|
17 Aug 06 - 01:35 AM (#1811953) Subject: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: GUEST,Noel Does anyone know how to prepare and use a quill feather to play an Appalachian dulcimer? |
|
17 Aug 06 - 02:05 AM (#1811959) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: JohnInKansas PULL IT OUT OF THE GOOSE. Quite seriously, so far as I've heard, and read in a couple of the "old time traditions" books, no preparation is required. Generally a fairly large wing feather would be used, since they're much "fatter," thicker walled, and more sturdy than feathers from the body. A period of drying likely would be needed, since a freshly pulled feather is rather moist and a bit "limp." If one uses the "found feathers" that fall out of the birds fairly regularly in a poultry yard of any size, the complete instructions are "pick one up and play." You likely will find that a "quill" of any kind will not stand up too well to the metal strings at tensions commonly used on today's dulcimers, which does raise the interesting question of how the strings on modern dulcimers compare to what was used in the era when the use of a quill as a plectrum may have been common. If "folk" strings were natural gut and/or sinew, one might wonder about when, and how rapidly, the transition to more modern strings happened, and how the use of the quill fits into the changes. John |
|
17 Aug 06 - 03:16 AM (#1811982) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Little Robyn I gave up on feathers - they just make dandruff all over the dulcimer. (That's with steel strings.) If my fingernails are a bit short, a guitar flatpick works OK Robyn |
|
17 Aug 06 - 03:48 AM (#1812000) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: JohnInKansas Some few dulcimists of my acquaintance use a rather "different" flatpick that may give an effect similar to a quill without the shreds and shards all over the neighborhood. There are arguments over whether it should be called a "dulcimer pick" but nobody in my crowd seems able to come up with another use for one. This pick is of course flat, and shaped like an equilateral triangle (with straight, flat sides). About 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) on each side. The large size allows you to hold the pick very loosely so that it drags off the strings more than "plucking" them as you'd get with a shorter more tightly held pick. Although the style is available in at least three "stiffness" grades, the few people I've known who favor this pick seem all to use a fairly flexible one. (Even the "heavy" ones seem pretty floppy compared to a more typical guitar pick.) The softer "strumming" action does seem to mellow the sound, and it may simulate to a degree what you'd get with a quill on strings of lower tension. Those I know who use this pick just say they "like the sound," with no pretense that they're following some secret knowledge of ancient things; but then maybe the secret rituals are known only to them and can't be revealed to mere mortals. My own trials a while back with real quills would place the "action" with this pick much closer to a quill than can be easily approached with more conventional plectra. It should be noted that the few players I've seen using these generally don't finger chords; but play a melody line on the front string and strum across the other strings as simple drones. Far something vaguely resembling a quill, but more suited to modern strings, one of the larger of those plastic spears that comes in the onion in your "Gibson" might be about right. (If anyone still drinks - or serves - those?) John |
|
17 Aug 06 - 03:56 AM (#1812006) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Liz the Squeak I've seen someone use a feather trimmed down to just a rectangle with a longish stem, he said it tickled his nose if he didn't trim it. When he wasn't doing mediaeval gigs he used a quill made from a cut up yoghurt pot. Last I saw him he was trying to work out how to disguise a cut up yoghurt pot with fletching to make it look more authentic, because it was getting harder to find a goose that didn't bear a grudge. LTS |
|
17 Aug 06 - 05:56 AM (#1812076) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Geoff the Duck Liz - a goose with a grudge is more likely to work itself into a display of size where it is going to lose wing feathers than a calm contented one. A friend's goose once had a major loss of flight feathers and I ended up with a bag full for the dulcimer. They don't need any preparation before use and do look "fancy" when you use them for playing. They also give a different, lighter tone compared with plastic. That said, plastic is more durable. Quills will wear down fairly soon, they start to fray at the playing edge and after a while need to be trimmed with a sharp knife to so you are using solid quill. As a result the quill gets shorter and eventually needs to be replaced as you don't have one left to play with. By all means use a quill for show, but do your main practice with something else. Quack! Geoff the Duck (Keep your hands off OUR feathers...) |
|
17 Aug 06 - 06:02 AM (#1812080) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: GUEST,Jack Campin I play a bunch of Middle Eastern lute-type instruments which traditionally used a feather plectrum. The material currently traditional in Turkey and Palestine is a strip cut from a plastic bottle or jerrycan, but I prefer the plastic strapping used to package building materials - there are several different types, it's worth having a few on hand to give you different weights and flexibilities. See my cumbus page: http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/Music/Cumbus/cumbus.html |
|
17 Aug 06 - 06:20 AM (#1812093) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: JohnInKansas Interesting page Jack C. The suggestion of using an electrical tie is intriguing. I'd expect that the smaller ones would be rather limp, but they come in sizes with up to at least 150 pound rated strength (usually at least 18 or 24 inches long at that rating) that are considerably stiffer than most strips cut out of bottles and such, I would think. A bit of shopping at the hardware store might turn up a pretty good "imitation feather" of almost any stiffness desired. John |
|
17 Aug 06 - 08:47 AM (#1812195) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Charlie Baum You do need to keep trimming off the end of the quill as it wears down. It's the same as when you use the quill as a writing instrument, not that anyone does these days. Slice the end at an angle, so that there's a point on the downward tip. If you want to be really traditional, you can make the slice with your wee pen knife, since wee pen knives were designed expressly for the purpose of trimming quills. --Charlie Baum |
|
17 Aug 06 - 09:12 AM (#1812217) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Scoville My mother has a big turkey feather but never used it much. I've been told you're actually supposed to get a large, stiff, feather and then peel the "feathery" parts off and use the end that was not attached to the bird. I prefer the large Fender lightweight picks myself, the ones that are triangular but with convex sides--they don't sound harsh and they're too big to fall through my dulcimer's sound holes. If you're doing reenacting stuff, I once had a friend that glued a feather onto a pick so it looked like she was using the feather, but without the bother of keeping it trimmed. |
|
17 Aug 06 - 10:35 AM (#1812268) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: GUEST,Jim Charlie Baum has the right idea. I haven't used one of these in a long time, but it seems to me that Jean Ritchie's firat book explained how to prepare the quill pick. As some others have said, I find the large eqilateral triangle picks in a fairly light guage the best thing. I've also cut picks from margerine tub lids when I was in a fix. |
|
17 Aug 06 - 10:56 AM (#1812277) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Scoville A lot of my friends also like the big Herdim picks, which are shaped sort of like sharks' teeth. Depends on your dulcimer, though--mine are both soft-toned and don't like a pointed pick. |
|
17 Aug 06 - 02:14 PM (#1812398) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Charlie Baum If you do use the quill (whether goose or turkey or whatever) you can trim off the "feathery" part, since that's useless, except perhaps as decoration that might get in your way. But you definitely want to pluck with the stronger end--the end that was attached to the bird. Jean Ritchie and all the other dulcimer people also talk about trimming a piece of plastic from a plastic container. You can use anything from a margarine tub to a bleach bottle, and the thickness and firmness of the piece of plastic will vary depending on your original source. Experiment until you get a pick you like, just like when you purchase a commercial pick from a music store. |
|
17 Aug 06 - 02:27 PM (#1812406) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Bert I've seen Oud players in the Middle East use a strip from plastic bottle. About half an inch wide and about four inches long with the tip narrowed down and rounded. |
|
18 Aug 06 - 02:47 PM (#1813182) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie) On the frontier (of my Youth) we didn't have plastic containers yet,nor any other materials mentioned here, so that's why my Dad used goose or turkey wingfeathers, whittled down as explained in my old, THE DULCIMER BOOK (published in 1952 and still going strong). They still work, but I'm often explaining to audiences as to why I'm using a coffee-can-lid pick, "Well, they don't make turkey-wings like they used to." And Liz TS- Your friend probably also learned his other jokes from me- except the goose bearing a grudge. That's a chuckle! |
|
18 Aug 06 - 06:32 PM (#1813350) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Kaleea I also use the big triangle pick for strummin' & flatpickin' but-- I have seen oldtimers using the feathers & once asked them to show me how they did it. They just whipped out a little pocket knife & scraped off the fluff part of the feather not quite half way down the feather. The feather is held with the end that was stuck on the goose, & they'd whip the other end back & forth across the strings. They said they always used goose feathers. I like them best, too. When I used to play at a living museum circa 1870's, in period attire, I often used the feathers like this except when I was playing with other musicians & needed to use a pick to be heard. I like to give children the opportunity to try strumming, but have noticed that smaller children are often shy about it when I offer them a pick. When I offer them a feather instead, they almost always want to try playing. They do seem to prefer strumming with the other end of the feather, I have noticed. |
|
18 Aug 06 - 09:19 PM (#1813450) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Effsee "When I used to play at a living museum circa 1870's"...was that in a previous life Kaleea? |
|
18 Aug 06 - 09:35 PM (#1813469) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: The Fooles Troupe The Museum exhibit was obviously period 1870s.... :-) |
|
19 Aug 06 - 02:56 PM (#1813929) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie) According to MY oldtimers, Kaleea, YOUR oldtimers were using the feather pick upside down! I'll have to see if I can get one to play like that... |
|
19 Aug 06 - 03:44 PM (#1813957) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Lester JohnInKansas Where can I get one of the larger picks you mentioned? All I can find here (U.K.) and on the web are the usual guitar picks. Alison |
|
19 Aug 06 - 04:16 PM (#1813987) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: JohnInKansas Lester - A few of the music shops in our current area (Kansas) seem usually to have the triangular picks in stock fequently enough to satisfy the demand, although it's sort of "hit or miss" whether you'll find them on any given trip in. I think Lin got her first few from Dusty Strings (Seattle Area), and at least some of the instrument vendors at the Winfield festival usually have a few, so I'm sure they're not just a local thing. I can't recall seeing any of them that were "branded" to suggest who makes them. Unfortunately, nobody seems to know what to call them, so I can't even suggest a "name" for the type that would be consistently recognized. About the only other thing I can add is that I can't remember seeing them in anything but the standard "brown imitation tortoise" plastic common for guitar picks, (but that may be just because that's the color that Lin In Kansas prefers). John |
|
19 Aug 06 - 04:27 PM (#1813997) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Sorcha Fender makes, or used to anyway, the big triangle ones. |
|
19 Aug 06 - 04:27 PM (#1813998) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Effsee Try here:- http://www.mcspaddendulcimers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/displayleaf/sid/191514819593217034149/numlis/12/lh/h-0,c-9,s-42,l-184/pos/1/sqst/184/total/6 |
|
19 Aug 06 - 04:31 PM (#1814003) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Effsee Whoops! Maybe here:- http://www.mcspaddendulcimers.com |
|
19 Aug 06 - 10:48 PM (#1814191) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: JohnInKansas McSpadden doesn't show any pictures so it's hard to be sure they're advertising what you want, and I don't find anything at Fender that looks promising. Andy's Front Hall does have a picture of the triangular one with a bunch of D'ADDARIO FLAT PICKS. The brown one is the one in question. The picture doesn't say the triangular one is a D'ADDARIO, although it might be(?). It's described only as a "LARGE TRIANGLE FLATPICK Shell A/MA 355 Thin: $.30 Medium: $.40" The only "identity" I found at "Andy's" was a 'phone number, but a lookup on it shows: Andys Front Hall Books & Music Wormer Rd Voorheesville, NY (518) 765-4193 Other info on Andys gives the impression he's a "local shop with a computer," so there'd be little incentive to order there if a shop in your own neighborhood can get them for you. With a print of what it looks like, I would think that any local music shop should be able to find it in their wholesale catalogs and would be able to get you a hand full. Unfortunately common guitar picks are also called "large triangle flatpicks" and most definitely are NOT what you want. John |
|
20 Aug 06 - 08:33 AM (#1814378) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Lester Many thanks for the information and links for large triangle flatpicks. |
|
20 Aug 06 - 11:15 AM (#1814441) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Effsee McSpaddens has a picture of a "Herdim Pick", but it gives no indication of size, only that the three points are of different thickness. From the home page go to Accessories then Picks and Noters. |
|
06 Jul 23 - 08:29 PM (#4176247) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: GUEST,D F. Bowers Shirt bones make excellent dulcimer picks. You can even get sets of different sizes so you can take your pick (pun intended). |
|
06 Jul 23 - 10:32 PM (#4176255) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Stilly River Sage Shirt bones - doesn't come up in a search. Could you be talking about collar stays, the plastic pieces that go into men's dress shirt collars to keep the points in place? Like this. |
|
07 Jul 23 - 10:41 AM (#4176283) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: GUEST,Ballyholme As a latecomer to quills, I am now a concert, I currently have two favorites- a small feather from a Canada goose and a large one I found on a beach (possibly from a Pelican). I strip off the feathers by simply pulling them down the quill and til the stem at the narrow end. This is the end that I use to pick the strings. One disadvantage of the quill is that they don’t produce the volume that a plastic pick would. |
|
07 Jul 23 - 11:33 AM (#4176293) Subject: RE: quill feather and Appalachian dulcimer From: Jack Campin My cumbus page (mentioned above) has moved. http://www.campin.me.uk/Music/Cumbus/ The traditional Arabic way of processing an eagle feather to make an oud plectrum was to cut off most of the fluff and also cut the hollow end away - you want the solid core. And you soak them in olive oil for six months. |