Overcoming the Din of a Dulcimer Classroom

All of us who have attended workshops and festivals have experienced the difficulty of hearing our own playing within a group setting.  The inability to segregate the tune or passage we are playing from the din of the group sound can be frustrating and detrimental to learning.

A few relatively inexpensive technology tools can reduce the volume of the group sound and allow you to hear what you are playing. If you can discern your playing from the group, your learning experience will be much more productive.

Plug together the following technology components and you will overcome the din of a dulcimer classroom.

1.  A handheld digital recorder
Make certain the unit has a microphone-in jack and a headset-out jack.  The standard size for these jacks is 1/8 inch or 3.5mm

The price for these units run as low as $30 and run all the way up to more than most of us pay for our dulcimers!  Get a unit that fits your budget and can be easily used.

You may already own a cassette tape recorder.  If so, use that in place of the digital recorder.  Pop in a tape.  Push PLAY – RECORD – PAUSE.  That will work just as well.  But, leaving the unit in the PAUSE position for hours on end may cause some damage. Some cassette tape recorders have a time out function that limits how long the unit will stay in pause mode.  You can also allow the unit to record while you are listening.

2.  A lapel or tie-clip microphone 
Small, electret, clip-on microphones are often used with camcorders.  They are built with a clip mounted to the microphone body.  This clip allows you to temporarily affix the microphone to a tuning peg on the dulcimer.  The sound may not be high fidelity, but it will be sufficient to inform you about your playing.  An expensive microphone is not necessary and its bulk would be inconvenient and awkward.

3. Earbuds 
Try to get earbuds with drivers that are least 11 mm in diameter. Ear buds with 16 mm drivers are available and not expensive.  Don’t buy anything with drivers less than 9mm in diameter.  If the manufacturer doesn’t state the size of the drivers, assume the worst and don’t buy that set of ear buds.

Pay attention to the fit and options for fitting the ear bud.  If the ear bud falls out of your ear easily, it will be a nuisance not an asset.

4.  A headphone amplifier 
The volume produced by the output of a digital recorder is low.  So, if your budget allows, get a headphone amplifier to boost the signal that goes into the earbuds.

Clip the microphone to a mid-range tuning pin on either side of the dulcimer and point it toward the center of the instrument.  You will need to experiment to find the location and angle that produces the best sound.  Plug in the earbuds to the amplifier.  On the digital recorder plug in the amplifier to the headset jack and plug in the microphone to the microphone jack.  Turn everything on. Pop in the ear buds. Set the volume levels you want.  If you use only one ear bud, you’ll hear what you are playing in one ear and what the class or jam is playing in the other ear.

Sample Budget

Prices come from the Radio Shack and Musicians Friend websites
 during the summer of 2009.  There are many sources for these
items and many different manufacturers of these technology
 components.  Prices may vary a great deal.

Cost                         $101

You may already own a tie-clip microphone, a cassette recorder and ear buds.  If so, you can beat the classroom din for as low as $29!
 

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