Mountain dulcimers accessories cedar creek dulcimers. Since 2010 lois has produced dulcimerville events at the beautiful blue ridge assembly in black mountain, nc. This book, by mark biggs the three time winner of the national mountain dulcimer championship is probably the most comprehensive book on the mountain dulcimer available. A comprehensive handbook for building the dulcimer. Kits archives dulcimer shoppe online store dulcimer ar. Building a dulcimer by preston woodruff brevard, nc click on any picture to see a larger version. Mountain dulcimer accessories craggy mountain music. Beginners guide to hammered dulcimers dusty strings. This books lessons, exercises, and songs gradually add to the students skills. The hammered dulcimer is familiar in the british isles as a dulcimer and in a different form in ireland as the tiompan. This book contains 17 tunes, along with exercises to help you learn to flatpick the dulcimer. In the meantime, here are some resources on the topic of building gathered from folks on the sweet music email list. Each dulcimer can be strung for either a left handed or a right handed player.
Constructing the mountain dulcimer hardcover january 1, 1975 by dean kimball author. See more ideas about mountain dulcimer, dulcimer music and mountain music. Building a mountain dulcimer bear meadow dulcimers. Shapes, ornamentation, choice of woods the maker has a lot of flexibility with dulcimers. D i have had five students use this book and all love it. Guide to building an appalachian dulcimer mountain dulcimer, mountain music. Browse our selection of mountain dulcimer tablature and music books. The mountain dulcimer is a beautiful, sweetsounding stringed instrument that developed in the appalachian mountains in the 18th and 19th centuries.
This is the best of three books that i purchased to learn the dulcimer. Kits for building mountain dulcimers are widely available. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. The book is suppose to give enough information to build a dulcimer.
Johnson fi220 lap dulcimer is a very well designed dulcimer model from johnson as it has decorative heartshaped sound holes on the body. The workbook consists of 17 song arrangements and 15 arpeggio exercises which build the skills necessary to play beautiful slow and melodic music on the dulcimer. Start by marking the dulcimer book as want to read. Building a string instrument like a mountain dulcimer or guitar requires plans and supplies. This book is published under a creative commons license. A completely illustrated book of assembly instructions is included to guide you in your venture. Hourglass mountain dulcimer kit assembly instructions musicmakers 14525 61st st ct n stillwater, mn 55082 wood parts a solid wood top b solid wood back c fretboard d 2 end blocks e 1 peghead f 2 sides g 2 braces for back 1 long, 1 short h 3 spacers hardware 4 geared tuners with screws set of 4 ball end dulcimer strings 1 wood screw, 2.
All dan doty dulcimers are quality made with attention to every detail. I built my first dulcimers back in the 1980s and 90s. First the ends of the sides are trimmed so that they meet the scrollhead and tailpiece while lying along the outline drawn on the back. Right now im finishing two dulcimers that are an homage to m. It explains scales, modes, tunings, playing techniques, 53 songs in tablature and musical notation and pretty much anything you can think of to include in a dulcimer book. There are two kinds of instruments commonly called dulcimer here in the u. Dulcimer accessoriess ron gibson mountain dulcimers. All you have to provide is glue, sandpaper, finish, a few simple tools, and 1520 hours of loving labor. Considering it was my first attempt, im pretty happy with the results. Building a teardrop shaped mountain dulcimer bob gerard.
Also contains instructions on building hammers, two kinds of stand, and templates for the pin blocks, bridges, soundhole and hammers. The best beginner book that i like is welcome to the mountain dulcimer. This basic mountain dulcimer lesson is for people who have yet to meet the appalachian mountain dulcimer or who might enjoy an introduction to the playing st. Woodworkers journal classic projects are scans of muchloved woodworking plans from our. Crying creek publishers, po box 8, hwy 32, cosby, tn 37722 this book will be most useful to those with some woodworking experience, as the author recommends building some fairly elaborate forms and jigs to aid in. Constructing the mountain dulcimer internet archive. The online dulcimer shop 401 lotis way louisville, ky, 40207 usa. This was when i saw and heard my first mountain dulcimer. Unbranded 3 string mountain dulcimer, 4leaf clover soundholes nice vintage inst. Brett ridgeways flatpicked mountain dulcimer arrangements. Black friday apple creek dulcimer music book for the beginner book from.
Spiced with humor, anne dodsons field guide to the mountain dulcimer, book 1 is a beautifully structured and organized guide, taking the beginning student stepbystep through a wellplanned sequence of lessons. This is footage i captured while building my appalachian mountain dulcimer. I was captivated by the music and culture of appalachia after a summer volunteer experience in harlan, kentucky. The model can be downloaded at additional information about the tools and comments from others. Look here if you are after details of how i get a specific job done. How dulcimer is made material, making, history, how to make, used. Opinion on the best beginner books to start with forums. Along with the design, it is also a dulcimer of good quality.
In the middle east and india its called a santoor or santouri. Mountain dulcimer instruction all products all downloads aaron orourke bing futch mandy tyner melanie johnston neal walters richard ash stephen seifert sort by best selling alphabetically, az alphabetically, za price, low to high price, high to low date, old to new date, new to old. The mountain dulcimer remains a popular instrument in folk and dance music of the mountains. Here are a series of photographs on the building of a mountain dulcimer. There is a string slot cut into the fretboard for anchoring the strings.
This dulcimer model is bringing the appalachian mountain. Mailing address cedar creek dulcimers 408 river bluff dr. My tiny reservoir of knowledge about my new mountain dulcimer is steadily growing, and the things that jean ritchie had to say in this book. Provides easytofollow, stepbystep instructions on the construction of a 1514 floating soundboard hammered dulcimer. The book is filled with encouraging and practical advice on every facet of learning to play the dulcimer, starting with the very basics and building on the positive results you are certain to achieve very quickly.
A variety of dulcimer cases in both soft style and hardshell to fit different sizes. Gallier dulcimers are on the forefront of this innovation, not in just the way they look. This is a kit version of our walnut classic mountain dulcimer. The bookmatched walnut back and sides add even more depth and balance to the stereo sound of the cedar creek.
Mountain dulcimer looks more like a guitar often hourglassshaped and is played by fretting and strumming the strings. Our dulcimers also feature a onehalf step fret located in the lower and upper octaves. Design of a dulcimer begins with making a pattern and selecting the size of the instrument. Enough said, get a copy of this book if youre into appalachianmountain dulcimer constructionor just interested in musical instrument construction.
Capos which come in a variety of woods to compliment your dulcimer wood. The sides, back and headstock is cherry, the top is thingrained mahogany, all solidwood. Dulcimer wall hangers in a variety of styles for both scroll head and guitar style head to display your dulcimer. At modern mountain dulcimer, we understand that the mountain dulcimer is the center of the folk music universe and that all other folk instruments were created to enhance and accompany the mountain dulcimer. Ray told me, if i can spend an hour or two making music, its a good day. Coming back home i researched the instrument and got a hold of a book on how to build. Bob gerard dulcimers heirloom quality mountain dulcimers.
The teardrop shape has a flat peghead and the hourglass shape has a scroll. Construction consists of two piece book matched top, back, and sides, as well as inlaid fretboards and headstocks. Thank you for purchasing this woodworkers journal classic project plan. Friendly and encouraging, book 1 covers tips on buying and maintaining the instrument, left and right hand techniques, chords, and accompaniment. The starsong mountain, or fretted dulcimers are in an era of evolution, with much experimentation in design and construction being the norm rather than the exception. Constructing the mountain dulcimer by dean kimball, 1975, isbn 0679202854, library of congress catalog card number is 746536, published by crying creek publishers, po box 8, highway 32, cosby, tn, 37722. After thumbing through larkins dulcimer book and the magic dulcimer and you can teach yourself dulcimer, i selected the latter. Hammered dulcimer anatomy a hammered dulcimer is usually set up on some sort of stand or leg, with the strings facing up and the. This particular instrument was a special project for a singersongwriter and mountain dulcimer player. The appalachian dulcimer or dulcimore is generally hourglassshaped with. Hourglass mountain dulcimer kit assembly instructions. My favorite book on dulcimer building is entitled constructing the mountain dulcimer by dean kimball, and its available from.
Building dulcimers is a great family project, parentchild project. The walnut classic shares the same dimensions as the cedar creek but features all solid wood construction. There are quite a number of makers who will sell you a kit, with the sides already bent and the. If what you see here at the bear meadow website inspires you to build dulcimers of the. Also the drawings were unreadable even with a magnifying glass. A comprehensive handbook for building the dulcimer accessrestricteditem true addeddate 201003 15. The book is more than a collection of songs it provides detailed written and audio instruction on how to play arpeggios on the mountain dulcimer. That is the reason we build them with big sound so that they may take their rightful place when played solo or with accompanying instruments.