A Dream Returned

During a lesson I was teaching a few months ago, I noticed that the tuner for the high string on my main dulcimer was slipping. By the end of the lesson, it was completely gone and wouldn't stay in tune at all.

Modern Mountain Dulcimer Dream Model
Walnut w/Spruce bottom and Ebony fretboard

I was bummed.

This was my main player. Sure, I've got other lap dulcimers. And I like them fine, to varying degrees. But this is the one I love playing the best. It's got a beautiful, tight, woody sound; the action is perfect for me; it just feels good under my hands. It's a Dream model made by David McKinney of Modern Mountain Dulcimers like the one pictured above. According to David, he had a dream about making dulcimers upside down, with the holes in the bottom and he just did it. He made this one a few years ago and it's just gotten better and better over time. I love it and am so glad that this one found its way to me. (Another story entirely, but a good one.)

After the lesson, I got home, put the instrument away and then got busy. So busy that for the last couple of months, I haven't had time (or made time) to get the dulcimer to Andy Gribble to get it repaired. I think about it every time I pick up a dulcimer to play or teach a lesson, but life and work and meetings all have gotten in the way.

Well, finally, last week, I made the time. Took it over to Andy and explained the problem. We looked in catalogs for replacement tuners, talked about what needed to be done and agreed it would take a couple of weeks for him to get the repairs done.

Andy called me night before last to let me know he'd gotten it done. It turned out that there was a set screw on the end of the tuner that had gotten loose and just needed to be tightened up. Had it been a banjo, that's the first thing I would have done: tightened that screw. Somehow, because it was a dulcimer, I didn't even think of it. Dopey me.

I picked that big ole, upside down dulcimer up from Andy last night, sat it on my lap and played it for a long time. I'm sure I had a big grin on my face. It sounded so good! At first I thought it was new strings, but no, it wasn't. Just the feel and sound of getting reacquainted with an old friend. It reminded me how much I really do like that instrument.

I guess it is true what they say about abscence making the heart grow fonder.