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Traditional Noter and Drone Style Lessons

by Linda Ratcliff

Traditional Noter Style

NoterStyle Many mountain dulcimer players play their instruments by pressing the fatty pads of their fingertips down on the strings to create the different notes. But there is another option. The traditional, old-time way of playing a mountain dulcimer is to use a noter. Your noter can be anything from the broad side of a popsicle stick to a wooden dowel - or anything around the house that can be used to press down on the strings. In this series of 14 videos, St…

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Benefits and Limitations of Different Tunings on Mountain Dulcimer? Part 1



Epinette scroll head

by Steve Eulberg

So how does one choose between the benefits and the limitations of different tunings when playing mountain dulcimer?  To me the most important factors in this decision are:
 
1)  What kind of dulcimer do I have?  Is it "traditional" (with no extra frets like 6-1/2 or 1-1/2)?
 
2)  What kind of music do I want to play?
 
3)  In what style do I want to play this music?  Do I want to play in the traditional noter or drone style?  Do I want to play back-up chords?  Do I want to …

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