Make Music Today - Clean House Tomorrow
Good Morning, Y'all!
I hope you've had a good week so far, and that you'll be able to find time today and this weekend to play your dulcimers! Just remember - cleaning the living room is NOT as important as making music. If you sweep the floor today, it'll need it again tomorrow, so my suggestion is to make music today, then sweep tomorrow. Skipping a day of cleaning won't hurt anything, and spending the extra time with your dulcimer will make your life better.
Three Upcoming Dulcimer Events I'm going to mention this week:
1) John and Karen Keane are teaching and performing at Folkcraft (Woodburn, Indiana) a week from tomorrow: September 14, 2024. They're leading our last Second Saturday Clinic of 2024. Be there, or you'll miss out on the fun!
2) Black Mountain Music Fest. It's coming up in just a month - October 12 thru October 17, 2024. This is a great festival, with a fine lineup of artists, organized by the king of festival organizers - Chuck Moseley. Held in Black Mountain, North Carolina, at a gorgeous facility in the Blue Ridge Mountains, this is one of the best festivals you'll find anywhere.
3) The Castaway Music Cruise. It runs from February 22 thru March 1, 2025. There are classes for mountain dulcimer, ukulele, steel drum, and pennywhistle. Lots of fun, fine dining, great instructors (Bing Futch, Sharrie George, Richard Ash (that's me!), and Guy George), and exotic locations that change by the day. Ever jammed on a Caribbean beach with your festival friends? You'll have that opportunity at this festival. Full details are here. (And sign up sooner, rather than later. As I'm writing this, the number of open registrations has dropped down to 11 - after that it's "Sold out - See you next year!")
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I had a customer write and ask me this week why we set so many dulcimers up with three strings instead of four strings. I gave him my thoughts - shared below - but I'm sure some of you will have additional thoughts on the subject.
3-String Setup Versus 4-String Setup
Almost all of our customers request three strings. So that's how we build all of our instruments, by default. (We're happy to set up/ship 4-string instruments, so it comes down to player preference.)
With a 3-string setup, the player gets a more consistent tone across the strings, which is better for most finger-pickers, flat-pickers, and chord-melody style players; it is easier to push down one melody string versus pushing down (to the fret) a double melody string; the tiny bit of intonation drift with double melody strings (tuned to the same note) can be painfully obvious.
With a 3-string setup, we use a slightly heavier melody string to give a good balance between melody, middle, and bass strings.
With a 4-string setup (double melody, with single middle and bass strings) the only real benefit is if the player is playing noter-drone style, with an actual noter. The double melody string gives a more twangy, old-time sound, which has its own appeal in certain styles of music.
Of my personal instruments, four are set up single-melody, and only one (used mostly for traditional music performances) has a double melody string.
I like (personally) 3 and 4 string setups, both, for different purposes. Of the famous dulcimer players, I don't know of many that play with a double melody string. Bing Futch, Steve Seifert, Dave Haas, Aaron O'Rourke, Erin Mae, Carol Walker - all of them have single melody strings. I think the "famous" players definitely have an influence on what us normal players use!
Even Don Pedi (one of the most traditional noter-drone style dulcimer players) uses a single melody string these days.
Every once in a while, we'll have a customer request four strings. So we offer a 4-string head for those (rare) players. Most of my personal instruments are set up with three strings, but have four tuners on the head, in case I ever decide to set up an instrument with four strings.
We'll always accommodate a player with strings, frets, and woods, but for our "ready to ship" instruments on Folkcraft.com, you'll find mostly instruments set up with a dedicated 3-string nut and bridge.
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So, what would Y'all add to this, to fill in the gaps for a new player, or a more experienced player who was wondering "why"? Thanks for helping! I'll add my answers (above) with your suggestions to this page.
Thanks for reading, Y'all - Have a great weekend!
Richard Ash, luthier-who-stays-awake-at-night-thinking-about-how-many-strings-a-dulcimer-should-have
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE HAGGERTY
George Haggerty is an accomplished dulcimer teacher, and player. His enthusiasm for this versatile instrument is apparent in his workshops which build a solid foundation for even the most inexperienced player.
As a storyteller, educator, & humorist, his historical knowledge of the dulcimer is evident in his 18th & 19th century presentations. His love of old-time music and his creative nature bring out feeling and expression in his music whether it is in his workshops, recordings, or performances.
George has taught students from first grade to senior citizens and...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF GEORGE'S STORY
HELLO OUT THERE - FUTURE FEATURED FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS
WE HOPE TO HEAR FROM MORE OF YOU SOON!
Sad to say, we don't have a new Folkcraft Player to add to our online community today. But we are glad to be able to re-feature George Haggerty - "Hi, George!"
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep This Thing Going?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Reply to this newsletter email
2) With answers to the four questions below
3) Attach a photo of yourself with your Folkcraft dulcimer(s)
We look forward to hearing from you and 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?
FOR JUST A LITTLE WHILE LONGER 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)
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
This week Mandy has another fun and easy DAA song for beginners. She will walk you through it step-by-step and even puts the fret numbers up on the screen for you. Have fun with this - no tab needed. Just click on the image below to watch.
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.
MOUNTAIN DULCIMER ARRANGEMENTS FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC
by Neal Hellman
Mountain dulcimer arrangements, straight from the mind of the one and only Neal Hellman to your fingertips. (If only it was that easy!)
This book has 35 amazing arrangements - far more than the usual "melody line only" versions of these tunes you usually find. They're full and rich, but not terribly complicated. Neal has taken the time to notate all of the hammer-ons, pull-offs, pitch bends, and the other nuances that make for a great arrangement.
This book is published by Folkcraft Instruments, under the Fingers Of Steel imprint, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SOME OF THE SONGS INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK:
Arkansas Traveler • Bravery, Courage And Fearless Men • Concertina Reel • Death Of Queen Jane (The) • Farewell To The Creeks • Gary Owen • Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier • Kingdom Come • Loch Lavan Castle • Merrily Kiss The Quaker's Wife • Pretty Saro • Rain And Snow • Sailor's Alphabet (The) • Tripping Up The Stairs • Voi Ch'amate Lo Criatore • Wayfaring Stranger