How to Tune a Mountain Dulcimer
The mountain dulcimer is an eclectic and worldly instrument that sounds unique and is great fun to play. However, new players may be intimidated by simply tuning the instrument, as there are many tunings to choose from, and many different songs to play that use specific and otherwise non-standard tunings. Start learning to play the mountain dulcimer by first learning how to tune the instrument for the style of playing that you aim for.
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Instructions
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1
Turn on your chromatic tuner and play a note to be sure that it is working properly.
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2
Pluck the bass string (or third string) of the dulcimer. Tune this string to the D below middle C by turning the tuning head to tighten or loosen the string accordingly. Be sure that the string is tuned exactly to D, and is not tuned off by any number of semitones.
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3
Pluck the second string of the dulcimer. Tune this string to the A just below middle C by turning the tuning head to tighten or loosen the string accordingly. Be sure that the string is tuned to the same note as the fourth fret of the bass string.
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4
If playing a song in the Ionian mode, then tune the melody string (or first string) of the dulcimer to the same pitch as the open second string. Be sure that the first and second strings are tuned to exactly the same pitch, using your chromatic tuner.
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If playing in the Dorian mode, then tune the melody string of the dulcimer to the G below middle C. This is the same note as the third fret of the bass string. Be sure that the tuning is accurate to this measurement.
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If playing in the Mixolydian mode, tune the melody string of the dulcimer to the D just above middle C. You will put much more tension on the string using this tuning, so be careful to tune up slowly so as not to break the string. This should be the same pitch as the third fret of the second string.
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7
If playing in the Aeolian mode, then tune the melody string of the dulcimer to middle C on your chromatic tuner. This is the same note as the sixth fret on the bass string, so be sure that these two notes register the same on your tuner.
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