Re: newbie

"John Misrahi"  wrote...
>  I really like the sound of the dulcimer and I
> am thinking of getting one. I have a few questions
>
> Can anyone explain to me all the differences between a hammered dulcimer
and
> a mountain dulcimer?
>
> Why would I choose one over the other?
>
> How are they played ? (With pick, fingers, on the lap, table etc.., i want
> to know about the basic technique).
>
> Is it an easy instrument to be self-taught?


Hammered dulcimers and mountain dulcimers are different beasts, and mostly
just share the name "dulcimer", although the hammered dulcimer is the
original osner of the name.

The hammered dulcimer in it's modern American form is a trapezoidal box with
criss-crossed courses of bass and treble strings.  It's usually played on a
stand, and the strings are struck with small mallets, the hammers.  It's an
ancient thing, thousands of years old, mentioned in the bible, and is found
throught Asia and Europe.

The mountain dulcimer is of more recent vintage, evolved in the Appalachians
in the 1800s from the German scheitholt.  It is a fretted instrument,
usually held in the lap while playing.  It can be strummed or fingerpicked.
It has a diatonic scale - starting at the 3rd fret, the fret arrangement
provides the major scale, without any accidentals.  So you can play any mode
of the major scale (Ionian mode) just by starting on a different fret.  For
example, the Mixolydian mode (natural 7th) starts on the open string, the
Aeolian mode (natural minor scale) starts on the first fret, etc.  On
dulcimers with traditional fret spacing (that is, no additional frets other
than the diatonic scale) retuning is required to play in various modes:

dd A D = mixolydian mode  key of D
dd G D = ionian mode    Key of G
cc A D = aeolian mode   key of D
cc G D = dorian mode    Key of G

Strummed mountain dulcimers usually have two unison melody strings, and two
drone strings.

Fingerpicked mountain dulcimers usually have four equidistant strings.  Most
modern dulcimers have the nuts slotted for both styles.

Timothy Juvenal