The mountain or "fretted" dulcimer is a delicate-sounding
stringed instrument from the Appalachia region of the U.S. It is likely based
on a number of European folk instruments, such as Germany's Scheitholt, or the
Langeleik from Norway, but in its present 100-year-old form, the dulcimer is
typically American. Because of its quiet voice and unusual appearance, many
musicians overlook the dulcimer; you'll sometimes find one decorating a wall
rather than being played. Perhaps this article, with its tuning information and
basic playing techniques, will help get some dulcimers off the wall and back
into players' hands.
Incidentally,
the name "dulcimer" applies to two different instruments. The hammer dulcimer
is a larger, trapezoidal shaped instrument that rests on a stand and is played
with two miniature wooden hammers. Our subject is the smaller mountain
dulcimer, which sits on a player's lap, has fewer strings, and is strummed or
plucked.
Most
mountain dulcimers are shaped somewhat like a stretched-out violin, although
elongated teardrop and rectangle shapes are also common. One way to play a
dulcimer involves sliding a smooth wooden dowel, or "noter," over the melody strings
with one hand, while picking or strumming with the other. You don't have to use
a noter - a finger works just fine - but noter playing creates a sweet sound
that few other instruments can duplicate. This old-time method of playing is a
bit like playing one-finger piano, although, because of the dulcimer's open
tuning, strumming across all the strings creates a partial chord, and it sounds
a lot cooler than one-finger piano. I've seen many self-professed
"non-musicians" beam while plucking out a simple melody, complete with droning
harmonies, within minutes of sitting down with a dulcimer for the first time.
So, the
dulcimer is a relatively simple instrument to play, but that doesn't mean it
isn't a serious instrument. You can play advanced chords on it, use different
tunings, and play harmonics. You can use a capo, bend or mute strings,
finger-pick, and play leads. You can play with the dulcimer held against the
body like a guitar (if you have long fingers). Some people even prop it up and
play with a bow. There are dulcimer stands if you'd rather stand up and play.
The dulcimer may not be designed for all these techniques, but that doesn't
mean you can't experiment with them.
Dulcimers
generally have four strings. There are two unwound melody strings, tuned alike
and positioned close together, so that they can be played as one (some older
dulcimers don't have the second melody string). Next, there is an unwound
"middle" string and a wound bass string. Music stores that cater to acoustic
musicians sometime sell dulcimer string sets, but I buy individual strings, so
that I can get particular gauges: .012s for the melody strings, .015 for the
middle string, and .026 for the bass string. Acoustic or electric guitar
strings will work.
Tunings for
the dulcimer correspond to musical "modes." What is a mode? A scale is an
ordered series of musical intervals, right? Well, a mode is an eight-note scale
that doesn't include flats and sharps (the black keys on a piano,) and each
mode has its particular sound - cheerful, haunting, melancholy, and so
forth. Here are some popular dulcimer
tunings with their corresponding modal information. The doubled letters signify
the pitch of the melody strings, followed by the middle and bass strings.
Melody strings are pitched fairly high. For example, an "A" is pitched to A
above middle C on the piano, with the bass string tuned like you would tune the
fourth string of a guitar. Contemporary builders have added a 6 1/2 fret
(usually noted as 6+) to the traditional dulcimer fretboard, so that modern
scales can be played. This is cool, if a little confusing: that darn 6+ fret
sure looks like the 7th fret, but it's not, because if we called it fret 7, it
would mean that all the old dulcimer TAB would have to be thrown out or re-written!
To play the
modes listed below, you'll need to skip the 6+ fret, if your dulcimer has one.
How can you tell? Dulcimers have fret intervals that alternate in size. If your
dulcimer's fifth fret is the first in a succession of four equidistant frets,
then you've got a 6+ fret.
AA-A-D
This is the D Ionian tuning. The Ionian mode is played on
the melody string, frets 3-10.
DD-A-D
This is D Mixolydian. The Mixolydian mode is played on the
melody string, open string to 7th fret.
CC-A-D
This is D Aeolian. The Aeolian mode is played on the melody
string, frets 1-8.
GG A D
This is D Dorian. The Dorian mode is played on the melody
string, frets 4-11.
These
tunings are transferable to other keys. For instance, you can tune BB-B-E, and
still be in an Ionian tuning. You should try them all (and make up your own,)
but frequent re-tuning takes a toll on strings, so be gentle when you
experiment, and have some extra strings handy.
By the way,
when people ask how you're tuned, tell them "A-A-D," or whatever, instead of,
"I'm in the D Ionian mode," unless you enjoy long conversations about music
theory, or just want to appear inscrutable.
I keep my
main dulcimer tuned D-A-D most of the time, because it's a versatile
tuning for playing in a variety of keys, but A-A-D is a good
tuning for beginners. When performing, I'll usually bring a couple of
dulcimers, each tuned differently, to cut down on re-tuning in between songs.
I hope I've
stimulated your interest in this cool and unusual instrument. There's a lot
more to learn, so I encourage you to check out these wonderful recording
artists, dulcimer builders, and reference sources:
Richard Fariña
http://www.richardandmimi.com
David Schnaufer
http://www.myspace.com/davidschnaufer
Lois Hornbostel
http://www.loishornbostel.com
Jerry Rockwell
http://www.jcrmusic.com
Black Mountain Instruments
http://www.blackmtninstruments.com
Folkcraft Instruments
http://www.folkcraft.com
Dulcimer Player's News
http://www.dpnews.com/
www.everythingdulcimer.com
Connie Allen offers free bi-monthly dulcimer get-togethers
at her home in Clairemont.
connie_allen@dulcimer.lover.org
Other
artists who play dulcimer:
Joni Mitchell (much of her Blue album was written and
recorded on dulcimer)
The Rolling Stones (Brian Jones played dulcimer on "Lady
Jane")
Cyndi Lauper (Lauper used to take lessons from David
Schnaufer)
Wendy Waldman (Wendy plays dulcimer quite a bit on her
various projects, including the new Refugees CD. www.therefugees.com)
Me (Please check out some of the music I've made on
dulcimer. You can hear my tongue-in-cheek dulcimer anthem, "I Play the
Dulcimer," at www.andyrobinsonmusic.com, and you can hear clips from my solo
album, Exotic America, at www.cdbaby.com/andyrobinson.)
Dulcimer
questions? Contact me at robinsong5@aol.com.