School of Dulcimer

The dulcimer is a unique instrument in many ways, with the modal layout of the fretboard prime among them. Early in its days in the Appalachian Mountains players would retune a string, bringing the dulcimer from major to minor and other modes. Today's players work in different tunings also, and this book shows why and how all of this happens.


Music is a language that comes from the soul rather than solely from the dots and line. However, the dots and lines have their own stories. Learn where the notes fall on the fretboard and how they fit into the modes most dulcimer players know: Ionian/Major, Aeolian/Minor, Mixolydian and Dorian. Scale variations, pentatonic and hexatonic, are also outlined. Fifteen songs and tunes are written in musical notation as well as dulcimer tablature. Audio available online, with the tunings and count-offs, enable one to play all of the songs in the book along with the recording.