|
THE APPALCAHIAN DULCIMER AVAILABLE FROM STOCK OR MADE TO ORDER |
|
The plucked Dulcimer is a simple folk instrument. Introduced by the early European settlers, today the instrument is closely associated with the United States. Because the Dulcimer is such a simple instrument, it would be wrong to assume there is a definitive style or tuning for all instruments. Instruments could easily be made from local materials and players would tune them in any way that suited them. The “Rainbow” dulcimer comes in two styles, fretted or fretless. Each instrument is simple to play, anybody can quickly learn to pick out tunes with either style of Dulcimer. The fretted Dulcimer is probably the easiest for new or less confident musicians and most of the notes below refer to this model. The fretted Dulcimer may be played in any major key, although it will be best tuned to “G”. The fretless version gives the player scope to play semitone intervals and can sound quite like a Hawaiian guitar. A good starting point for each model of Dulcimer is to tune it up. Quite simply lay the instrument across your knee with the tuning head to your left. Tune the furthest away string to “G”, if you don’t have a piano, tuning fork, electronic tuner, or any other means of tuning, don’t worry, just tighten the string until it sounds OK to you and it does not rattle against the frets when it is plucked, it will be alright, The remaining three strings are tuned to the same note. The open strings are tuned to “D”, fine if you have a tuner, if not, just hold down the “G” string behind the fourth fret and it will play “D”, tune the strings to this note. You should have a noter, (a small piece of dowelling, broken pencil, or something similar and a pick (or plectrum). To play the Dulcimer hold the noter down across the two nearest strings while stroking some or all of the strings with the pick. The two strings furthest away are left open while playing, they are drones, they don’t contribute to any melody, but the help make a fuller playing sound. The “G” scale starts behind the third fret, place the noter behind the third fret, slide the noter up the fret board, one fret at a time while picking the string. You should get a recognisable scale. The rest is up to you. Try paying simple tunes by ear. Good tunes to try are “The Sloop John B”, “Amazing Grace” and “Lord of the Dance”.
Go on, get a Dulcimer and play it. |