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About John Blosser
(Top Expert on this page)

Expertise
All questions pertaining to the playing of mountain dulcimer, acquisition of dulcimers, books, CDs, etc., how to play, how to learn, WHY to play, where to get a good dulcimer, what books are most helpful to beginners, etc.

Experience
Teacher/performer: French Creek (Pa.) dulcimer symposium Teacher/performer: Sunshine State Music Camp, 2000 Teacher/Performer -- NGFDA Fall Festival, 2000 Performer - various venues for the past l0 years. Current Florida dulcimer champion, 2000.
   

You are here:  Experts > Music/Performing Arts > Musical Instruments > Dulcimer

SubjectDate AskedExpert

Std Mcspadden to...8/2/2008John Blosser
  Q: Can I safely add baritone strings to a ST34CC without damaging the dulcimer?
  A: Sorry I took a coupla days to answer this, Paddy, but since I do not own a baritone dulcimer, I ...
left handed dulcimer McSpadden7/31/2008John Blosser
  Q: My husband is taking his first dulcimer lessons and loves it. He has rented a left-handed dulcimer ...
  A: Well, a left-handed dulcimer is just a matter of having the nut/bridge slots cut to reverse the ...
various tunings6/14/2008John Blosser
  Q: Are certain dulcimers only good for certain tunings? For example if i purchase a dulcimer and it is ...
  A: Nope, you don't need other dulcimers in order to have different tunings - as far as I know, just ...
Keith Young dulcimers6/12/2008John Blosser
  Q: Just wondering if you have any knowledge regarding the quality of dulcimers made by Keith Young?
  A: Rebecca -- While I don't have a lot of personal knowledge of Keith's dulcimers, (I've played a ...
playing with a group5/9/2008John Blosser
  Q: When playing with a group, is it possible to play in every key or is the dulcimer limited to certain ...
  A: Very complicated question, Eleanor - lets see if I can give a simplified answer. I take it by ...
Translating Printed Music3/29/2008John Blosser
  Q: I have a lot of dulcimer music in many modes. I don't want to retune my dulcimer currently in Dadd. ...
  A: Playing by ear -- I'm convinced it's not a gift; just a matter of years of experience playing in ...
Translating Printed Music3/29/2008John Blosser
  Q: I have a lot of dulcimer music in many modes. I don't want to retune my dulcimer currently in Dadd. ...
  A: Well, that's an interesting question. Since I play pretty much only in DAA, and play by ear, not by ...
Quality of Cedar Creek Dulcimers3/3/2008John Blosser
  Q: 1.There's a dulcimer shop in Branson and Silver Dollar City called Cedar Creek Dulcimers. What do ...
  A: Well, you asked the right guy about one of your questions -- I am a lifelong DAA player, who ...
High Country Dulcimer2/28/2008John Blosser
  Q: Several years ago I purchased a Mountain Dulcimer from the High Country Dulcimer Shop in Boone N.C. ...
  A: Last time I checked, they were in Elizabethton, TN, having moved from Boone. I have no experience ...
kit dulcimer recommendation2/22/2008John Blosser
  Q: My brother gave me a cheap Cripple Creek kit in 1976 for a wedding present. I think it was about ...
  A: well, Uncle Bill, you threw me a curveball with this one -- I'm a player, not a maker, and pretty ...
guitar chords2/13/2008John Blosser
  Q: is it possible to transfer guitar chords to dulcimer? if so how?
  A: certainly is, Caleb -- at least, in most cases. Because the dulcimer is diatonic, you may have ...
Please Help!!1/21/2008John Blosser
  Q: My bass string on my dulcimer broke:( Thankfully I have another one, and I think I know how to ...
  A: easy, Kate -- not to worry - I usually push my string through the hole, leaving it loose enough that ...
tuning for a baritone12/13/2007John Blosser
  Q: I just purchased a beautiful Mcspadden baritone dulcimer. It is tuned AEA. My dulcimer group ...
  A: Well, I'm no baritone expert, and I play in DAA, so I went on to some dulcimer chatrooms and here's ...
Dulcimer Set-up12/5/2007John Blosser
  Q: I Built a Kit Dulcimer, turned out Great, however, do not know the correct distance between the ...
  A: Hoo, boy, Glen - now you get down to the nitty gritty of dulci-luthiery! This is the tricky part, ...
tuning mountain dulcimer part two10/14/2007John Blosser
  Q: I am in a singing group that plays a variety of music, country folk, bluegrass they want me to try ...
  A: hey, tanya, I asked around, and here's what a dulcifriend of mine came up with: Primary tuning DAd ...
Buying new...How many strings??9/24/2007John Blosser
  Q: Play other stringed instruments but want a dulcimer. I notice some have 3 strings, others have 4,5, ...
  A: Well, Charlie, there are several ways of stringing a dulcimer. Some have three, some have four ...
stringing a mountain dulcimer9/19/2007John Blosser
  Q: I am not sure which strings go to which screws.....can they touch when crossing over?
  A: Not sure whether you have a scroll-type tuning head or a guitar-type tuning head on your dulcimer, ...
mountain dulcimer tuning9/3/2007John Blosser
  Q: what is aonian tuning? thanks
  A: Well, sam, to the best of my knowledge, there is no such critter. There is: --Ionian tuning, ...
Bass, Baritone, or Standard7/26/2007John Blosser
  Q: What are the differences in the fretboards between the types? Are they all the same length, width or ...
  A: Hey, Caleb - VERY good question it comes down to this: VSL or Variable String Length -- that's the ...
5 string mountain dulcimer tuning5/17/2007John Blosser
  Q: OK, how about a five string dulcimer set up as a 2-1-1-1? What's the optimal tuning/string gauge ...
  A: Well, you had me stumped on this one, since I don't play in that setup -- so I went onto a couple of ...
McSpadden Dulcimer5/2/2007John Blosser
  Q: I have been searching for dulcimers and wondered what your opinion is about the plywood back vs the ...
  A: well, solid wood usually costs more than plywood and is generally thought to give a somewhat better ...
Tuning a 5 string4/10/2007John Blosser
  Q: I have a "Mountain Dulcimer", I purchased in 1983 from Berg Musical Instruments. It is a 2-1-2 ...
  A: Yup, your Korg will work just fine - dulcimers can be tuned in many ways - the most popular for ...
The difference between a ball string and a loop string for a mountain dulcimer12/19/2006John Blosser
  Q: My dulcimer(Mountain) needs restrung. I have removed the srings but I do not know the kind of string ...
  A: The little round brass thing is the "ball" and if your strings had them, then your dulcimer can take ...
5 string dulcimer12/18/2006John Blosser
  Q: My father built me a 5-string Bill Davis dulcimer back in 1976. I am finally slowing down enough ...
  A: Bill: Well, first of all, I would like to know the setup of your strings - is it five strings, ...
dulcimer tuning11/19/2006John Blosser
  Q: My husband and I are having a hard time tuning the dulcimer to the guitar so we can play together. ...
  A: Well, lets see, why is the guitar tuned to C? Wouldn't a guitar normally be tuned E(bottom string), ...
Oriental/arabic music on dulcimer?10/13/2006John Blosser
  Q: Browsed trough old quetions and answers. In an answer you mention oriental/arabic music on/for ...
  A: well, MIke, I'm no expert on this, but I went onto some of our dulci-chats, asked around, and an ...
!!!10/13/2006John Blosser
  Q: No question really, just amazed and happy that there are such thing as a dulcimer expert! Have a ...
  A: Well, lets see, there are a lot of good web resources. I might suggest ...
Stilling trying to chose9/29/2006John Blosser
  Q: I am searching for my first dulcimer. I am not a musician. I decided to take your expert advice and ...
  A: By the way, since you mention Farina, you may want to check out the website www.richardandmimi.com, ...
How to play a C9/20/2006John Blosser
  Q: I am 63 and brand new to playing the dulcimer and trying to teach myself. I have my dulcimer tuned ...
  A: 6th fret, either the top or the botton string, and when you press both with the midle string fretted ...
tuning for dick and mimi farina tunes9/15/2006John Blosser
  Q: I am a dulcimer novice and I want to tune my instrument to play the songs Richard and Mimi Farina ...
  A: Martha: Now, you're into something I know something about! You might want to get Neal Hellman's ...
broken strings7/23/2006John Blosser
  Q: My dulcimer with the original strings was tuned to DAD. I broke the 2 melody strings. I could not ...
  A: well, that's a very good question, George. I don't know how your dulcimer is set up (i.e., what ...
Dulcimer accompaniment tuning7/4/2006John Blosser
  Q: Me and my two friends are amateur players that like to play songs around the campfire. We have a G ...
  A: my pleasure -- suggest picking up a good chord book for dulcimer might be a good idea...I use one ...
Tom Yocky or Dulcimer Factory2/17/2006John Blosser
  Q: John, I appreciate the time you are taking to answer folks' questions. I looked. But couldn't find ...
  A: Well, I don't know anything about Tom Yocky dulcimers - I do know that the Dulcimer Factory has a ...
New player12/11/2005John Blosser
  Q: I recently designed and built my own dulcimer (from scratch!) and am having problems finding books ...
  A: Wow! Good for you! Great going! Let me tackle those questions one at a time: --I think the best ...
How to tune ALL FIVE strings of a 5-string dulcimer1/5/2005John Blosser
  Q: I can find only information on how to tune a three string dulcimer. Please, what is the pattern ...
  A: Brenda FIVE-string? Well, as far as I know, a five-string dulcimer is played with a doubled first ...
Frailing9/24/2004John Blosser
  Q: I saw a mention - forgotten where already, yikes! - that you (sometimes?) frail the dulcimer, like a ...
  A: Well, usually I teach this in two classes, but here goes a sorta way of explaining it. l. I use ...
Dulcimer kit9/14/2004John Blosser
  Q: I'm a furniture builder & musician. I'd like to learn to play the dulcimer, and, for fun, I'd like ...
  A: well, Gordon, first off, sorry it took me so long to reply - I;m in West Palm Beach and we're ...
McSpadden9/11/2004John Blosser
  Q: All of your answers to questions sound like an advetisement for McSpadden. There are numerous ...
  A: Well, there's a reason I do that, Bill -- most of the people who ask me questions don't know much ...
DAA tuning of a five string dulcimer9/7/2004John Blosser
  Q: I am a guitar player. My husband bought a 5 string dulcimer and wants us to learn to play it. Our ...
  A: Sorry it took me so long to reply! I'm kinda in the middle of a hurricane or two here, living in ...
Books on Playing the Dulcimer8/24/2004John Blosser
  Q: I make and sell mountain dulcimers, among other instruments, in Australia. I get asked by customers ...
  A: Sure! That's terrific - do you know of Terry Hennessy? Lives in Kangaroo Valley. If you check out ...

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