| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Kurt Simerman - dulcimer | 10/19/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I recently bought a Kurt Simerman dulcimer. It's an hourglass with f note holes. It's signed inside ...
A: Interesting - A Simerman dulcimer is my main instrument right now - I think I actually got the last, ...
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| Stringing my dulcimer | 9/28/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I have a 3-string mountain dulcimer made by Homer Ledford. I'd like to re-learn how to play it, but ...
A: Well, Pat, that all depends....I string up with two .013s on the high side, a .014 in the middle and ...
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| left hand strings | 8/25/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I'm just learning With my left hand do I press down all three strings to play or do I just press ...
A: All depends on what you want to play, Penelope. Old-timers played just the first string, with the ...
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| learn to play mountain dulcimer | 8/17/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I live in Lakeland, Florida. I bought a mountain dulcimer a couple of years ago. I have been ...
A: Off the top of my head, no -- but I'm searching around for you, and will let you know as soon as I ...
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| Bill Davis | 5/23/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I have a signed Bill Davis 5 string Dulcimer which I purchesed directly from him in the early 70S ...
A: Marilyn, I generally stay away from questions about sales of dulcimers. I've seen inexpensive ...
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| what is my dulcimer worth? | 5/6/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I HAVE A DULCIMER SIGNED BY LARRY MCSPADDEN. IT IS A BARITONE M12. 13,494 IS THE SERIAL NUMBER. ...
A: Paulette - for some reason, I didn't get your message, so this has taken me awhile to get back to ...
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| a 5 String thank you | 4/30/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: first thank you for answering all the questions you have, i read these and will be following a bit ...
A: I'm not sure of your skill level, Whitey, but you might try just two top strings, one middle, one ...
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| lap dulcimer pick ups | 4/24/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I'm playing my mcspaddens in a small string band and occasionally we play plugged in gigs. The ...
A: there are as many answers to this question as you can imagine. Everyone has their favorites. One of ...
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| 5-string dulcimer | 4/3/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: My father, built me a 5-string in a 2-1-2 configuration.(I noted that you replied in 2006 to a ...
A: Well, Brian, that all depends -- if you are strung 2-1-2, and want to play in Ionian mode (the usual ...
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| DAD vs DAd | 3/14/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I see the tuning notation DAD and DAd. Is there a difference, and if so, how is this actually ...
A: well, lets see -- in DAD, the bottom AND top strings, i.e., strings 1 (or 1-2 if doubled) and 3 (or ...
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| DAD vs DAd | 3/14/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I see the tuning notation DAD and DAd. Is there a difference, and if so, how is this actually ...
A: Yes, there is a difference....with an electronic tuner, tune your bottom string to a middle D, the ...
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| Proper stringing a mountain dulcimer | 1/25/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: Re: McSpadden M-12-W with 2 melody strings w/ tension pegs. With the 2 melody string,what are the ...
A: now that IS a pretty technical question, which should be aimed at a builder, which I am not -- must ...
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| dulcimer | 1/6/2009 | John Blosser |
Q: I am interested in finding a dulcimer stand to put my dulcimer on and play it from the stand. If ...
A: Well, Ramona, the best performance mountain dulcimer stands I know of are made by John Stockard in ...
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| adding a 6 1/2 fret to a mt dulcimer | 12/10/2008 | John Blosser |
Q: I would like to add a 6 1/2 fret to my dulcimer. The guitar store said I would have to refret and ...
A: Actually, that's not that bad a price -- if I had some idea of where you were, I might be able to ...
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| 5-string dulcimer book | 11/30/2008 | John Blosser |
Q: where can i get an instruction book for 5-string 19-fret dulcimer for an intermediate guitarist who ...
A: I hate to respond with a question, but how is the five-string dulcimer set up? If it's set up five ...
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| Std Mcspadden to... | 8/2/2008 | John 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 ...
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| left handed dulcimer McSpadden | 7/31/2008 | John 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 ...
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| various tunings | 6/14/2008 | John 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 ...
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| Keith Young dulcimers | 6/12/2008 | John 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 ...
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| playing with a group | 5/9/2008 | John 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 ...
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| Translating Printed Music | 3/29/2008 | John 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 ...
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| Translating Printed Music | 3/29/2008 | John 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 ...
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| Quality of Cedar Creek Dulcimers | 3/3/2008 | John 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 ...
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| High Country Dulcimer | 2/28/2008 | John 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 ...
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| kit dulcimer recommendation | 2/22/2008 | John 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 ...
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| guitar chords | 2/13/2008 | John 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 ...
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| Please Help!! | 1/21/2008 | John 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 ...
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| tuning for a baritone | 12/13/2007 | John 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 ...
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| Dulcimer Set-up | 12/5/2007 | John 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, ...
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| tuning mountain dulcimer part two | 10/14/2007 | John 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 ...
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| Buying new...How many strings?? | 9/24/2007 | John 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 ...
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| stringing a mountain dulcimer | 9/19/2007 | John 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, ...
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| mountain dulcimer tuning | 9/3/2007 | John 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, ...
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| Bass, Baritone, or Standard | 7/26/2007 | John 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 ...
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| 5 string mountain dulcimer tuning | 5/17/2007 | John 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 ...
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| McSpadden Dulcimer | 5/2/2007 | John 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 ...
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| Tuning a 5 string | 4/10/2007 | John 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 ...
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| The difference between a ball string and a loop string for a mountain dulcimer | 12/19/2006 | John 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 ...
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| 5 string dulcimer | 12/18/2006 | John 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, ...
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| dulcimer tuning | 11/19/2006 | John 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), ...
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