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Welcome to Dulcimer 101

Jon Weinberg, All Rights Reserved Page 1 www.JonWeinberg.com

The Basics

What You’ll Need Dulcimer Stand Hammers Tuning Wrench (Electronic) Tuner – chromatic Tuner pickup (optional)

Instrument nomenclature

Strings vs. Courses o Most dulcimers today are 2 strings per course o 12/11 dulcimer = 12 courses on treble bridge, 11 on bass bridge o 15/14 dulcimer = 15 courses on treble bridge, 14 on bass bridge

Notes – treble bridge courses have 2 different notes on either side of the bridge o Fifth interval (Twinkle, Twinkle…)

Bridges and bridge markers



Playing Dynamics

String side up, longer parallel side towards you!

Sitting or standing

Positioning yourself relative to the instrument o Sit or stand about a hammers length from the bottom courses o Shoulders relaxed, arms at your side o To reach the upper courses lean your torso in and out rather than extending your arms

Holding your hammers o One way for hammers with curved or flat handle tops:

hold hammers on the side of your index fingers with your thumbs lightly resting on top

o JonW: for hammers with flat handle tops: curl your fingers rest the hammers on 2nd joint of your index finger lay your thumb on top of the handles so that the hammers form a straight line

with your/thumb o Hold the hammers loosely:

so they float when you move your arms up and down so they “whap” when you hammer on your arms or legs so they bounce off the strings when you play (for a good sound)

o Angling the hammers – based on which bridge you’re playing notes on: Treble bridge right side – hold both hammers roughly straight in front of you Treble bridge left side – left hammer straight, right hammer slightly pointed to

the left Bass bridge (left side) – right hammer straight, left hammer slightly pointed to

the right

How to strike the strings o Hold the hammers lightly so they bounce off the strings and don’t dampen them o JonW: play with your arms, not your wrists

Where to strike the strings (see diagram above) – about 1 to 1 ½ inches away from the bridge

Look at the dulcimer bridge courses and markers as you play, not the strings themselves o No note strips!

JonW: How to know which hand to use for each note? – dominant/strong hand lead (more below…)



Notes & Scales

Identifying each course’s notes/pitch

Start by memorizing only the bridge markers (scale position markers)

Don’t worry about sharps and flats for now (except for tuning) – I’ll explain why shortly…

What pattern(s) do you see?

All Hammered Dulcimers are diatonic o 8 note scale (do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti, do) o The 1st and 8th notes (both “do”s) are an octave apart and occur on bridge markers o Knowing the 1st note of the scale you can easily identify the remaining notes o Visualize these scales as boxes:



Starting with your strong hand and alternating your hands:

1. In the key of G, play an ascending major scale in the treble bridge box - starting on the right side of the treble bridge

2. Next play an ascending G major scale in the bass bridge box – starting on the bass bridge note 3. In the treble bridge box play a descending G scale (starting at the octave note and coming down

the scale

What did you find? Did you cross your hands? Where?

Unisons Definition: identical notes/pitches in the same octave that appear in multiple places on the

instrument

In each scale/key box some of the notes also appear in the box above or to the right of the box we’re playing in – these are the unisons – go to the right and then up 4 notes

Key of G on the Dulcimer



Unisons allow us to play “out-of-the-box”, find easier ways to play tunes and to avoid hand crosses Use a unison in an ascending scale to avoid a hand cross

play 5 notes up the right side, then cross over the bridge for the remaining 3 notes

Music Notation

music staff lines = E G B D F (Every Good Boy Deserves a Favor)

Key Signature determines where on the dulcimer to find the notes you’ll need



Popular keys for the Hammered Dulcimer (in order of popularity): Key Signature Major Key Minor Key Comments

D

Bm

G

Em

A

F#m

usually not playable on 12/11 instruments

C

Am

F

Dm

bass bridge only

How to Learn and Play Tunes on the Dulcimer

1. The key signature tells us where to begin playing – which scale box has most of the notes we’ll need

Ignore the octave it is written in – use the key boxes 2. The time signature tells us how many beats per measure – what the tune should feel like 3. Finding the melody notes on the dulcimer (which courses to hit)

Don’t panic if it seems like there are a lot of notes - learn to recognize repeated phrases/patterns (traditional tunes are full of them)

Learn small phrases or a few measures at a time - then add them to what you’re already learned, until you can play thru the whole tune from memory

Memorize the patterns you’re playing on the dulcimer (in and around the key boxes and bridge markers) for the phrases of the tune

You have to look at the dulcimer while you are playing it – you cannot sight read!

Utilize visual patterns and muscle memory 4. Use the note durations to determine which hand to use for each note (see below) 5. Play slowly at first – only speed up when you can play at your current speed from

memory without making any mistakes 6. Repetition over time is how you learn – you are better off practicing 10 minutes a day

than for 4 hours once a week



Strong/Dominant Hand Lead System 1. Always use your strong hand for the first beat of each measure! 2. Where you have pairs of eighth notes, play them with alternating hands 3. When you encounter a quarter note (think “missing” eighth note) the next note will be

played with the same hand you just used for the quarter note (which will usually be your strong hand)

Important Rules/Concepts Avoid hand crosses!

Play horizontally wherever possible (using unisons) – it’s easier and more accurate

If you have a choice of courses to play the same note on, choose whichever one provides the easiest transition to the following note or phrase

Play consistently using a strong/dominant hand lead system…



Let’s Learn Soldier’s Joy!

A Part

|---------------------- Phrase ------------------| |---------------------- Phrase ------------------| |----

pickup |-Riff A1-| |-Riff A1-| pickup |-Riff A1-| |-Riff A1-| pickup

R L R L R L R L R L R R R R L R R R R L ---------------- Phrase -------------| |------------------- Phrase ------------------| |- Riff A1-| |-Riff A1-| pickup |------ Riff A2--------| pickup pickup

R R R R L R R R R L

B Part

|------------------------------------------ Phrase -----------------------------------------| |------ |----- Riff B1------| |------ Riff B1------| |------ Riff B1------| pickup

R R R L R L R R R R R R R R L ---------------------- Phrase ----------------| |---------------- Phrase ----------------| |------ Riff B1-------| |------ Riff B1------| |-------- Riff B2 --------| pickup

R R R R L



In Closing…

Learning tips

use music to find notes on the dulcimer, then memorize visual / hammering patterns - look at the dulcimer

look for repeating / similar patterns and phrases

recognize patterns from other songs you know

work slowly, increase speed only after you can play it well slowly

if too many mistakes, slow down until you’ve “got it”

the more you learn the faster and easier learning will become

Memorization hints

memorize visual patterns

small parts at a time

tackle a phrase at a time, then play it with the phrases already learned

repetition - over time (10 minutes/day…)

use muscle memory - relax! Playing in Different Keys

NOTE that the same striking pattern starting on a different bridge marker plays the same tune or scale in that different key

Once you know the patterns for a tune you can easily play it in any dulcimer-friendly key!

Soldier’s Joy Key: D major Form: AABB Right hand lead


D (Bm) (G) A B B II----------------| B B

R R R R R R R R R

D (Bm) (G) A D D B B II------------------------------------------------------------------------| II--------------------------

R R R R R R R R R

D A D(Em) A(G) (A) D II-----------------------sim.

R R R R R R R R R R R R R

A(Em) D(G) A D D II-------------------------sim.

R R R R R R R R Notation:

II, I, B Bridge position to play a note(s) on

II = left side of Treble bridge I = right side of Treble bridge (the default position if none indicated) B = left side of Bass bridge

Where a bridge position is followed by -----------| all the notes following are also played at that position until the ending “|” Where a bridge position is followed by --------sim. all the notes following are also played at that position until the end of

the staff line or part L,R Left and right hand hints

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