About The Mountain Dulcimer

The Mountain Dulcimer first appeared in the 19th century, it is an instrument that many people played along with the Clawhammer banjo and old time fiddle. The dulcimer is a beautiful instrument, both in a appearance and in sound! many people today don't play to the dulcimer, its one of the instruments that needs to be reintroduced, like the old time banjo and fiddle. You may ask, why do I keep saying old time? well, when referring to the banjo; when you say banjo, people think of Earl Scruggs and bluegrass.. not old time or clawhammer banjo. Like that of Pete Seeger and Ralph Stanley. So, I like to tell what kind of instrument I'm talking about.. ok, well.. back to the dulcimer.. The mountain  dulcimer aka Appalachian Dulcimer, Lap Dulcimer and so on.. pictured above. can be played fretted with the fingers, or with a noter. Which can be made of anything from a twig to a dowel rod you can buy at the store.. Picture below of the noters that I use to play

These are the noters I use to play my mountain dulcimer.. the littlest one (holly bush twig that I whittled) is ok, but to thin.. The middle one is a oak tree twig that I whittled the bark off of, shaped it and sanded it.. I like this one.. the far one, is a dowel rod that I cut off of a flag stick. This one works great to, and is what my mom likes to use when she plays the mountain dulcimer.. It all depends on what you like to use for playing. This is an easy way to play the dulcimer, although some people use all the strings to fret with their fingers, I like using the noters its easier to use.. The Dulcimer is so easy kids can play it! and with the noter, you never have sore fingers from pressing on the strings! to strum the strings, I use a guitar pick which you can use any thickness or size.. You can also use a thumb pick.

Tuning:
Dulcimers have different tunings, I use the DAdd tuning.. Whish the thickest string is a bass D the middle string is A and the two thinnest strings are tuned the same dd.. here is a sample picture of how it goes:

This is an example of the tuning for the dulcimer.. if you play paino you may could under stand the tuning using the keyboard.. But this made it simple to me. When tuning the dulcimer take your time.. I suggest that you purchase a tuner, I use a Snark tuner that doesn't clip on, but rather sits on the dulcimer while your tuning.. But picks up other instruments that may be playing around while your tuning..  Lets explain how to tune your dulcimer: Take your dulcimer, place it on your lap; clip your tuner to the head or scroll of the dulcimer. pluck the first string, which will be the high (d) or treble (d) if it sounds low, tighten it. which is usually going away from you. tighten it slowly, making sure you don't pop it. when that is in tune, pluck the next string, you should have two strings close together. If they are, tune them the same anyways. The two thinnest strings are tuned to the same note, (d). ok.. now that you got the two treble strings tuned.. lets move onto the (A) middle string, again, pluck it. turn the tuning pegs, if it is again to low. Tighten it, if you never know which way it tight or loose, listen to it. You can hear it tighten or loosen. Get that in tune. Now, move onto the (D) bass string. this is a low (D), make sure it is in tune. Tighten or loosen it. If you never know how to tune a dulcimer, go to a local music store. Tell him/her the tuning and have him/her show you how to tune it. It will take time! I have broken strings while tuning. it is possible. Just be careful not to over tighten, if in doubt; loosen it and start over. :) 

 

Holding the Noter:

Holding the noter is up to you. Some people put their index finger on top of the noter to press it.. others (like me) just hold it, with the thumb and index finger to the sides.. here is a picture showing you:

Here, I'm holding it like I mentioned before.. With the index finger on top. And only pressing down on the first string(s).. Some mountain dulcimer has the two strings that are tuned the same the two "dd" close together. My dulcimer has these two strings apart, for the sole purpose of using the noter I guess.. Get as close to the fret as you can, and press! you can slid the noter.. you don't have to keep lifting it up each time you note.. Again, Enjoy playing.. No matter how well you play! just play! get with other musicians and play!