Stringed musical instruments are sensitive creatures. And the more refined, the more responsive, the more dynamic the dulcimer, the more it will respond badly to things that go wrong. Dull, plodding dulcimers will plod with you right through mishaps that will drive a sensitive instrument haywire.

This workshop will be a lecture and demonstration of problems that dulcimers can develop. Participants are encouraged to bring their own problematic instruments, so we can comment on them in the workshop and perhaps even resolve the problem. We will cover not only string buzzes but also how to detect when your instrument has structural faults or incorrect intonation or action.

The following major areas will be covered:

• Strings, saddles and nuts.
• How to choose the correct strings for your dulcimer
• How to detect interior problems and analyze them
• How to detect incorrect intonation. If your dulcimer has a "floating" saddle, we will show how to correct the intonation
• How to analyze what keeps a dulcimer from sounding sweet every place on the fretboard
• How to deal with "wolf" tones
• How to get good service for your dulcimer

Bear Meadow Workshops
Trouble-shooting the Troublesome Dulcimer