Tips for Tuning at Sessions

One advantage that us drone and melody players have over chord melody players is that we are used to re-tuning This skill is a big plus when you start to sit in and jam with other musicians but it can still be a bit difficult to get your head around what tuning you should go to when someone in the group kicks off on a tune!

So here are a few tips that I have found useful for sitting in at sessions with my standard mountain dulcimer.

String Gauges - Before you go to a session have a look at the string gauges you are presently using. They may be perfect for the tuning you use at home but will they give you flexibility? Being able to move the bass and middle strings just one tone up or down will give you many, manyoptions.Ideally, your bass string should be happy with C, D and E - and your middle string happy with G, A and B. Your melody string(s) need to move a little further, so a gauge that will give you a range from A to d would be good. Luckly, most standard sets of dulcimer strings will give you these options, say for a 27" scale 0.022, 0.014, 0.012 should work.

Start with the Melody - I start my tuning process with my melody strings. The keys of D, G and A are the most likely ones to crop up at old-time sessions. But I've had C, Gm, Em and others to contend with. The first job is to get the root note of the tune's key to a workable point on the fretboard. In general, this can be the open string or 3rd fret for major keys and 1st fret or 4th fret for minor keys. There are some exceptions, and certain tunes that will only work with the root note on one particular fret BUT usually you will have more than one option available as to where you can place that root note on your melody string. If you have a 6+ fret then those options are extended further as, for example, you can play in the key of A mixolidian with the root at the 4th fret when your melody string is tuned to"d". So learn your melody string and practice playing tunes in differernt positions (ie different keys) just on the melody string. If you can already play "Angeline the Baker" starting with an open melody string, also practice it starting at the 3rd fret, and at the 4th fret (it is a pentatonic tune so you can move its starting point around a dulcimer's diatonic fretboard easily!!! And you would be surprised just how many old time fiddle tunes fall into this category). Being able to play tunes in different positions on the fretboard will really help when playing at sessions. As you can be sure that a tune you know really well in the key of D will no doubt be played in G or A at a session

Blend in the Drones - Once you have the melody string sorted and can play the tune in the right key on it (from one of the usual 4 possible starting points in each octave) then think about your drones. You just need to know what the root and 5th are of the key you are in and then, given the limitations of your string gauges, which way round you are going to tune your drones - either 1-5 or 5-1. It is as simple as that.

So: 1. Check that your string gauges will give you some flexibility. 2. Tune the melody string(s) so the tune is playable on the fretboard in the right key from a suitable starting point. 3. Blend in the drones to the root and 5th of the key (or 5th and root).

I have found that with some practice I have become pretty quick at tuning my dulcimer to the right key at sessions using this system, and it allows me to play in pretty much any key, major or minor, without having to change string gauges.

Robin