I watched a YouTube video with Bing Futch and he gave me some pointers a few years back. I have always sang bass in college and youth group sessions. All those old songs are available for the dulcimer, except ..... too high for a bass voice. When I built my teardrop dulcimer I love the deeper sound with the larger box. But the amazing part was tuning to CGC. I still have 4 other dulcimers tuned DAD and DAA. I found the CGC is better for me as it made it more comfortable to sing. 

The diatonic Jean Ritchie model Blue Lion I have shines in C.  It's a Kentucky hourglass shape, the top is Spruce, and at 23 years old it has aged nicely and is a joy to play.  I came by it 'used' in '07, I think-- diatonic dulcimers were falling out of favor  with lots of players at the time.  I feel lucky to have it.  

I play out of different tunings so it's not unusual for me to play out of *whatever* sounds good to my ear.    

Our club in Franklin NC started tuning to CGC about a year ago. We like the warmer sound and it is better for singing. You will likely have to adjust your string gauge to allow for the looser strings, but the sound is so much better in my opinion.

Our esteemed member Robin recently posted a beautiful clip of her tune Fallen Leaves Lullaby , where she tuned her dulcimer in C to lovely effect.
Most folks tend to tune and play their dulcimer to D as a home base these days, but dulcimers were also commonly tuned to the key of C many years ago.
I'd like to hear about other members' experiences in tuning to and playing in C-
What reasons made you try it?  What dulcimer favored it?  What tunes/songs were better in it?  Did other people or circumstances influence your trying it?  Do you still do it, and why/why not?
Share with us your thoughts and experiences in playing in C!

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