Making Waves With Your Dulcimer
Good Morning, Y'all, and Happy Friday!
Sound Holes Question - No. 1
I get this question all the time: "Do the different holes (in the top of a dulcimer) change the sound of the instrument?" The short answer is "no." There you go, you can close your email now, and go back to playing your dulcimers. But if you want to know more, here goes: Sound holes serve two major purposes: they look pretty, and they let air in and out of your instrument. The "pretty" part is obvious - there's a lot of potential for personalization, and for fun design. Here are some of our sound hole choices. But the physics of air moving in and out of your instruments? Why would you want that? When you hear an instrument, or a voice, or a tree falling in the woods, what's happening is that your ear is picking up pressure waves in the air. Anything between about twenty waves per second, and twenty thousand waves per second, and a human ear can sense those pressure waves, and our brains interpret the pressure waves as sound.
FUN FACT: A whale can hear from seven vibrations per second up to about 120,000 vibrations per second. A bat can hear up to 200,000 vibrations per second. But we're designing dulcimers for humans, not bats.
For a dulcimer to generate pressure waves (which we hear as sound) something has to move, on the dulcimer. Move back, and move forth. The best part of a dulcimer for vibrating back and forth, and creating pressure waves, is the top of your instrument. That's why we often use a softer wood - like spruce or cedar - for a top. It can vibrate more freely than a really dense wood, like ebony or hickory.
The sound holes on a dulcimer? When the top is vibrating, creating pressure waves, it can vibrate better if the air inside your instrument isn't being compressed and expanded. With holes in the top, air can get inside your instrument when the top is moving away from the body, and air can get out of your instrument when your dulcimer's top is moving towards the back of your dulcimer.
Pictured above is a dulcimer top (just the upper bout) that I put sound holes in this morning. It's Sitka spruce, which vibrates REALLY well, creating powerful pressure waves. Tons of tiny holes. The holes minimize the pressure changes inside your instrument, and allow your top to vibrate more freely.
There you go. Physics 101. Waves.
Sound Holes Question - No. 2
Next question I get a lot: "Is it better to have one or two holes, or a bunch of holes, in my new dulcimer?"
My answer is "It doesn't matter." The big factor is the total size of the holes. If my dulcimer had eight holes, each 1/2" by 1/2," or one hole, measuring 1" by 2," the total hole size would be the same. I think it makes sense to spread out the holes, so all the air isn't moving in and out of one hole, but it's a pretty subtle difference. Most dulcimers have holes on both sides, and at both the upper and lower bouts. There's tradition (looks!) for this approach, and it works from a physics standpoint, too.
So this dulcimer's sound holes:
work the same as these instrument's sound holes:
or as this instrument's sound holes:
The holes allow the air in and out, which allows the top to vibrate more freely, which allows your ears to pick up the pressure waves created by the top's motion.
Here's a demonstration of air moving out of a dulcimer when the top vibrates. This is a very scientific, high-tech video, involving Aly's cell phone camera, a hammer, and a Kleenex brand facial tissue. {Click on the image below to view the video and be sure to turn your volume down before playing the video.)
In the video, you can see how a dulcimer top's vibration moves air in and out of the body, through the sound hole. The facial tissue allows you to see the air moving out of a sound hole as the top is induced to vibrate. I used a small hammer, tapping on the frets, but the strings vibrating do the same thing, just at a smaller amplitude. I wanted to exaggerate the effect of the air moving in and out, so I used painter's tape to block three of the four sound holes. The dulcimer was not harmed during the filming of this video. I did have a representative of the ASPCD (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Dulcimers) on hand as this film was created, so there would be no question in your mind that the dulcimer was not harmed. Now you know.
Thanks for reading, Y'all - have a great weekend. And say "Hi" to your dulcimer's sound holes for me!
Richard Ash - luthier-who-does-everything-for-your-dulcimer-from-sound-holes-to-strings
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
This week we'll talk about going beyond our 7th fret to play our songs. Mandy takes you through ways to start using that second octave. For beginners who are hesitant, these ideas may help you journey to the beyond. If you know any song already, now try it in the next octave. Have fun! Click on the image below to listen and learn.
We have a slew (that's a fancy luther 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.
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: GAIL GARIN
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Gail: I have been playing the mountain dulcimer since 1979, when I bought an instrument at a Renaissance Fair for the outrageous price of $65 (those were the days!) I have had a number of dulcimers made by other luthiers over the years, but I have to say that my Folkcraft dulcimers, obtained within the last 10 years, are my favorites, both for sound and ease of playing.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Gail: My walnut Folkcraft was purchased from Dave Haas at the Dutchland Dulcimer Festival (in PA) by my spouse. It is a 27" VSL and she soon discovered that it was too large for her short fingers, and she gave it up for a 23" VSL. Lucky me! It became mine! Then, in 2022 I had a custom dulcimer made to specifications best for fingerpicking, which I do more than strumming, particularly to back up my singing.
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
Gail: I play and sing with the dulcimer, and do my own arranging. I play at church and have done programs for Senior Centers. I live in a retirement community and regularly play with residents in the Assisted Living and Medical wings. And I love to play all by myself. As a teen I used to...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF GAIL'S INTERVIEW AND READ ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE GAIL & YOU
FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!
While we don't have a new player (so sad) to welcome to our online dulcimer community today, we are still happy to re-feature dual-dulcimer player, Gail Garin. Hope you're still busy spreading musical joy all around, Gail. There's still plenty of room for more of you, folks! Maybe we could feature you and your Folkcraft dulcimer(s) next week?
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! WE JUST LOVE HEARING FROM Y'ALL!
Your newsletter has recently joined a new old-time jam circle. It's led by a lively lady named Laura, on her clawhammer banjo. There are (of course!) a couple of guitar players, as well as a hammered dulcimer player, and one guy who plays an octave mandolin - which is super cool! So I thought it might be serve me well to get a couple of songbooks for playing with a group of mixed musicians. Maybe you all could make good use of these two volumes as well? (Just click on either cover to find out more.)
FIDDLE WHAMDIDDLE
by Vi Wickam & Steve Eulberg
With the help of the extraordinarily talented Vi Wickam, Steve Eulberg's given us a book of superb arrangements. The book has arrangements for mountain dulcimer and hammered dulcimer (by Steve) as well as arrangements for fiddle (by Vi). Three arrangements (one for each instrument) of a bunch of songs that you really should know.
The arrangements are compatible with each other, so if you have a trio, these songs are perfect for you. But, each arrangement also stands alone, so if you're a solo act, that's great, too!
Some of the songs included: Barlow Knife, Blacktail Weasel And The Ground Squirrel Clan, Boil'Em Cabbage Down, Fisher's Hornpipe, Higgedy Jig, Golden Slippers, Liberty, Miss McLeod's Reel, Peekaboo Waltz, Ragtime Annie, St. Anne's Reel, Sandy Boys, Spider Bit The Baby, Versuvienne, Spotted Pony
Not available in book form.
SONG BY SONG - Volume 1
by Aubrey Atwater
Discover the delightful world of old-timey string music with Aubrey Atwater's "Song By Song, Vol. I"! This book gives you a BUNCH old-time favorites for mountain dulcimer, banjo, whistle, guitar and voice. Get ready to be transported to a magical place of soulful tunes and timeless melodies - no shifty-eye-ing allowed! With its unique blend of humor and talent, this book will make you feel like you're strumming along with Aubrey herself. You ain't seen nothin' yet - so get pickin' and grinnin'! (132 pages)
Some of the songs included: Little Birdie, Five Hundred Miles, Lark In The Morning, The Willow Tree, Scotland the Brave, Angel Gabriel, She Sits At Her Loom, Hound Dog Song, Pretty Saro, The Wagoner's Lad, Skin And Bones, Turkey in the Straw, Kerry Polka, Harvest Home, Kinlock Of Kinlock, Liberty
These books are published by Fingers Of Steel, and are made available here as an authorized, licensed download.