 20, 2025. Toya will assemble the newsletter over the next couple of days, and schedule it to be sent out on Friday morning, August 22, 2025.)
After I have these instruments lacquered, they'll go and sit in the back of our concert hall, and wait for me to have time to get them rubbed out, and then strung up. My number one focus is always rubbing out and stringing up customer dulcimers - only when they're all shipped do I find time for stock dulcimers.
I have quite a few stock dulcimers that are waiting for my attention:
Lacquered, ready to be rubbed out and strung up. Check out the resonator dulcimer (center right) - the aluminum cone goes inside that gaping hole in the top!
I pick and choose which instrument to do next. We don't have any LAP-JOs in our showroom/on our website right now, so I'll definitely finish a LAP-JO before I work on another standard dulcimer. We don't have any MaxDADs ready to ship, either, so a MaxDAD is also high on my list. Here's what we have ready to ship, right now. It's a good selection of dulcimers, but I have plenty more instruments I'll be putting up online - once I catch up with customer dulcimers!
It is definitely a team effort, with Dad and me making parts, Cheyenne fitting, assembling, and sanding, and Pam making cases/shipping completed instruments. Some days I pack orders, or Cheyenne does. Dad has done his fair share of fitting/assembling/sanding (me, too!), and Cheyenne is great at lacquering and setting up a finished instrument.
So now that you know a bit more of our process - What Do You Want To Hear About Next?
Thanks for reading, Y'all - have a great weekend, hopefully a weekend filled with some awesome dulcimer music!
Richard Ash - luthier-who-loves-the-process-of-making-mountain-dulcimers-almost-as-much-as-playing-mountain-dulcimers
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: KAREN Z
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Karen: I have been playing dulcimer since 2017. I bought my first dulcimer in 1978 at the Ann Arbor, MI, Art Fair because I loved the sound of it. I couldn't find an instructor or anyone to help me learn to play, so it ended up in my closet. Then, in 2017, I visited a friend who was recovering from surgery. She was very excited to show me the instrument that she was learning to play through a group that met at our senior center. It was a mountain dulcimer. She introduced me to the group and an instructor. Together they helped me get my dulcimer and playing up to snuff. I love it!
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Karen: I have always had my eye on the Folkcraft line of dulcimers. And finally, in 2024, I decided I deserved to have one. Richard graciously let me play the one I am holding in the photo during a class at Dulcimer Doin's in Ohio - and I fell in love with it. I call her Melody Rose. (I think that sounds very Mountainy)
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
Karen: I jam with a group nearby twice a month. We perform at one of the Senior Living Centers monthly. I have also played...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF KAREN'S STORY AND ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE KAREN & YOU!
FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR FROM MORE OF YOU!
No new Folkcraft Player to feature this week, but we are happy to re-feature Karen, and her dulcimer, Melody Rose, today. Bet you two have been making some beautiful music together!
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep The Family Growing?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Send an email to: newsletter@folkcraft.com
2) With the answers to the four questions below
3) Attach a photo of yourself with your Folkcraft dulcimer(s)
We look forward to receiving your submission & featuring you in our newsletter real soon!
1. How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
2. When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
3. Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
4. What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
WE'RE OFFERING A $25 FOLKCRAFT GIFT CARD TO ANYONE WHO ANSWERS THE FOUR EASY QUESTIONS LISTED ABOVE, AND SENDS IN A PHOTO (OF YOU WITH YOUR FOLKCRAFT DULCIMER). IT'S REALLY SO EASY TO DO!
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
In this video, Mandy takes you through an easy song while giving you tips on how to learn to sight read other players and start ear training. Fun city! Just click on the image below to listen & learn.
We have a slew (that's a fancy luthier word for "bunch") of videos for you to watch on our YouTube channel. Click here to see the full list. Be sure to comment on a video, and subscribe to the channel - either action helps us a LOT with YouTube's suggestion algorithms.
BEGINNING LESSONS FOR THE MOUNTAIN DULCIMER
by Judy House
Are you new to playing the mountain dulcimer? Are you a mountain dulcimer teacher looking for a great textbook? Look no further! Here’s all you need for the first 14 lessons in learning to strum, fret, count, and play familiar tunes on your instrument. Set a solid foundation for playing anything you want on your dulcimer in the future! (112 pages)
This book is published by Judy House, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SOME OF THE WELL-KNOWN SONGS INCLUDED:
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star - DAD Tuning - Words by: Jane Taylor
Bile Them Cabbage Down - DAD Tuning
This Old Man - DAD Tuning
Cripple Creek - DAD Tuning
Shortnin’ Bread - DAD Tuning
Liza Jane - DAD Tuning
Old Joe Clark - DAD Tuning
Are You Sleeping, Brother John? - DAD Tuning
Jolly Old St. Nicholas - DAD Tuning
Julie Ann Johnson - DAD Tuning
Down In The Valley - DAD Tuning
Home On The Range - DAD Tuning
Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built For Two) - DAD Tuning
Amazing Grace - DAD Tuning
White Coral Bells - DAD Tuning
Black Mountain Rag - DAD Tuning
Old Rosin The Beau - DAD Tuning
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - DAD Tuning
Row, Row, Row Your Boat - DAD Tuning
Pop! Goes The Weasel - DAD Tuning
Sweet Hour Of Prayer - DAD Tuning
For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow - DAD Tuning
Red River Valley - DAD Tuning
Southwind - DAD Tuning
Soldier’s Joy - DAD Tuning
We Wish You A Merry Christmas - DAD Tuning
Go Tell It On The Mountain - DAD Tuning
Cluck Old Hen - DAD Tuning
Shady Grove - DAD Tuning
John Stinson’s #2 - DAD Tuning
Check Out The Great Five-Star Reviews For This Book
✮✮✮✮✮ Highly Recommend! This book is a wonderful introduction for people who want to learn how to play this amazing instrument. After many years of lessons, I find that this is still a valuable reference book for any dulcimer book library. After you have finished this book, you will have built the foundation that you will need if you want to take the steps towards more advanced playing. (LL - 6/16/25)
✮✮✮✮✮ Super Helpful Book. I'm a beginner taking lessons. Judy's book answers all the questions I have between classes, provides exercises, and even warm encouragement. This book is a must-have for those new to mountain dulcimer. I'm grateful to Judy! (CVD - 5/1/24)