Hi @kb9jlo
i just now saw your question today so I'm a bit late for the Christmas songs. However I wanted to tell you something that may help in playing for your grand darlings to sing along. You already know that you will find most songs tabbed for the DAD tuning. If you need to sing in a bit lower key, which is often needed, then you can tune to CGC and play the exact same tab as you do for DAD.
That would mean you lower each string by one.
@kb9jlo , if you just want some tab for Christmas songs, feel free to use the four or five I arranged recently for my local dulcimer group. They are all in DAd and only include tunes in the public domain. You can find them here .
Tabulature tells you which string needs to be tuned to what note so that the song you are trying to play will sound right. So yes, changing your tuning to match the tabulature is "part of the deal". At least until you have enough experience playing and tuning to find where the notes are by ear; or learning to read sheet music (which also requires the dulcimer to be tuned to a specific set of notes).
Actually, I found a tab -- in DAd -- for Frosty :
http://dulcimer-autoharp.org/PDF/FrostyMDchords.pdf
Dusty is right -- you do need the 6+ fret, but most dulcimers seem to have it these days. Although the tab has some chords, you can simply play the melody line and it sounds just fine.
Several versions of tab for Silent Night can be found here:
http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/tab/index.php
Since you are so new to things, perhaps you should read the article I wrote a number of years ago called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms, plus instructions of tuning, playing, care and feeding of your instrument. The article file is attached here.
The following web site has 2 versions of Frosty The Snowman. I have found several tabs here as well as the Dogwood Dulcimer Assiciation
Since Frosty the Snowman is under copyright, you won't find free dulcimer tab online. Maybe someone has it in a book of tab. But beware that whether you tune DAd or DAA, you will need the 6+ fret on an A string to get a G# in the B part of the song. (It's the "put" in "When they put it on his head.")
OK. So changing your tuning to match the tablature is just "part of the deal" then? I was never quite sure. Anything I know or think I know I've picked up by reading, not by being taught or doing.
Now to find a tab for Frosty the Snowman! LOL! That's my grandson's favorite Christmas song right now...
Well sorry about that; I totally misunderstood your question.
If you just want to use tablature, then you tune to whatever tuning the tablature is for.
No tuning is better for singing than any other. Some keys might be easier to sing in than others, but that depends on the song and your voice. There is one song that I can only sing in G or A, so I play it in G or A when I sing. But another member of my dulcimer group likes to sing the same song in D, so when she does, I play it in D. And I do all that out of the same tuning (DAd), sometimes using a capo.
I will file this information away but I was more interested in just playing standard dulcimer tablatures (if that's the correct term) and singing along with the kids...
I've gathered quite a few of the tabs from Everything Dulcimer and really enjoy playing them - especially hymns and Christmas music.
Which tuning lends itself best to singing?
Hi @kb9jlo.
If you simply "want to strum and sing" then your question is not so much about tuning as it is determining what chords to play. Because the dulcimer is a diatonic instrument, every tuning will have some limitations in the sense that some chords may not be possible. For example, in either a DAA or DAd tuning, you will never be able to play an F chord since there is no F natural on the fretboard.
First, I would suggest finding a chord chart. On the Tablature page at Everything Dulcimer , you can find chord charts for DAA and DAd tunings. In whichever tuning you choose, I would start out learning the positions for the main major chords in the key of D: D, G, and A, as well as their relative minors: Bm, Em, and F#m. You will be able to accompany yourself singing most songs in the key of D with those chords.
Second, find the chords for a particular song you want to learn. There is tons of this stuff online because so many of us strum guitars. If you just Google "Frosty the Snowman chords" you will find several examples, including this one . But notice that the chords in that arrangement are not in the key of D; they are in the key of C. You might get lucky and occasionally find chords in the key of D, but you will want to learn how to transpose from one key to another.
Third, if you can count to 8 and know the alphabet from A to G, then you can transpose. Rather than explain all that here, let me offer you this transposition chart for the most common keys:
To use this chart, find the chord that is indicated on the lyrics sheet and locate the comparable chord in the key you want. For example, when the lyrics sheet for "Frosty" indicates a C, you play a D. When it indicates an F, you play a G. When it indicates an Am, you play a Bm. And so forth.
This system will work so long as you can sing in the key of D. Depending on where the melody lies, that will be possible for some tunes and impossible for others. If the melody is too high or low for you, you will have to find a key that works. When you do, you can use this same chart to find the right chords to play. With a dulcimer in DAd or DAA tuning, you can find the right chords to play for the keys of D, G, and A, but other keys will be harder. That is when your initial question about tuning comes into play. Instead of DAd or DAA, you might tune CGc or CGG. The same chord chart you used before will still work, but when you use the fingering for a D chord, you will be playing a C chord. The transposition chart above will again help you figure that out. Similarly, you could tune EAe or EAA and play in the key of E.
That should be enough to get you started. Tune in next week for a lesson on using the capo!
I built my dulcimer and I play it every now and then. Not very active at all. But lately I've wanted to get back into it. I'm confused about the tuning. How to tune the strings for different purposes - not the mechanics of tuning.
What I'd really like to do with my two closest grandkids is strum and sing some Christmas songs with them. My granddaughter and I have sung Silent Night in German at Christmas Eve services a couple of times. I'd love to do that and play the dulcimer sometime (not necessarily this year).
Any suggestions? I just want to strum and sing - nothing fancy. My fingers don't pay any attention to my brain, that's especially the reason why I like the dulcimer.
