I have recently bought a really nice cigar box guitar strummer with a 25 1/2" nut to bridge length.it was advertised as (as set up for slide) does any of you play a strummer with slide.A very confused 69 years young beginner. Mal (UK)
Possibly the "slide" they refer to is a noter. Old style dulcimer was often played using a wooden dowel on the melody (high pitch next to the body), but was not a true slide, since it was moved from fret to fret between notes.
Your strummer looks OK from a distance. I know of very few strummers set up for slide. The point of slide is to stay above the frets. The point of a strummer is that the fewer frets makes noting and chording easier... so, on the face, a strummer set up for slide seems to be a contradiction...
If you want to play slide, then go for it, but it will slow you down a little when you start to learn some techniques like fretting behind the bar, if you don't have a chromatic instrument. If you want to play notes and learn simple songs (the typical goal of early strummer learning then you'll probably have to lower the action some.
If you're close to the builder, you can ask for help with adjusting the action. I would be interested to see what you learn through this process....
I am not at all very musical and just don't seem to find any tutorials like Kenni lee burgess does for the ordinary three string,he just seems to understand what dumbo's li.He goes back over things slowly, it would also be good to find a book or better still a dvd for rank beginers Mal (UK)ke me need
Diane in Chicago said:
Pretty much always dulcimers are played without a slide. That crazy fret arrangement is there so you can easily finger tunes and chords without playing any "wrong" notes. If it is hard to finger notes with your left hand because the strings are quite high off the fingerboard, you can maybe adjust that so you can use if for what strummers are made for - pickin! Or you can go back and ask your builder his advice.
I love playing strummers like yours - you won't be a beginner for long!
Pretty much always dulcimers are played without a slide. That crazy fret arrangement is there so you can easily finger tunes and chords without playing any "wrong" notes. If it is hard to finger notes with your left hand because the strings are quite high off the fingerboard, you can maybe adjust that so you can use if for what strummers are made for - pickin! Or you can go back and ask your builder his advice.
I love playing strummers like yours - you won't be a beginner for long!
Replies
The best instruction videos I've seen are over at McNally's Strumstick site:
http://www.strumstick.com/html_pages/Strumstick%20Videos.htm
Plus, he has an online tune book with notation.
Mal,
..
Your strummer looks OK from a distance. I know of very few strummers set up for slide. The point of slide is to stay above the frets. The point of a strummer is that the fewer frets makes noting and chording easier... so, on the face, a strummer set up for slide seems to be a contradiction...
If you want to play slide, then go for it, but it will slow you down a little when you start to learn some techniques like fretting behind the bar, if you don't have a chromatic instrument. If you want to play notes and learn simple songs (the typical goal of early strummer learning then you'll probably have to lower the action some.
If you're close to the builder, you can ask for help with adjusting the action. I would be interested to see what you learn through this process....
the best,
Wichita Sam
I am not at all very musical and just don't seem to find any tutorials like Kenni lee burgess does for the ordinary three string,he just seems to understand what dumbo's li.He goes back over things slowly, it would also be good to find a book or better still a dvd for rank beginers Mal (UK)ke me need
Diane in Chicago said:
Pretty much always dulcimers are played without a slide. That crazy fret arrangement is there so you can easily finger tunes and chords without playing any "wrong" notes. If it is hard to finger notes with your left hand because the strings are quite high off the fingerboard, you can maybe adjust that so you can use if for what strummers are made for - pickin! Or you can go back and ask your builder his advice.
I love playing strummers like yours - you won't be a beginner for long!