Post by Dick Glasgow on Jan 15, 2008 21:55:51 GMT 1
[Posted by Ulrich ~ January 15th '08]
Curious fretboards
There are some curious fretboards in the Scheitholt / Dulcimer / Hummel -scene :
When first I got the Hilke-Hummel from Northeim Museum (south of Hannover, Germany) for restauration, I was surprised about that fetboard.
The normal fretboard we know begins with the distances 1 - 1 - 1/2 - 1 - 1 - ..., we have the ionian fretting with "Do" at the 3rd fret and the octave to the 10th.
The Hilke-Hummel beginns : 1/2 - 1 - 1/2 - 1 - 1 - ... .
Taking Do from the 3rd fret and tuning the borduns fitting to that, it was impossible to play the open melody string inside the melody, although many folksongs just need this tone.
Curious, because Adolf Hilke made for 40 years the dance music in the villages of the Solling Mountains.
His second instrument had the same fretting, so this first one could not be a fault or trouble.
Three years ago when I was at Appalachian Museum, Norris in Tennessee I could have a look at a Tennessee Music Box.
The same fretting with the first fret with 1/2 distance.
In Dulcimer Players News (Vol. 30, No. 1, P. 18/19) there is a description of a "Holly Leaf" Dulcimer.
The same fretting with the first at 1/2 ! Ralph Lee Smith wrote : "... showes that the first fret is egregiously misplaced."
I just got the famous book "The Story of the Dulcimer".
What could I see? The Fig. 75 and Fig 54A had the same short fretting.
Smith did not mention that problem.
When so many fretboards were out of what we call "normal" nowadays for what tuning could this fretting be normal?
Is there someone in the scene who could find out?
Hilke-Hummel
There are some curious fretboards in the Scheitholt / Dulcimer / Hummel -scene :
When first I got the Hilke-Hummel from Northeim Museum (south of Hannover, Germany) for restauration, I was surprised about that fetboard.
The normal fretboard we know begins with the distances 1 - 1 - 1/2 - 1 - 1 - ..., we have the ionian fretting with "Do" at the 3rd fret and the octave to the 10th.
The Hilke-Hummel beginns : 1/2 - 1 - 1/2 - 1 - 1 - ... .
Taking Do from the 3rd fret and tuning the borduns fitting to that, it was impossible to play the open melody string inside the melody, although many folksongs just need this tone.
Curious, because Adolf Hilke made for 40 years the dance music in the villages of the Solling Mountains.
His second instrument had the same fretting, so this first one could not be a fault or trouble.
Three years ago when I was at Appalachian Museum, Norris in Tennessee I could have a look at a Tennessee Music Box.
The same fretting with the first fret with 1/2 distance.
In Dulcimer Players News (Vol. 30, No. 1, P. 18/19) there is a description of a "Holly Leaf" Dulcimer.
The same fretting with the first at 1/2 ! Ralph Lee Smith wrote : "... showes that the first fret is egregiously misplaced."
I just got the famous book "The Story of the Dulcimer".
What could I see? The Fig. 75 and Fig 54A had the same short fretting.
Smith did not mention that problem.
When so many fretboards were out of what we call "normal" nowadays for what tuning could this fretting be normal?
Is there someone in the scene who could find out?
Hilke-Hummel