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Related Manuals for Dusty Strings Hammered Dulcimer
Summary of Contents for Dusty Strings Hammered Dulcimer
- Page 1 H D O’ G...
- Page 2 We invite you to write or call us any time with questions you may have, or simply to let us know about yourself and your dulcimer. We hope your Dusty Strings hammered dulcimer will provide you with many years of musical enjoyment.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
Contents Introduction and History ..................1 Anatomy of the Hammered Dulcimer ..............2 Maintenance and Care of Your Dulcimer ............... 2 String Maintenance ..................2 String Types ....................3 Replacing Broken Strings ................3 Restringing the Whole Dulcimer..............4 String Buzzes ....................4 Finish ...................... -
Page 4: Introduction And History
G Introduction and History As a new owner of a Dusty Strings hammered dulcimer, you might want to take a few minutes to read through this booklet. We have written it assuming that you have little prior knowledge of the hammered dulcimer and of our instru- ments. -
Page 5: Anatomy Of The Hammered Dulcimer
Maintenance and Care of Your Dulcimer String Maintenance One advantage of the hammered dulcimer is that it is virtually maintenance- free. With a minimum of periodic attention, your instrument will remain healthy and sound beautiful for many years to come. While the strings of guitars and other stringed instruments must be replaced often due to the corrosive eff... -
Page 6: String Types
String Types We use three types of strings on our dulcimers. Depending on the model, your dulcimer will have strings that are plain steel music wire, phosphor-bronze, or wound. e steel strings seldom break under normal conditions and will sound good for years. -
Page 7: Restringing The Whole Dulcimer
bend. Keep tension on the string as it wraps onto the pin, so that it forms tight coils down and away from the small starting hole. Make sure the whole string is sitting in its correct position and is not caught up on any other pins, strings, or bridge pedestals. -
Page 8: Finish
General Care Be sure to guard your hammered dulcimer from extreme changes in humidity and temperature. Keep it out of direct sunlight, hot cars, freezing attics, etc. Many people do not know the speed with which a car interior becomes dangerous to instruments. -
Page 9: Transporting Your Dulcimer
Before we glue up a hammered dulcimer, we equilibrate the soundboard and back in a con- trolled environment to a relative humidity of 43% to 45%. Our years of building these instruments and recording humidity data have shown that this approach ac- commodates the widest range of real-world humidity conditions without problems. -
Page 10: Warranty Repair
Flying with your dulcimer can be a challenging proposition. Some people who fl y with their hammered dulcimers a great deal have custom fl ight cases made, but we’ve found these to be quite expensive and very heavy. One resource is the Colo- rado Case Company at 800-340-0809 or on the web at www.coloradocase.com. -
Page 11: Treble Bridge Placement
(4) Fa (3) Mi The Dulcimer Tuning Scheme (2) Re • e hammered dulcimer is laid out • (1) Do in simple patterns of major scales. It is designed to provide easy access to the scales, or keys, most commonly used in playing traditional music: D, G, C, F, and A. -
Page 12: Tuning The Hammered Dulcimer
Tuning the Hammered Dulcimer As with any stringed instrument, learning to tune the hammered dulcimer is an important part of learning to play. e more critical you become of the tuning, the more you will appreciate a fi nely tuned instrument. It may take a while to develop the techniques that speed the process up, but don’t get discouraged and let tuning... -
Page 13: Pitch
Tuning to another instrument is another option. In fact, matching pitches on your hammered dulcimer with another stringed instrument, such as a piano, is sometimes easier than using a tuning fork or pitch pipe. - Page 14 Matching pitches. e whole discussion of tuning really comes down to matching pitches. You hear a note from your standard and tighten or loosen a string to match it. is can be quite simple, and it can also be frustrating. e environ- ment has a lot to do with it, both physically and psychologically.
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Page 15: Tuning Hints
If you are unsure about this procedure, see your dealer or call Dusty Strings for assistance. -
Page 16: Playing Your Dulcimer
Playing Your Dulcimer One of the nicest elements of the hammered dulcimer is its ability to turn even the simplest melody into beautiful, full-sounding music. e inherently satisfy- ing tone of the instrument combines with its resonance to produce an illusion of sound —... -
Page 17: Playing
CD sets, videos, and DVDs. See your dealer or contact Dusty Strings for instructional materials. You can also subscribe to Dulcimer Players News for quarterly information and articles about players, festivals, tunes, tech-... -
Page 18: Contact Us
Contact Us We hope you enjoy your Dusty Strings hammered dulcimer. We carry lots of ac- cessories and teaching materials that you might fi nd useful: cases, stands and legs, sev- eral types of hammers, books, DVDs, tuning wrenches, electronic tuners and more.
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