I've been happily playing my McSpadden dulcimer for about 14 months. I play and sing with a group of singer/songwriters who meet once a week. They are mostly guitar players and play all kinds of music and have been so kind to accept and encourage me. I play in D (DAD tuning), and also in G and A by capoing to the third and fourth fret. I usually just play chords and sing along. I played one song in Dm (One I Love) by tuning to DAC and playing only the melody notes with a drone. Now, however, I'm trying to figure out how to play in Em. I understand that I can do this by capoing at the first fret, but since the original chords of the song (Madam I'm a Darling) aren't in D, I assume I will have different finger positions for the chords I want to play. The Em chord would be open, right? But what would the finger positions be for D, Am, and G, which I also need for this song?
I live in New Braunfels, a small city in Texas between Austin and San Antonio, and as far as I know I'm the only dulcimer player here, so I have to teach myself with books and online posts, and I'm not getting very far on this problem. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Hi Sarah, and welcome to the wonderful world of the Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer. It's a good place to come, spend some time, learn about the dulcimer, and to meet some good people.
Dear dulcimer compadres,
I've been happily playing my McSpadden dulcimer for about 14 months. I play and sing with a group of singer/songwriters who meet once a week. They are mostly guitar players and play all kinds of music and have been so kind to accept and encourage me. I play in D (DAD tuning), and also in G and A by capoing to the third and fourth fret. I usually just play chords and sing along. I played one song in Dm (One I Love) by tuning to DAC and playing only the melody notes with a drone. Now, however, I'm trying to figure out how to play in Em. I understand that I can do this by capoing at the first fret, but since the original chords of the song (Madam I'm a Darling) aren't in D, I assume I will have different finger positions for the chords I want to play. The Em chord would be open, right? But what would the finger positions be for D, Am, and G, which I also need for this song?
I live in New Braunfels, a small city in Texas between Austin and San Antonio, and as far as I know I'm the only dulcimer player here, so I have to teach myself with books and online posts, and I'm not getting very far on this problem. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Sarah
Greetings from Vermont Sarah and welcome to the site. Have fun here.
Hello and welcome to the site. This is a great place to share ideas and listen to music. I hope you enjoy.
Howdy and welcome to FOTMD!
Hi Sarah, and welcome to the wonderful world of the Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer. It's a good place to come, spend some time, learn about the dulcimer, and to meet some good people.
Ben
Welcome to FOTMD sarah. It's good to have you aboard.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."