This is my blog…and that means it will no doubt contain MY opinions and thoughts on various subjects. It would never get done if I spent too much time wondering if someone might take what I say as some sort of denigration of THEIR opinions or thoughts. Believe me…I value all approaches, all ideas, and all directions concerning the dulcimer. Up to the point that they become narrow and pass judgment that one way is the only way and everything else is not worthy. I would be distressed if I felt anyone would think anything I might say here says or insinuates that. So…getting past all that, I hope there are tidbits here and there that might give you ideas, help, insights,… or at least make you roll your eyes with a wry grin. This will be ongoing, so check back if you like it.

How I Got Here

Born in Tulsa Oklahoma, I grew up in a family of athletes. My father was a multi sport standout in college, and played Semi Pro baseball after. He even played competitive fast pitch softball until he was 55 years old. His sons, Gary, Les, and Don, not only took turns being bat boy for one of the 3 simultaneous teams he played for, but spent much of their recreational time in the back yard throwing the football around, having batting practice, or boxing lessons. As competitive as he was, Dad always was a giver…to his family and really anyone in need. At 85 years old he still is both..competitive and giving. He led by example in a quest for excellence and I must admit there was a lot of pressure on us to always do the best we could. And never leave ANYONE wondering if we had or not. There were a lot of times it would have been nice to just slack off and be a goof. And we did our share of goofing. But if it was an endeavor that was going to be measured in some way, then slacking was not an option. Fortunately he always instructed us with encouragement and praise rather than harsh critique. He also left no doubt that we should always conduct ourselves with integrity, never saying there was something we could or would do if we couldn’t or wouldn’t. If we were caught bragging, we better be able to back it up, and never tell someone you would do something unless you followed up and did it. He lived that way, and the respect for him I’ve heard others comment about is always of the highest praise. That’s my Dad. He’s a great man.

My Mother…what a hoot ! As you could imagine, living with such a strong personality as my Dad, she had to have attributes to counter-balance him. It was her sense of humor, wit, and creative take on life that did it. From puppets she wore on her feet, propped up on the back of the couch, to putting grapes coated in olive oil in a bag for a Halloween party for us (a bag of eyes don’t you know), to her artistic talent and the joy she gets from painting…if I have any creativity I know I got it from her. She’s the type that could…and has…told a story at a relatives funeral that would have the mourners laughing to tears as she recounted the loved one’s escapades. How often I was embarrassed when she went off on a story about me as a little boy to one of my girlfriends…but even then I couldn’t help but laugh along. Apparently I was a tad ornery. But the flow of her words and the twinkle in her eye made that seem like a cute attribute. I’m sure I didn’t feel that way when I was getting in trouble for it. Time changes perspective doesn’t it ? Dad was simply no match for her. Anytime he got a bit too edgy in her opinion, that wit would take over and about all Dad could do was give in and change that edge into a grin and a twinkle in his own eye. My Mom…she is a great woman.

My Mom and Dad will soon be married 62 years. They sure are a cute couple. We are the luckiest of sons to have them both as parents.

It only makes sense that the three boys would grow up influenced by the people their parents are. My youngest brother by 4 years, Don…Super Jock ! 5 A State runnerup wrestler, All State Baseball, and All Regional Shortstop in college. Made the cut in tryouts for the St. Louis Cardinals a couple years out of college, but finally the home office decided he was to old. Too Old ? 24 ? Yeah, well it’s a young man’s game and they’re looking for teenagers. The great Ken Boyer told him he should be playing pro ball and to go try somewhere else. He never did though. Life was already underway. He’s a scratch golfer too…man, he can hit that ball 300 yards. I remember coming home for the summer from college and we started rough housing in the living room….putting on a few wrestling moves. I thought I would just show him who “da Man” was. I ended up only showing him a big knot on my head from hitting the floor. That was the last time I ever messed with him. He’s had a career as a coach and Vice Principal. He exemplifies the attributes of my Dad the most of the three of us. I know he has influenced many of his students in the same way.

Les, my middle brother by 2 years, took a different tack. He was very athletic too. But as a kid in 6th grade walking home from school, he passed some guys practicing their little rock and roll garage band. That day he told my folks he wanted a set of drums. Dad told him if he would save enough money for half the cost, he would pay the other half. Les got a paper route soon after that and for over a year got up at 4 a.m, 7 days a week to run it. The very minute he got enough for half a set of drums he quit. Mom and Dad let him set them up permanently in the formal dining room. He really hasn’t been anything but a musician ever since. By the time he was 14 he was the drummer in a fraternity party band. Before he was 16 he was making money with music. I had the driver’s license, so it fell to me to haul him around to gigs. At the time we weren’t telling Mom and Dad that one of those gigs was at the 500 Club, a dive off the side of the road by the Turnpike gate. Rough place. The owners told him to hide in the bass drum if they got raided. He also took up guitar about that time. If Les wasn’t sleeping or eating, he was playing his guitar. To this day he is one of my favorite guitar players. Funny how that ‘quest for excellence’ influence made it’s way into the creative side. He also is a great songwriter…my Mom’s wit, you can hear it in his words. He has come up with some of the funniest songs ! I always envied him…thinking how great it must be to be able to do that. To make music ! As a result, my next younger brother is probably one of my biggest influences. I’m guessing that it’s not all that common to have an older brother use his younger one as a roll model. Well..it happens. After I started building dulcimers, I gave Les the 3rd one I ever built. It was tuned DAA, and I never showed him a thing on it. It hung on his wall for a couple of years, then he started messing around with it…still in DAA. He only knew 4 songs total when he entered the National Championships for the first time…all original compositions done in his innovative fingerpicking style. Even with a pretty severe case of the nerves he placed 3rd. The next year, 1990, he came back and won it, again playing all original compositions. I’d tell you how he does it, but I can’t explain it. You’ll just have to watch him on the YouTube videos I have posted. Remarkable musician.

I’m the oldest brother. I guess if I had to categorize where I fit in, I’d have to say I’m a blend of my two younger brothers. A blend of the influences of both my Mom and Dad. I played little league, but my niche was wrestling. I ended up going to college on a wrestling scholarship…unfortunately I could tell you how many lights were on the ceiling of every gym in the conference. Get it ? When I…finally…graduated, I got married and went to work in sales. I had two wonderful, beautiful daughters, Sarah and Rebekah. As the years have past they have changed their roles to be my best friends. At 30 years of age, along came the dulcimer. Until then I didn’t do anything musical. I went to Silver Dollar City in Branson MO and saw my first one. After envying my brother Les for all this time, I still remember the rush of feeling “I could do that !!” I didn’t have the money to buy it though so I went to the library and got a book “How to Build a Dulcimore” by Chet Hines. His plans were substantial…read that as the thing was built like a battleship. I was too excited to follow them, so I took the key things and designed my own. I made it in one day out of 1/4? exterior plywood. It would have been better in a street fight than as a musical instrument, but it DID make music. I was hooked. As my building improved, my playing improved. There were no other dulcimer players around so I had to teach myself. I must admit, I sometimes feel more like an inventor than a musician or craftsman. Those are nice by-products of this strange drive I have to make what I do different from what’s already being done. I think I have my Dad to thank (blame ?) for that trait (neurosis ?) . In 1982 I went to Winfield and saw the competition for the first time. That inspired me to work toward that goal, and the next year I entered taking second. Year two I took second. Year three I took second. Sheesh ! The next year I didn’t even make the cut for the finals. That’s where my prime advice to anyone entering the National Championships originates : Play one you know ! Finally in 1987 I won first, playing all original compositions. Les and I are the only two brothers in any instrument category to win on the same instrument. I believe we are also the only two contestants in any instrument category to win with all original compositions. Thanks Mom ! The dulcimer has changed my life in so many ways. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever dream I’d be building and playing dulcimers for a living, or that I would ever play music with my brother. It has made me a better person, like a gentle hand smoothing off the rough edges. It has given me so many moments of fulfillment, whether it’s the stack of raw wood that now makes music, or the birth and growth of a new song, or being amazed and touched that something I might play would touch someone else. And the enrichment I have felt from meeting so many wonderful people in my musical travels is hard to imagine not having. Thank you all…Kids,  Friends, Brothers, Folks…for being a part of my life.

I’ve added PDF versions of all the Tab I’ve put up on my Tab page, in addition to the TabLedit files.   All future Tab will have the PDF version as well.

The past year or so I have been arranging and playing a lot of tunes in keys other than the open tuning my dulcimer is in. With the addition of the 1.5 fret on a standard dulcimer, and a cross string flatpicking style, there are a wealth of scales, both major and minor, and thus a wealth of songs that can be played cross key without retuning, and without a capo. Even without a 1.5 fret, you can play in some cross keys. I’ve included a resource Tab here that I hope you find informative. It is in both TabLedit and PDF formats.

The Tab is written assuming dAD tuning. If the key included more than one note in the scale that is missing on the dulcimer, then I did not include it as a practical key. With just one note missing, very often you can skip, fake, bend, or otherwise adapt it. But when two notes in a 7 note scale is missing it is generally not practical. I discovered that the most likely notes that you can NOT have in a scale and often be able to still play the song is the 6th or 7th note of a scale. More often than not it is not in the melody anyway, or is just a passing note that can be changed to work. So, I have also limited the listed scales to those that the dulcimer is missing only the 6th or 7h note of the scale. Other notes of the scale are more likely to be a melody note you can’t do without. I have also included a run of pentatonic scales in various keys. In the folk genre, many melodies and improvisations are built around the pentatonic scale and I thought this might also be useful. I have developed a workshop in cross key playing that I will be teaching at festivals, with tunes that use these scales. Several songs on my Tab Page also serve as examples.

A little direction….if you don’t have a 1.5, or you are attempting to play a song in a scale that has a note missing on the dulcimer, you can try a number of things to make it work. Take a tune that has a 3+ fret in the melody line….and you don’t have one. You still may be able to play the song by replacing that note with something else. First place to start is play the “non-plus” fret on either side of it….IE, the 3 or the 4. True, in some songs the 3+ might be a highly necessary note to the melody of the song, and this won’t work. But, you would be surprised how often it does not detract from the integrity of the melody to replace it with a note you do have. For example, a run that reads 0 1 3 3+ 4 might sound just fine as 0 1 3 3 4 or 0 1 3 4 4. You can also try a harmony note of the 3+. I’m not adept enough to talk about harmony theory…but you can noodle at notes a step or two above or below the 3+ and see what that does to the melody at tempo. Many times the harmony note works and still maintains melodic integrity of the song as a whole. It’s just one note…and it harmonizes. Next, try skipping the 3+ all together. And example is that the 3+ is an 8th note that follows a 3. Instead try holding the 3 for a 1/4 note duration and skip the 3+. Many times the 3+ gets “insinuated” by it’s absence. You can also bend up from the 3 to get the 3+, but this is a highly developed skill to get accurately and to tempo. Why so many options ? Well, because in any given song, one will work better than the other. Again….sometimes it won’t work at all and you can’t play that song But it’s less often than you would think. Feel free to write if I can help as you study this. You can find the Tab for this exercise on my Tab page entitled Cross Key Scales .

Everyone has heard great guitar flatpickers. This is a very developed art among guitar players, and the folks that teach it I’m sure have more complete rules on how pick direction is determined than what I know. These rules would apply to flatpicking the dulcimer as well. I would love to talk to an expert guitarist about this, and if I do I may expand or change some of what I’m about to write. But until then, here is what I have learned from my own development of the style concerning pick direction. I know it’s probably not complete, but I also know that this will apply at least 99% of the time. What might be missing you’ll just have to figure out what works for you.

I am a cross string Flatpicker.   In well over 30 years of playing, I have only adopted this method in the last 5 years or so.   I will not hedge a bit in telling you…This has made me a better player.  I used to use a different pick direction scheme for every song, dependent on what string I went to next, and I had to remember a different pick directions scheme for every single song.  Yikes !   I call this a song specific pick direction method…every song has to be individually figured out.   What if you didn’t have to figure it out ?   Songs are easier to learn and you get up to speed faster.

Ready for a detailed list of rules ? Well, there is only one.

Rule – In counting out quarter notes in a measure, such as 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and… the numbers are all ‘out’ strokes, and the “ands” are all ‘in’ strokes.

It doesn’t matter if the note in the Tab is an 8th note, or a quarter note, or a dotted quarter note, if it falls on a number in the count, it’s an ‘out’ stroke. If it falls on an “and” , it’s an ‘in’ stroke.  It doesn’t matter if it is on one string or multiple strings either.

Another simplified way to say it is 8th note beats 1, 3, 5, and 7 are always ‘out’, and 2, 4, 6, and 8 are ‘in’.

That being said, I have also taught a variation of this that does work ‘most’ of the time, and works better on the fly in practicing, because it does not require counting.  It does conflict with the main rule in bold above every now and then, mainly with some dotted notes, or odd syncopation.  In that case, you need to refer back to the rule in bold as the king.   The variation would be – Always start a measure with an ‘out’ stroke, all eighth notes alternate direction, and every note that follows a quarter note is an ‘out’ stroke.

I have been asked “What about hammers, slides, and pull offs ?”    Same thing applies.   For example, if you are hammering an 8th note starting with an ‘out’ stroke from, we’ll say fret 2 to fret 3, then you have spanned the time of two 8th notes (out / in) even though you only picked once.  So the next note would be an ‘out’ stroke.   Same principle if the note your hammering from starts with an ‘in’ stroke.   You’ve spanned the time of two 8th notes (in / out this time) even though you only picked once. So the next note would be an ‘in’ stroke.Triplets ?  A triplet is 3 notes that takes up one 8th note span of time.  So, it is treated like a single 8th note.

HERE is some tab to Illustrate. Requires TabLedit. Be sure to display both notation and tab. Or PDF version.  Count is above the Tab, Pick Direction is Below the Tab. Note that numbers are out, and “&” is in.

That’s pretty much it ! Simple huh ? As simple it is, it takes plenty of practice to be consistent. And you do need to reach a level of unconscious consistency . The word ‘mechanical’ is a threat to sound like a negative, and it is if it’s meaning is lifeless, dry, sterile, etc. But mechanical can also mean precise, smooth, clean, and fast. That is what reaching the unconscious consistency in your pick direction will bring you. You prevent the negatives with dynamics, syncopation, embellishments, touch, and arrangement.

Finally, you WILL be able to make this automatic in EXACTLY the same way Bum Diddy became automatic.  Try it with something new to start.  Unlearning something you’ve already got down is harder than learning.  With what I’m suggesting here, all you have to do is learn the method, not a different scheme for every song.   Every song uses exactly the same automatic and predictable pick direction scheme.  You don’t have to think.  When you don’t have to think about your picking hand so much, you can pay more attention to what really makes music happen…creativity, flow, dynamics, soul.

Good Luck ! Please do email me if you have questions as you work on this.

I am not a Mac user so I’ve relied on others to tell me what they do when they get gibberish when trying to open these TabLedit files with a Mac. It appears that my web design program cause a glitch in how Tab from my site interacts with Macs. Macs also add a .txt extension when trying to download TAB from my site. I will be trying to resolve this with the software company. Until then, if you are a Mac user, I would be happy to email you the Tabledit file. They seem to work fine that way. Or just do one of the workarounds listed below. First, insure you have followed the instructions for downloading the Mac version of TabLedit and fonts required from their site.

This one comes from a user, with help from a Mac expert.

TABLEDIT: STEPS TO DOWNLOAD FROM DULCIMER CENTRAL FOR MAC.

1. OPEN TABLEDIT,  then click TABLEDIT CARBON, then click HIDE TABLEDIT CARBON.

1. CONTROL-CLICK ON TITLE

1. GET MENU: SELECT DOWNLOAD AS OR SAVE AS LINKED FILE

1. SAVE IN A DESKTOP FOLDER…IE: TABLEDIT FILES

DELETE TXT EXTENTION FROM TITLE : you will get warning (do you really want to do this. Click on DO NOT APPEND

From Aaron O’Rourke

Hold control and click on the file once. This should display a
few options. One of them should say “Open With” and have an arrow.
Tabledit should be one of the programs listed. If not then select
“other.” In the window that opens up I have to choose Desktop on the
far left to choose Tabledit. That should do it.

From Steven K. Smith

Work-around that seemed to work for me:
ctrl-click on the file name and choose “Download Linked File as…”
Choose the location to download to. I just put them on the desktop,
but I suppose you could put them anywhere you like. For reasons that
are unclear to me, my computer insists on adding a .txt extension to
the file after the download.
Click on the title to edit the name and delete the .txt. You’ll get
a “sure you want to do this?” requester. Click on “use .tef” On my
computer, it would now successfully open in the tef-viewer program.

That would be HERE

Udu

The udu is a vessel drum originally from the Igbo people of Nigeria. Traditionally it was a water jug with another hole in the side, played by women for ceremonial music. The udu has become a very popular instrument in the West, and can be heard at least once a week on a television or movie soundtrack, if you know what to listen for.

Traditional udus are very hard to come by, but there are scores of contemporary makers in North America alone. Pictured is a traditional udu made from a porous clay. Although many udus are made from stoneware, more porous clay seems to give a better sound, but is unfortunately quite fragile.

Modern innovations of the udu are common and contemporary instruments have a much wider range of tones to traditional instruments … description from asza.com

http://www.soundjunction.org/whatisanudu.aspa?NodeID=1 this is a great site with photos and sounds

Article 1 I wrote this article for Mel Bay’s Dulcimer Sessions on the technique of using chord arpeggios for accessing melody

Instructions – Article 2

Since I compose about 95% of the music that I play, it is common for me to hear comments like, “How do you just pull notes out of the air?” or “You have a rare and special gift.” The fact is we all have a special gift, a bit of genius, and the ability to give birth to music that is uniquely our own. It is not magic, but it is magical. I don’t read music or understand much theory, but I have learned what it takes to access the music that is inside me.

Composing your own music can be one of the most fulfilling aspects of your playing. It gives a sense of satisfaction that is deeper than simply learning something someone else composed. The mountain dulcimer, with it’s open tunings and straightforward layout, is very rich with the potential to put this sense of satisfaction within everyone’s reach. I’ll try to take some of the mystery out of the process with some ideas, tips, and activities that have helped me. On one hand there is so much to it and on the other, like meditation, there is so little to it. Prepare to enter this most rewarding realm of musicianship.

Frame of Mind

– Composing is not actually pulling notes out of the air. It is simply finding the music that is inside you and letting it out. It takes more of a frame of mind than some special talent. Aquiring that frame of mind is what many people seem to have an odd resistance to. Too bad, because it is the single most important aspect of freeing your creative potential. Now it may seem strange in the free thinking context of creativity to have rules, but I believe in these. Follow them and the music will come.

Rule 1 — Do not be judgemental of the results of your efforts. If you catch yourself saying “that’s silly, trite, sappy, clunky, disjointed, confused, unoriginal, uninteresting, or any other it’s-not-worthy adjective, stop it! If you ever feel that way, then you are being judgemental of the results of your efforts. You must accept what flows from within you as progress toward opening and widening the pathway the music travels on, making it ever more easy and free to happen. Worth repeating: Regardless of the quality, or quantity for that matter, you must consider the results of your efforts as progress. Progress is good.

Rule 2 — It does require effort. The notion that some divine hand must come down and touch composers and the music just “happens” is a false notion. There is no doubt that there are some unusually gifted people in this world, to the point of genius. But the majority of composers simply have the right frame of mind, and are devoted and motivated enough to put in the time. There is genius in us all and how much you practice your craft is directly related to how easily you can call upon that genius.

Rule 3 – You must free-up focused time. This is tough in our busy lives, with kids and husbands and wives and jobs all needing attention. “Focused” time is not just when you have a minute between tasks, although that’s better than nothing. It is time that is not occupied with anything but the adventure of composing. When that is all you are there for. When you can be alone with your instrument in a peaceful environment. How much do you want it? It may require you to trade time you would spend doing something else, or asking those around you to give you the time. I regularly get up very early on weekends, trading sleeping late for a couple of hours of creative time. I have read that the pre-dawn is one of the most creative times of day. I find that it is a significantly more creative time for me. Look at it this way, it’s no different than getting up early to go fishing, and the results are much more lasting.

Tools — With the dulcimer, composing music is within reach of almost all skill levels. You use whatever playing skills you have, remembering that an open and free frame of mind is the most important aspect. It is true, however, that the more specific skill tools you have the better. Having a variety of tools at your disposal gives you a variety of options at expressing the melody the way you hear it in your mind. They can also lead you in many more directions in trying to discover those melodies. Here are some tools worth learning:

• Chords –learn them forward and backward. Names are not as important as physical familiarity.
• Crosspicking – this goes hand in hand with chords. Crosspicking is, on a simple level, picking the individual notes of a chord. On a more complex level it is picking hand patterns that voice each individual note in a chord in a repetitive order. ie: Bass string, melody string, middle string, melody string–repeat. A great discovery tool. The patterns are almost infinite and can be very expressive in a melodic sense.
• Scales – Not just on the melody string but all over the instrument. ie: Bass string- 0-1-2-3 then middle string 0-1-2-3. They are many other places as well and sometimes little scale runs are just what you need to make an idea fit.
• Strum Variety — Practice a variety of rhythms. Bum diddy is great but so is Bum Bum Bum diddy diddy diddy. You can come up with almost infinite strum patterns.
• Embellishments — Hammer ons, pull offs, chimes, vibrato, slides, double slides and any other little trick you can learn. The more intimate you are with your instrument the more likely you will not have to be preoccupied with execution. This allows what you hear in your mind to flow more freely.

First Success — You will find that it will be common to come up with short catchy little phrases that are very melodic but they are not complete enough to be a song. Keep a tape recorder handy and record them. Make notes about them to remind you how you played them. As the process continues these will accumulate and one day you will stumble on a new little phrase that will go with one of the others you have saved. Put the two together and you still might not have a complete song, but you may have the “A” part to one. That is an exciting moment. You will probably play it over and over. At this point it is likely you will become very driven to complete the song. This can be frustrating. Here are some ideas that might help you develop a song to completion.

1. If you are tuned to the Key of D, then the “A” part you have stumbled on probably ends on a D chord. Play your new “A” part and then make a change to one of the other common chords in the key of D, like G or Bm or A. Don’t restrict yourself to them, but they are a good place to start. Hum what you hear in your mind as you go to that chord. Then try to pick it out on your dulcimer. If you keep it up, you will discover the “B” part to the song…someday.
2. Don’t get stuck on the idea that the the “A” part you have has to stay the “A” part. You may have really found a great “B” part and the “A” part is yet to be discovered.
3. Keep playing your new “A” part until it is etched in your brain. Put your instrument down and think it. Hum it while you’re doing other things, in the shower, while you’re driving. It’s funny how often the “A” part’s mate will just sort of naturally speak up.
4. Be patient and don’t forget Rule 1.

The Session — As you pursue the process of composition, you will find your own idiosyncracies and ways to create a comfortable and productive creative session. Just to get you started, I will describe a typical composing session just as it happens for me. This process could be different for everyone, so adapt my story to your own frame of reference.

I set my alarm for 5:30 Sunday morning. Oh, I did NOT want to get up! But I wanted the time with my music more than I did my bed. Downstairs to fix a pot of coffee. I sat peacefully for a while in the silence with my dulcimer beside me. Everyone else was asleep. No demands. Nothing else I needed to do. I was purposefully alone with my instrument in a peaceful environment. I keep the lights low so they do not intrude on my peace. I lit a couple of candles. I sat in the silence until I had my wits, all the while listening to the quiet. I picked up my instrument, greeting a friend. I strummed across the open strings very lightly. I listened to how each string interacted with the other. In the silence and peace I could hear the pulsing that is not the A string or the D, but the sum of the two when played together — the consonance. I made a Bm chord. I tried fingerings that weren’t in any chord book. I played slow and quiet at first. I put chords together in succession, maybe picking each note in the chord rather than a strum, or a strum and then pick each note. As I played the chords I listened for the melody that the chords implied — playing, listening — there! That melody behind the chords — that was coming from inside me! It had not quite revealed itself but I sensed it. I didn’t worry that it felt like something else I’ve heard, it is progress! I tried to find the melody by stumbling and noodling. Notes that don’t belong. Backtrack and repeat. No, not that. Maybe this. Or this. As I went the melody from inside evolved and changed, sometimes implying new chords to match it, and those new chords implying new melody and so on. I was into it, wandering freely, relaxed but intent, focused. I took everything as it came without denegrating the results or judging their worth. Just letting them pull me along from moment to moment.

Hmmm, no new song today. The house is still quiet. It’s 7:30 a.m. I feel great! Think I’ll take a nap.

Excercise — Set aside two hours to wander in peace on your instrument. Be sure to listen! The mountain dulcimer is a natural when it comes to letting your unique musical sense emerge. I encourage you to give it a try. Good luck in your creative wanderings!