Timothy's Blog

Timothy's blog on dulcimers, music, nature and life!
OCT
15

Hammered dulcimer steepness and the gravity effect!

in Hammered Dulcimer Topics and Ideas
Hammered dulcimer steepness and the gravity effect!

Hammered dulcimer players often discuss the best steepness of angle the instrument needs to be for playing. There are some interesting factors that figure into this equation!

  1. How big is your dulcimer? If it’s big, like 3 ½ to 5 octaves in range, you might want to lean it pretty steeply so you can easily reach the high notes.
  2. Do you play standing up or sitting down? If you stand, it’s easier to have a flatter angle, since you can move on your feet to get the reach; if you sit, you have to move around from the small of your back and use your arms more than the rest of your body, and can reach more easily with a steep angle.
  3. Do you hover over your hammers, or do you stand up straight and reach from your elbows and shoulders mostly? Hoverers like me tend to need a bit steeper of an angle to easily lean over the notes --- but height helps too: I prefer for the whole dulcimer to be pretty high off the ground so my face can get close to my playing (and since I have relatively short arms), and so I don’t have to crouch to get the bridges’ lowest notes or hurt my elbows because of the funny playing position. Other players may see it just the opposite, though. What’s your approach?

 

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30

Important information for ukulele players

in Thoughts About Music How Music Works
Important information for ukulele players

Everything on this list for beginning players is essential to be able to play the ukulele! These aren’t just tips, but they make it possible to play, and to play well.

  • Playing a fretted fingerboard instrument takes muscular effort and focus!
  • Curve your left hand into a circle so that your thumb can clamp against the back of the neck to help the other fingers press down on the strings.
  • Your thumb must be at or near the center of the back of the neck so it can help the other fingers.
  • Press your right forearm against the front of the uke, pushing it against your body to create a lever that helps your left hand press down on the strings.
  • Swivel your left hand to find the best position to play the chord you need; this is especially important for the chord G: swivel your hand toward the head of the uke to get a natural triangular shape for your fingers.
  • When pressing down a string, put your finger just behind the fret on the fingerboard (closer to the head), so it has good leverage to hold the string down onto the fret.
  • Always keep the front (soundboard) of the uke completely vertical (perpendicular to the floor). If you need to look at the frets and strings, lean your head forward to do that. (If it’s not vertical, you can’t reach the notes well enough with your left hand.)
  • There are three different numbering systems operating at once:

         1) Fingers: 1st (index), 2nd (middle), 3rd (ring), 4th (pinky)

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18

Slash chords!

in How Music Works Thoughts About Music Hammered Dulcimer Topics and Ideas
Slash chords!

Lots of sheet music has chords written over the top of the staff. For example, if the key signature of the notation has one sharp, you might see chords that start and end with ‘G’, in which case the tune is most likely in the key of G Major. It may start and end with ‘Em’, meaning probably that the key is E Minor, which has the same notes and chords as G Major, except that the scale starts on a different note.

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10

Three ways of naming and playing musical notes!

in How Music Works Thoughts About Music Hammered Dulcimer Topics and Ideas
Three ways of naming and playing musical notes!

 

Please don’t be dismayed by the possibility that this blog post is going to get too technical! The concepts are simple, and I think they are incredibly useful!

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07

Center yourself on the hammered dulcimer’s treble bridge

in Hammered Dulcimer Topics and Ideas
Center yourself on the hammered dulcimer’s treble bridge

I think it somehow feels natural, when you play hammered dulcimer, to center your body behind the instrument. The assumption, I guess, is to be able to equally reach all the note locations.

But I’ve found that I can play my best when I center my body behind the treble bridge, and usually reach to the right for the bass bridge notes.

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