Talk:Appalachian dulcimer

message: I'd like to propose that this article be restructured, based to a certain extent the structure of the Saxophone article,  one musical instrument article that has reached Featured Article status. The new structure would be as follows:
History (incorporating the current "Usage" and "Musicians who play" sections)  -- Construction (incorporating current "Production" section)  -- Modes and tuning (rewrite of current section) -- Types of dulcimers (new section on various types including bass, baritone, dulcimette, electric) -- Technique (now called Playing)  -- References -- See also -- External links
I'll wait a while to see if there's any feedback before I attempt any reorganization.  Cheers, 3oranges 20:41, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Organization of article

message: This page really needs a better photo! 86.134.216.101 06:52, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Photo 

message: There's a lot of confusion between a mode and a tuning on the Appalachian dulcimer.  The two concepts are linked, when applied to the instrument, but they are seperate subjects.  While  tuned to DAD one can play in any of the standard "Church" modes.   You can also do this in DAA, DAC, etc.   I made some edits to the article to try to ease some of the confusion.  For a more thorough discussion see the article on my website, http://www.sksmithmusic.com/virtual_classroom/modes.html.
75.117.227.17 13:20, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Just now took out tuning and capo directions along with some other stuff -- as it stands now, there's an external link to a site with tuning directions and a lot of other helpful info. __Just plain Bill (talk) 03:53, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Strings and Tuning 

message: Well when I read the article about the Hammered dulcimer, I got the idea she cannot play that but must have played this one on her outstanding performance of "Time After Time" with Patti LaBelle on VH1 Divas Live on April 04th, 2004. Can anyone confirm, was it an Appalachian one? -andy 80.129.87.119 10:41, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cyndi Lauper 

message: Used the dulcimer all throughout the album 'Blue'and should be listed in the section of people who play  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.87.220.172 (talk) 22:52, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Joni Mitchell 

message: Margaret MacArthur (1928 - 2006) was an important player of the Appalachian dulcimer. If anyone is in the mood to write an article, here are a couple of useful biographies:
* http://vermontfolklifecenter.org/multimedia/womenspeak/womenspeak_macarthur/
* http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/obituary/0,,1795392,00.html
Ogg 16:06, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Margaret MacArthur 

message: Can we maybe chop this list and make a new article List of musicians who play Appalachian dulcimer or List of Appalachian dulcimer players, and then just give a link in the article?  The list really adds a lot of bulk to the article as it is now. MatthewVanitas. Update: since no objections, I went ahead and chopped it to a list, categorised and linked. (talk) 18:21, 15 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Form separate article for "Musicians who use the Appalachian dulcimer"

message: Hello I am trying to add an external link to the online support community called 
Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer, like this:
*Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer - a supportive online community of mountain dulcimer players.
It is being continually deleted, even though other external links to dulcimer informational sites that are more commercial or promotional are left intact.
I am not familiar with how to do this without it being deleted over and over.
Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer is an informative site that encourages beginner players and helps people to learn about the instrument and make helpful contacts with others who play the instrument. It is entirely free, and has no commercial or profit making ties of any kind.
Can someone help me figure out what I can do to establish this link on the Wiki Appalachian Dulcimer page? 
thank you,
ellen smith 23:04, 26 October 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  proposing adding an EL to an Appalachian Dulcimer online support website... 

message: These two sections seem very dense and not at all accessible, even for a person familiar with string instruments.  I'm interested in taking a stab at re-writing them to make the as clear as possible with a minimum of confusing parentheticals.  I just wanted to sound it out first and see if folks concur that those sections are difficult to read. MatthewVanitas (talk) 00:00, 28 November 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I would not call them dense and inaccessible, but it was the mountain dulcimer that put some practical knowledge of modal tunes into my ears and fingers long ago, so I am not exactly looking at it with a fresh eye. "Strings and Tuning" could use some expansion and clarification (and wikilinks) while "Playing" seems to be in a bit better shape. Maybe could stand to have a bulletized list of positions, but I'm of two minds about that. Carry on, and I'll try to help. __ Just plain Bill (talk) 05:03, 28 November 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rewrite "Strings and Tuning" and "Playing" sections? 

message: Hey, what does Dulcimer music look like? I know they read tab' but they also read regular notation. Is this notation transposing and how are chords indicated etc.  Gingermint (talk) 05:52, 14 November 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Music examples 

message: Having a fairly extensive knowledge of the instrument, I took the liberty of reworking this article a little. I removed the historical material from the "usage" section and consolidated it with the "origins" section up top. The combined section is called "Origins and history." I added some basic information. I will work on sourcing it over the next couple of weeks, but dulcimer buffs know that what I've added --- JE Thomas, Jethro Amburgey, etc -- is hardly controversial.  
I left in the passage referring to Maxson, but this really should be eliminated. He wasn't the first to speculate on these matters and there are better sources to refer to. 
The "Usage" section is now called "Contemporary usage". It's basically untouched, although I could not in good faith leave in the "widely used" reference in the intro. The instrument is increasingly familiar and important, but it is still comparatively rare, even in old time music circles. I also referred to professional dulcimer musicians, of whom Seifert and O'Rourke are probably the most popular. 
If people are happy with the direction I've taken the article, I'll spend more time on it as I can.  
Richard Latker  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.118.205.128 (talk) 07:46, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  A modest re-work 

message: First --- my apologies that I'm still unfamiliar with the coding for citations and references. I will try to overcome this limitation. But if there's a skilled wiki editor monitoring this page, I can gladly provide the source material for my additions. Please email me at pristine1917@gmail.com.
I spent a few minutes today clarifying the description of traditional noter-drone play, and explained how changes in instrument construction facilitated the emergence of contemporary chord-melody play in the early 1960s. I raised the issue of intonation, which is of particular significance for the mountain dulcimer. I also deleted some repetition (eg, cardboard dulcimers) and a couple of unsustainable/unsourced assertions (eg, the "California dulcimer").
The article still needs considerable improvement. I'd like to delete the Maxson citations from history section - he's not a recognised authority - and replace it with cogent material from folks like Gerald Milnes, Richard Hulan and Ralph Lee Smith.
I'd also like to re-write the tuning & playing sections, which do not read particularly well and omit a lot of basic & salient information. But I'm reluctant to do so until I feel more comfortable inserting the appropriate links and citations.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pristine2 (talk • contribs) 07:39, 10 August 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Some tweaking 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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