hammer-dulcimer vs tsimbali
Dennis Bartley
also find variations in Germany (hackbratt), Japan (translated as something
like "butterfly harp" perhaps) and perhaps Ireland (tiompan, though I'm
not sure people know exactly what a tiompan is. Derek Bell plays a HD on
a Chieftans record or 2).
There are 2 bridges. The treble bridge (left side) splits it's strings so
the left is 1/5 above the right side. So you can cover one scale in 4
strings:
C | F
B | E
A | D
G | C
While there is a bridge for the "bass" strings, you don't really play the
right hand side of them at all. The bass strings are usually tuned so that
the right hand side of the treble strings form the second half of a scale.
I have a 15/14 (15 treble strings, 14 bass) from Dusty Strings. I have it
tuned like this:
Treble Bridge Bass
| G
C * F B flat
B | E A
A | D G
G * C F
F# | B E
E | A D
D * G C
C# | F# B
B | E A
A * D G
G# | C# F#
F# | B E
E * A D
D# | G#
So I can play in the keys of F through A, and you move backwards through the
circle of 5ths as you go up the dulcimer.
Hammers can be quite different. Some are covered with felt for a piano sound.
Some have springy metal shafts (like hack-saw blades) for more bounce. They
generally look something like:
------------------------*---------*
* *
**
Technique... well I'm not a very good player so I'll skip that.
My instrument comes from Dusty Strings in Mendecino, Ca. It's very good.
Another place that caries several different types is Andys Front Hall
The last address I have is "Drawer A, Voorheesville, NY. 12186"
(John McCutcheon like instruments?)
One book/record combination I have that describes how to make a HD was
written by Howie Mitchell. Andys Front Hall probably caries that.
I'll try to find an address for Dusty Strings.
John Kleist
Piche) writes:
>
> I have recently a byelorussian tsimbali, and have been banging away
> on it for the last few months, playing celtic tunes mainly. I am
> almost completely ignorant of the American hammer-dulcimer, so here are
> some questions for experts:
I'm no expert but I've built a couple hammered dulcimers and play one a little.
> --how are the strings and notes arranged on the board? Is the arrangement
> optimal for playing folk (diatonic) tunes? (The tsimbali
> is chromatic, low notes nearest the player, with 2 and 3 rows of notes);
The tuning most commonly used appears to be:
Treble Bass
d g c highest pitch
c f b flat
b e a
a d g
g c f
f# b e
e a d
d g c
c# f# b
b e a
a d g
g# c# lowest pitch
This is the so called 12/11 arrangement; there are also 15/14
instruments which
extend the range down 3 more notes.
The 12/11 arrangement let's you play comfortably in the keys A, D, G, C
and F. Plus
some tunes in E and Bb are possible. Playing tunes with none diatonic notes
can be difficult, but usually a key can be chosen to accomodate the tune.
Many of the less expensive commercial models use two string courses (a total
of 46 strings). Better instruments often use three string courses for the
treble strings and two string courses for the bass. The instrument I made last
winter uses four string courses for the treble and three string courses for the
bass. While more strings per course produce a more powerful sound, tuning 81
strings is a real nuisance.
More information on alternate and historical tunings can be found in _The
Grove Dictionary of Music_ under the entry 'dulcimer'. This is also a good
source for dulcimer history.
> --what are the hammers like? (tsimbali hammers are shaped something
> like lacrosse stick, and have the ends covered in leather);
My hammers look like flattened spoons. They are made of maple. I cover
one edge with leather and leave the other bare wood. Either edge can be used.
Other hammer styles I've seen are:
- flat pieces of wood (popsicle sticks) with knob of wood for a striker
- corset stays (where can you find a corset stay?) with wooden
handles and felt covered wooden strikers.
> --playing style: damping, tremolo, celtic rolls and other ornaments? (My
> tsimbali book, written by a music academy prof, advocates systematic use
> of damping, so that the player is trying to emulate a piano mechanism.
> This probably has nothing to do with traditional byelorussian style.)
I don't have much to say about style. My own style is primitive: try to play
the melody, add bass and chords when possible.
> --where can I get a hammer-dulcimer? I live in Finland, and don't
> care to lug such a big instrument over the Atlantic, so a kit would be
ideal,
> but drawings might suffice (I have friends who operate a kantele factory,
> they might build me a hammer-dulcimer.)
>
Elderly Instruments lists a kit in their current catalog. I'm sorry I don't
have their address handy. They also list a hammered dulcimer blueprint and
can supply piano wire and tuning pins.
Building a dulcimer is not difficult. They are basically a trapezoidal
boxes with bridges, pins and strings added to the top. If there is interest
I could post an article with some construction details.
> Robert Piche
> Tampere University of Technology
> P.O. Box 527, SF-33101 Tampere Finland
> internet: pi...@fuksi.tut.fi bitnet:piche@fintuta
John Kleist jo...@loki.atmos.colostate.edu
Hal Mueller
3406 Fremont Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 634-1656a
Their catalog also lists accessories, tapes, and instruction books.
--
Hal Mueller Remember that the only thing the USAF and USN have
hmue...@wfsc4.tamu.edu ever agreed on is that the Army shouldn't have
n27...@tamunix.Bitnet fixed-wing aircraft. --Mary Shafer
Dennis Bartley
1100 N. Washington
PO Box 14210 CS
Lansing, Michigan 48901
USA
Michael Andrec
>And I thought the cimbalum was Chechoslovakian or Hungarian. You'll
>also find variations in Germany (hackbratt), Japan (translated as something
>like "butterfly harp" perhaps) and perhaps Ireland (tiompan, though I'm
Actually, Ukrainians have virtually the same instrument which is known as
"tsymbaly" (what a coincidence :-) I have seen them played and I have even
tried my hand at playing one a while ago, but I don't own one. I don't know
too much about the details (since I play the bandura, another Ukrainian
folk instrument), but I get the impression that there is some
variation in the tuning from performer to performer, but otherwise they are
like Dennis Bartley describes.
****************************************************************************
Mike Andrec "... and so I'm having a
BGSU Chemistry wonderful time, but I'd
BITNET: andrec@bgsuopie rather be whistling in the dark..."
They Might Be Giants
Ellen EADES
I strongly recommend *against* kits. I have never seen a very good one, as
compared to the finished product that you can get for a comparable price
(even adding in "lugging it over the Atlantic," Robert!) at a good dulcimer
maker's. Good dulcimer makers include Rick Fogel of Whamdiddle Dulcimers
(206) 784-1764 and Ray Mooers of Dusty Strings Dulcimer Co. (206) 634-1656
and Lee Spears of Asheville, North Carolina (I'm not sure of the phone number
... maybe Randy Marchany knows? There is also a very famous dulcimer maker
named Sam Rizzetta in Virginia, but he has a huge backlog of orders and has
been raising his prices to discourage demand :-). For a beginning dulcimer,
I recommend Dusty Strings' Apprentice model dulcimer, a 12/11 model (12
courses on the left bridge, 11 on the right). They will ship overseas. It
is tuned diatonically in fifths as follows:
D'' / G' D' \
C' / F' C \
B' / E' Bb \
A' / D' A \
G' / C G \
F#' / B F \
E' / A E \
D' / G D \
C# / F# C \
B / E B \
A / D A \
G# / C#
/ and \ are bridges. The strings on the left bridge pass *between* the
strings on the right bridge and vice versa (one-piece bridges have holes cut
in them for the other side's strings to pass through; others are built as
one bridge per string (12 on the right, 11 on the left) and are shaped
like hourglasses from the side: )( . The A string on the right bridge
passes between the A-D and B-E strings on the left bridge, and so on up.
Some of the notes are identical; the top right-hand D' is the same as the
D' on the upper right side of the left bridge *and* the D' on the middle
left side of the left bridge. This facilitates playing because you can
hit the same note in a number of positions. Also, as you can see, it is
diatonic, not chromatic. You can get chromatic dulcimers, but usually they
have thrown an extra bridge in for those missing notes.
Hammers are between 5 and 7 inches, and generally have a flattened handle
and an oval or spoon-shaped end where you hit. If spoon-shaped, you hit
with the convex side, which is usually wood. If oval, there is usually one
wood side and one leather-covered side. Playing style varies with player;
trills, rolls and arpeggios tend to be used a lot, damping more rarely. I
hear that east-coast US players do not use rolls, whereas west-coast players
often overuse them. In general, ornaments are best used sparingly, other-
wise you lose the nice ringing sound in a busy muddle of undamped strings.
More questions? Email me.
Ellen Eades