The Use of Chords Bonnie Carol

A chord is any three or more notes played simultaneously. Chording is playing sequences of different chords (called chord progressions) through a piece of music. When we don't fret the middle and bass strings and use them as drones, we are effectively playing the same chord throughout the piece.

There are three ways to look at chording on the mountain dulcimer. 1) Movable Chord Positions--Because of the diatonic fretting of the dulcimer, there are certain finger positions in most tunings that can be moved up and down the fingerboard from fret to fret which produce pleasing chords at most frets. 2) Chord Theory Method--Consider chording on the dulcimer the same way you do on any other instrument; learn which notes are found in which chords know how to find and these notes on the instrument to produce chords. 3) Chord Charts--Using chord charts with the dulcimer is not the simple process it is with other instruments because a dulcimer may be re-tuned frequently. So a G chord finger position in one tuning will not be a G chord in another tuning. The most complete method of chording is option two. For option three, there are chord charts and an explanation of their use in my book Dust Off That Dulcimer and Dance (pp. 154-157).

Movable Chord Positions
For most tunings, there are several movable chord positions. To get you started, try tuning DAD and fretting the treble string at the 2nd fret and the middle at the 3rd fret. Leave the bass string open. Then move the fingers in this relationship to one another up and down the fingerboard and listen to the sounds. Next try the DAA tuning. Fret the treble string at the 5th fret and the middle at the 3rd. Again leave the bass open. Move this position up and down to hear the various chords. For another movable chord position in the DAA tuning fret the treble at the 4th fret, the middle at the 2nd fret, and the bass at the 3rd fret. Then move this finger relationship up and down to hear other sounds.

To use this method in any given tuning requires finding the positions available in that tuning, and using your ear to decide if a particular chord position sounds good in the particular place in the song. A good bit of dulcimer music is written by finding a pleasing chord position and improvising up and down the finger board. Much of Richard Fariña's music is composed this way.

Summary: Learn positions in each tuning that create pleasing chords and move them up and down using your ear to determine which sound appropriate

Chord Theory Method
This method of using chords gives the ability to know and play specific chords and to correctly follow the chord progressions of other instruments. Since dulcimer strings are tuned to different notes in each tuning, there is no such thing as a finger position that is always a G chord or an Em chord. Instead, you build chords by learning what notes they are composed of and how to find these notes on the dulcimer. In this way, you can find any chord you might need in any tuning without having to carry chord charts around for every tuning you might ever use. Once you understand the meaning of the letters and numbers in the chord names, you can tell exactly what notes are in a chord with no other information other than its name.

The first part of the chord name is a note name: A, Bb, C#, etc. This is the name of the first element or root of the chord. The next two elements of the chord will be a third and a fifth above that first element respectively. For example, if the first letter in the chord name is a C, the root note of the chord is C. The next note is a third above C (count up three notes of the C scale including the C note, C to D to E) and is the note E. The next note is the fifth, or G. The next part of the chord name tells the type of the chord: major, minor, suspended, augmented, diminished, or major seventh. If there is an "m" or "M" after the letter name, the chord is minor. If no letter, the chord is major. The difference between a major and minor chord is in the second element (called the "third"). In a minor chord, this element is one half step lower than the third of a major chord. The other types of chords (suspended, augmented, etc.) are less common in folk and traditional music so I won't explain them here, but remember that they exist. After the letter name and the type-of-chord designation in a chord name (i.e. C, Cm), there is sometimes a number or several numbers. These numbers add those elements to the chord. If the number is a six (C6 is the written notation), the chord will have the sixth tone above C (an A note) in the chord as well as the C itself, the third (E), and the fifth (G). A ninth chord has the ninth note above C or a D note, and same if the number is thirteen, seven, or if there are several numbers such as a C7/9. Sometimes these numbers will be flatted or sharped (i.e. C7 b9, Cm #11).

Although the chord names may look complicated, they tell all the information needed to name the specific notes comprising that chord. On the dulcimer you have only three or four strings, and so you must omit some elements of complicated chords. Let your ear and finger positions determine which notes to omit for now.

How To Use This Information
You can find chords on the dulcimer by first knowing the notes of the open strings, and then counting up the scale on each string to find the notes for a particular chord.

Suppose we have a dulcimer tuned D A D and we want a G chord. The G chord is composed of the notes G, B (the third), and D (the fifth). On the open bass string we have a D, so that takes care of the fifth without fretting. On the open middle string we have an A, and if we count up one scale note and fret at that first fret, we get a B. To find a G on the treble string count from D on the open string to E at the first fret, F# at the second, and G at the third. In this way we discover that the fingering for this G chord is open on the bass, first fret on the middle, and third fret on the treble. This gives us the three notes of a G chord in the D A D tuning.

There are many ways to play each chord in each tuning, and many possible chords in each tuning. Knowing this information gives you a complete ability to find all the chords available in a given tuning without having to memorize finger positions. Over time the chords, finger positions, and tunings that you use most will be memorized and you won't have to figure them out each time.

Summary: 1) Knowing the name of a chord makes it possible to know exactly what notes are called for in the chord. The letter name of the chord (C#, A, D, etc.) determines the tonic, third, and fifth of the chord. 2) The type of chord (major, minor, etc.) is determined by the second element in the name. 3) The number(s) at the end of the chord name determine the other elements of the chord (a seventh, or a sixth, etc.) added to the first, third, and fifth of the chord. 4) Once you know what notes you need, find these notes on the dulcimer by counting up from the open strings to the notes you need for a given chord.

This method gives the ability to find any chord available in any tuning you happen to be using.

Bonnie Carol is a musician living in Colorado. Do you have comments or questions about her article? Contact Ms. Carol directly by e-mail. To learn more about Ms. Carol, see the Contributors page of Sweet Music Index.