Mountain Dulcimer

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Posted by pick1 on Saturday, December 6, 2008

A lady who lives near me recenty told me she had always had a desire to play music. I am building her a Mountain Dulcimer. This project is new territory for me. I have never fretted a fingerboard or built a flat top / flat back instrument. I have a good set of plans and feel like I'm off to a good start but I will ask for any advice anyone has to give. I'm concerned that playing on a 5/8 inch fingergoard will not transfer music to the sound box. Aside from this issue, at Jeffries Woodwork I found the most beautiful piece of Bubinga I have ever seen. When I thinned it to 1/8 inch and bookmatched it, two natural soundholes appeared. Hopefully, I will be posting pictures soon. I have never played a dulcimer. I don't have a clue how these things act so if anyone has advice, please share it.

2 comments on “Mountain Dulcimer”

robinja Says:
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 @7:09:57 AM

I play a little, but I must confess that I abandoned it totally for the fiddle. My husband made 4 duclimers total, I think. The dulcimer was the first instrument that he made, and I was so amazed that he could build something in the garage that I could play music on! My husband's woodworking and our experimentation with the dulcimer were our first adventures into the world of music. The dulcimer is a fairly quiet instrument, so I would agree with you that the sound doesn't transfer that well, but that's the nature of the beast, I think. Some professional players use a dulcimer with a resonator type structure on the bottom. Good luck - what a nice thing you're doing!