Charlie, you made me splutter all over the keyboard again! Answer to your first questions--I don't. And I do sound like somebody using a noter. To me, that "whistle" is part of the charm of a dulcimer. But I know a LOT of people who wouldn't be caught dead with one.

I usually use a noter because when I play dulcimer it is almost always in 1880 settings......so I use a feather then, too. Also, my fiddle calluses are in the wrong places to use my fingers on a dulcimer.