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Playing Authentic and Plagal Tunes
Here are two words that may be unfamiliar to you, but which I find most helpful for determining where to look to play tunes on both mountain and hammered dulcimers: Authentic and Plagal. (for more on Plagal, see below)
Authentic Tunes are those whose notes are generally found between Do and the octave do.
Plagal Tunes (in a use of the term by ethnomusicicologists) are those which are centered on Do, from Sol below Do to sol above Do. This is illustrated by the chart below:
Now ho…
Give the Gift of Dulcimer Lessons!
Finding just the right gift for someone who plays dulcimers can be difficult because the preferred instruments and accessories are so personal. My father-in-law once said that about camera lenses when I asked to have one as a gift; and he was right! They can't be picked off of the rack—they have to be tailored to each individual.So here is the perfect gift: support and challenge that nurtures each individual's growing skill-set and helps them play the music they want to play, i…
String-Side Up/Absolute Beginner Lesson Series
by Steve Eulberg Congratulations! You've got a dulcimer and now you're ready to play it. And we've got a brand-new series of lessons to help you successfully meet that goal.
This String-Side Up/Absolute Beginner Hammered Dulcimer and String-Side Up/Absolute Beginner Mountain Dulcimer lessons on www.dulcimercrossing.com is designed to take you from square one in a step-by-step fashion, through sequential lessons designed to answer your questions, demonstrate and encourage best practices and …
Learning the notes on hammered dulcimer (Tuning Game)
by Steve Eulberg 
People always ask me if it is necessary to read music in order to play the hammered dulcimer. My answer is always the same, "No, it is not necessary. But it can be good tool." It IS necessary to know which notes you have on your instrument in order to tune it, however. And learning that is a LOT more fun if you have a game to play to help you learn! 
When I first started playing hammered dulcimer, I used a vocal pitch pipe to match pitches with the strings and I found it a lo…
Mountain Dulcimer: "1/2 the frets, 1/2 the strings but All the Music!"
The mountain dulcimer has "Half the strings, and half the frets, but ALL the music," so quipped my friend and colleague, Joe Collins at the Western Carolina Dulcimer Week this summer in Cullowhee, NC.
He was comparing a 3-string, diatonic mountain dulcimer to a 6-string, chromatic guitar.
Many people like ask me if a dulcimer is "easy to play."In my experience there are no instruments that are "easy to play." But, there are some instruments which are more accessible than others.
A devout appreciat…
Playing Homer Ledford's Dulcimer
by Steve Eulberg While one tour this month in Bettendorf, Iowa, I was given the opportunity to provide workshops for hammered dulcimer players at the home of Linda & Reg Shoesmith. On the morning I was leaving, Linda brought out a treasured "find" to share: A mountain dulcimer built by Homer Ledford, one of the famous Kentucky builders of the 20th century! 
A unique feature of this instrument is that the only fret that went under all 4 strings was the 3rd fret. 
What an exciting opportunity! …
Angle of Attack?
by Steve Eulberg A common question heard from and debated among hammered dulcimer players is: “What is the best angle to use for playing?” From the images I've included here of my friends, you can tell the answer varies widely from player to player, and even (within the player) from situation to situation and day to day. These are the extremes that you can readily see. 
But I've seen each of these players also choose to play use different angles to play, depending upon their situation. Bill …
How should I practice? The 5 Finger-Regimen
by Steve Eulberg I hear this question all the time from students in my private studio, from my Jamplay.com guitar students and dulcimercrossing.com students. The Five-Finger Practice Regimen is what I always suggest:
1. Tune up.
It doesn't matter what instrument you play, it will sound better (and therefore encourage your practice) if it is in tune. [Note for hammered dulcimer players: Tune ALL the strings on the instrument, not just the ones you use most!! A significant part of the hammere…
Whooing into the hole
WHAT IS IT?
This bit of dulcimer history always amazes people when I tell them about it.
When I built my first mountain dulcimer (from a FolkRoots kit in 1980), the instructions told me that once it was strung up I was to "whoo" into the soundhole to find out to which pitch I should tune the lowest string.
I was aware of this kind of "tuning" method with reference to native american flutes, which each have their own unique voice, but it was new to me, a guitar and mandolin player. …Categories
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