Dulcimer or Guitar?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Cynthia;Unfortunately if you try to listen to everyone a dulcimer does sound something like:
'hourglass/teardrop/aorell body; 3/4/6/8/12 strings; doubled/equadistant; with added frets 1+ 6+ 8+ or all (chromatic); baritone/octave/-ette/bass/standard; tuned to play mode DAd DAD CGc CGC AEA DF#A DADD etc etc' and 'may be cappo'd to play....' and 'can tune CGc and play DAd on it'...and....and ..... there is the - 'great for playing fiddle tunes, mandolin tunes, etc etc'and .... 'may be bowed' .....gasp for air....Truth of the matter is, for a simple instrument it does come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and configurations. Probably because it is more or less the last of the Western folk instruments to be of interest to a modern audience, and as a result is undergoing a wave of changes by people trying to make it fit into modern music which it was never intended to play.Hmmm... Dulcimer Classification... some thoughts.ShapeEverything under the sun! However the good news that that shape is more than 99% cosmetic . Being hourglass or elliptical or rectangular, by itself, it does not effect the sound. Pick the shape that most appeals to you.MaterialsDulcimers have been made from most imaginable woods and plywoods, lexan plastic, paper, carbon fiber, even Leggo blocks! Cardboard dulcimers are a good inexpensive introductory instrument. So are plywood or veneer dulcimers. Solid wood dulcimers are the most common and serious. Plastic instruments are mostly still novelties.Number of Strings3, 4 and 6 string dulcimers are most common. Essentially most dulcimers have 3 courses of strings - bass, middle drone, and melody. Often the melody course is doubled; sometimes the bass and melody courses are doubled; or all three course are doubled. The real odd arrangement is 4 equidistant strings a specialist setup, not for everyone.TonalityOctave Dulcimer or Dulcimette - physically much small in overall size, and normally tuned an octave higher than a standard dulcimer.Standard Dulcimer - normally tuned to the keys of C and D. Most useful for individual playing or playing with other dulcimers in unison.Barintone and Bass Dulcimers - physically about the same size as a standard dulcimer, but tuned to much lower ranges.Octave, Baritone and Bass dulcimers are essentially special purpose instruments that can be played as solo instruments or with standard dulcimers where music has been written for their parts. Not instruments particularly good for beginners. Bowed dulcimers are
very special purpose instruments, although almost any dulcimer can occaionally be played with a bow.Tunings/KeysThere are eight traditional Modal tunings, and a number of other common ones. Because the dulcimer is not normally chromatic it must be re-tuned to play in different keys.The standard dulcimer is most often tuned to the key of D in the Major or Ionian Modal tuning called DAA; or the equally popular Mixolydian Modal tuning call DAd. Both tunings are equally valid, and dulcimers tuned to each can be played together. Most of us recommend beginners pick either DAA or DAd and spend a few months learning to play several songs and becoming familiar with the instrument using one tuning.Methods of PlayingTraditional - the melody of the song is played on the melody strings, allowing the middle and bass strings to drone accompaniment.Modern - the melody of the song is played by creating chords across all three course, for each note of the melody.AccessoriesCapo or Reverse Capo - these are devices for changing the pitch of some or all of the strings as an alternative to re-tuningStriker - a chopstick-like device occasionally used as an alternative to a pick.Picking A First InstrumentDepending on your budget, I think most of us would recommend that you start with either a cardboard dulcimer, or one of several "student" instruments in the $100 - $200 range from well-known builders. Ask us, we'll tell you who we think of as good builders. Avoid the Applecreek, First Act and other inexpensive instruments made in foreign countries by people who don't know or care.Hope this helps you narrow down your choices somewhat. BTW, ask the folks around here; they'll tell you've I've been messing about with dulciemrs for over 30 years, so I do have an experience and knowledge base from which I speak.
