Popular Woodworking 2002-04 № 127, страница 61

TIPS ON PLAYING THE DULCIMER AND A SONG TO TRY

Anyone who has had musical training can play a dulcimer at once. Press down the two strings closest to you (the melody strings) with a stick about the size of a pencil, and slide it back and forth over those strings to select the notes.You strum all four strings, but two are drones, and just hum along with the melody strings. The resulting mix is a quaint, romantic buzz (almost a purr).

Musically illiterate people, like me, can play, too, using the tablature system.This simply means playing by number. Here's how to do it:

Stick a strip of Scotch Removable Magic Tape on the soundboard alongside the fretbar. This will not damage the finish. If you don't have any Scotch Removable Magic Tape, get some. It has many practical uses around the shop.

Pencil a number for each fret on the tape, 1 through 18, starting at the end with the widest fret spacing. Now you're ready to play. You don't have to understand notes, clefs, octaves or any of that pesky stuff. Just press down on the melody string just to the left of the numbered fret to get the correct note.

Here is a numbered tune for you to start with:

The Bear Went Over the Mountain

5 5 5 5 4 5 6 5 The bear went ov-er the moun-tain,

5 4 4 4 3 4 5 3 The bear went ov-er the moun-tain,

5 5 5 5 4 5 6 9 The bear went ov-er the moun-tain,

9 8 8 6 5 4 3 To see what he could see.

John and Debi were picking this out after only a few minutes of instruction—it's that easy. Get musical friends to fill in the numbers for some simple, familiar tunes, or do it yourself by experimentation. After some practice with these, you will find that you can pick out tunes without the numbers.At that point, you've joined the fellowship of folk musicians, and are ready to find a buddy and start rehearsing the old Appalachian ballads on your double dulcimer.

on the tuning heads, and seat them in the bridge notches.

Now it's time to tune the instrument. Tighten or loosen the large string until the plucked sound matches "middle C" on a piano. Now hold the large string down at the fourth fret from the tuning head and tune the other three strings to this note. The result will be a harmonious bing-bing- bing-bong. Check with your library for other tuning styles.

If your frets are correctly placed, the sound will be pleasing. If it sounds discordant with the strings in tune, don't hesitate to fiddle with the tuning of the two strings furthest from you.

John and Debi were picking out "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," after only a few minutes of instruction — it's that easy. Press down the pair of strings closest to you (the melody strings) with a length of dowel about the size of a pencil. Slide the dowel back and forth on the fretbar over the two strings closest to you to select the notes desired as you strum with a soft pick down in the picking hollow. The dulcimer comes to life with a quaint, romantic buzz — almost a purr — straight from the hills and coves of Appalachia. When you and a friend or family member perform together on this unusual dulcimer, you'll be the hit of any gathering. PW

SUPPLIES

You can order a hardware kit for this project that includes the eight tuners and strings you need for $25 plus UPS shipping charges. Be sure to mention if the dulcimer will be for right- or left-handed players. Contact: Bill Foley, German Village Music Haus, 350 S. Grant Ave., Columbus, OH 43215,614-228-8467 12-9 PM EST, Monday-Saturday.

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