Tab Table, Modes, Key, and Tunings

The Tab Tables are designed to help fretted dulcimer players learn or remember tunes. It gives you the mode the music is played in, the key in which it is usually played and some tunings. If you read music and have lots of music books these tables may not do you as much good. Tab Tables are an easier alternative for the rest of us (and I'm one of them). Have a look (and listen!) at the tunes this site offers in Tab Table format.

Tab Table

The tab table is constructed to show the melody and strumming rhythm of the tune. It consists of a table of fret numbers read line by line, left to right. Each line consists of two measures or bars. I call this line a musical phrase, just long enough to get a piece of the melody in your head. You can also consider the table as a list of vertical columns. Each column of fret numbers gets one beat, so if a column has only one fret number, that fret gets one beat. If the column contains two numbers, each of the fret numbers gets half a beat (you hit the strings going and coming). So there you have the rhythm. For example, the first line of Boil Them Cabbage Down:

5	5-5	5	5-5		6	6-6	6	6-6
bump	diddy	bump	diddy		bump	diddy	bump	diddy

Modes

There are 7 Modes in music. We commonly use only 4: Ionian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Dorian. Almost always, the last note of the song tells you which mode the song is written in. If the last note of a song ends on the 3^rd or 10^th fret it is Ionian mode, if it ends on the open string or 7^th fret it is Mixolydian mode, if it ends on the 1^st or 8^th fret it is Aeolian mode, if it ends on the 4^th or 11^th fret it is Dorian mode. The exception is when you end on the open string or 7^th fret and the 6 ½ fret is used, the mode may be Ionian.

The most common is the Ionian Mode, the major scale we know as: “do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti, do”. Using the white keys of the piano the scale begins on C.

The Mixolydian Mode, is commonly used in folk music. It has a flatted “ti” called “ta” in the “do, re, me, fa, so, la, ta, do” way of thinking. Using the white keys of the piano, the first note of the scale begins on G and goes up 8 notes to the next G. On the mountain dulcimer, the scale begins on the open string and goes up to the 7^th fret but does not use the 6 ½ fret if there is one. The scale gives a melancholy feel to the music like in Old Joe Clark.

The Aolian and Dorian Modes are minor sounding. The Aolian Mode scale begins on the first fret (A on the white keys of a piano) and ends on the 8^th fret. The Dorian Mode starts at the 4^th fret (D on the white keys of a piano) and ends on the 11^th fret.

Key

Fiddlers usually play certain tunes in a specific key, mainly because it either sounds better or it is easier to play. The last note of the song is almost always the “key note” or home note of the song. So if a song ends on a G note, it is almost always in the key of G. So if you are playing with fiddlers you should be aware of the preferred key. If you are playing by yourself then it doesn’t much matter so you suit yourself. I have listed the keys that some of my fiddler friends suggest for each tune.

Tunings

Tunings are listed by note numbers, e.g. 1-5-8. The first number represents the note in the scale the bass string is tuned to. The second number represents the note in the scale, the middle string is tuned to. The third number represents the note of the scale to which the melody string or strings are tuned. Thus in the key of D, 1-5-8 means the bass string is tuned to the first note in the scale, D; the middle string is tuned to the 5^th note of the scale, A; and melody string(s) tuned to the 8^th note of the scale, D an octave higher than the bass. You may find other tunings that sound good so use them.

Ionian Mode

1. 1-5-5 -- Starting from the bass string tune to the 1^st note of the scale, the middle string and melody string(s) are tuned to the 5^th note of the scale like in “do, so, so”, or simply abbreviated 1-5-5. The scale begins on the 3^rd fret. Example tuning: D-A-A, or with a 4 string dulcimer the melody string is often doubled so D-A-A-A or 1-5-5-5. Tuning to key of C would be bass = C, middle = G, melody = G (still 1-5-5).

2. 1-5-8 -- If you have a 6 ½ fret on your dulcimer you can play Ionian Mode in this tuning. Starting from the bass string tuned to the 1^st note of the scale, the middle string is tuned to the 5^th note and the melody string(s) tuned to the 8^th (an octave higher than the bass string), like “do, so, do”, or 1-5-8. Scale begins on the open string, skip the 6^th fret and play the 6 ½ fret instead. Example tuning: D-A-D’ or D-A-D’-D’ if you are playing a 4 string dulcimer. Tuning to key of C would be bass = C, middle = G, melody = C (still 1-5-8).

3. 8-8-8 -- I call this the Galax tuning, named after Galax, Virginia where this tuning is traditionally used to play fiddle tunes. All strings are tuned to the same note in the same octave. They are usually tuned in a high register, like the 8^th note in the 1-5-8 tuning. Scale begins either on the open string but skip the 6^th fret and play the 6 ½ fret if available, or the scale can be played starting at the 3^rd fret. Example tuning: D-D-D. If you start the scale on the open string the key will be D, if you start the scale on the 3^rd fret the key will be G. This is a very useful tuning for playing fiddle tunes.

4. 1-8-8 -- This is sometimes called bagpipe tuning. It is similar to the Galax tuning. All strings are tuned to the same note but the bass sting is an octave lower than the rest. Scale begins either on the open string but skip the 6^th and play the 6 ½ instead or the scale can be played starting at the 3^rd fret. Example tuning is D-D-D. If you start the scale on the open string the key will be D, if you start the scale on the 3^rd fret the key will be G.

Mixolydian Mode

1. 1-5-8 -- Starting from the bass string tune it to the 1^st note of the scale, the middle string and is tuned to the 5^th note of the scale, and the melody string or strings are tuned to the 8^th note of the scale, like in do, so, do, or 1-5-8. The scale begins on the open unfretted string and you play the 6^th fret not the 6 ½ fret. That gives you the flatted “ta” note in the do, re, me, fa, so, la, ta, do scale. Example tunings are D-A-D’, or D-A-D’-D’ if you play a 4 string dulcimer.

2. 8-8-8 I call this the Galax tuning named after Galax, VA where this tuning is traditional. All strings are tuned to the same note in the same octave. Scale of the Mixolydian Mode begins on the open string plays the 6^th fret and skips the 6 ½ fret if available, Example D-D-D or D-D-D-D if you play a 4 string dulcimer.

3. 1-8-8 This is sometimes called bagpipe tuning. It is similar to the Galax tuning. All strings are tuned to the same note but the bass sting is an octave lower than the rest, hence 1-8-8. Scale begins on the open string but plays the 6^th and not the 6 ½ fret. Example tuning is D-D-D’ or D-D-D’-D’.

Other Tunings

Many other tunings are used but we haven’t used them yet in the Tab Tables. Be aware that you can use a capo to change keys so you won’t have so much retuning to do.