Dulci-More:
Folk & Traditional Musicians
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The Dulci-More Public Domain Songbooks are designed to
allow people a chance to learn and to play some of the songs that Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional
Musicians members play regularly at meetings and events. The arrangements
give melody lines in standard musical notation. Accompaniment chords are
included. Words are included with the music (rather than in extra lines below
the music) to allow for easier playing while singing. Numbers for the melody
string(s) for fretted dulcimers are also shown (usually for dulcimers tuned in
a DAA tuning). To play by numbers in another dulcimer tuning (DAD, DGD, or
others) or on another instrument, read the music or write in your own numbers.
Different chord names can also be written in to allow playing in different
keys.
All songs are believed to be in the public domain. There
are many technicalities involved in how music enters the public domain (and
these continue to change as laws are rewritten) but a basic explanation for
United States copyrights at the time of this writing includes songs copyrighted
over 75 years ago, or ones with a published source at least that old whether
copyrighted or not. Once the song is in the public domain, new adaptations and
arrangements of the song can be made and copyrighted without getting permission
of the author or copyright owner.
Suggestions for club songs are taken from members.
Selections are then researched, adapted, and arranged for the club songbook by Bill Schilling.
For those wanting to order with credit cards, these books
are carried by Elderly Instruments
They say,
“2002 Revision. Huge songbook---295 titles, including 45 for
Christmas---with melody, lyrics, chords and a special numbered tablature for
autoharps of all kinds! Play chords or melody-style on hundreds of familiar
songs, plus detailed notes about basic theory and harmony, a section on
chord-button configurations and lots more. All songs are in the public domain
-- great for singers and other instruments, too! Spiral-bound.” For
convenience, the direct link for this book is http://www.elderly.com/books/items/597-2.htm for those who want it.
General
Volume (with DAA Dulcimer Numbers) Now Has Its Own Page
Autoharp
Volume (with Melody Chord Numbers) Now Has Its Own Page
Octave Volume (with DAA Dulcimer Numbers)
As of
February, 2018, there is available a 2018 Revision of the original 2002,
General Volume of the Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional Musicians Public
Domain Songbook including the Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional Musicians
Public Domain Songbook Christmas Volume. The Octave Volume 2018 Revision is in
8.5" X 11" format printed on both sides of paper and assembled in
book form with a ¾” plastic binder comb. The songs include melody lines in two octaves in standard musical
notation, accompaniment chords, and words for most songs. Numbers for the
melody string(s) for fretted dulcimers (for the lower octave) are also shown (usually for
dulcimers tuned in a DAA tuning). All of the songs listed below (including the
Christmas songs) are included in the 2002 Revision. There are a few pages that
have more than one song on them (including the Christmas music so that there
are a cover page and 45 pages of music in that section). This 2018 Revision
includes 14 introductory pages, 250 pages of music in the general section, 1
cover page in the Christmas section, and 45 pages of music in the Christmas
section for a total of 310 pages printed on both sides of 155 sheets of paper.
The usual format for the book includes heavier protective cover stock around
those pages bound with a standard 19 hole ¾” black plastic binder (for mail
orders, unbound copies with no holes punched or unbound copies with three holes
punched appropriate for three ring binders will be sent if you specify either
of those as your preference rather than the plastic comb binder). The price for
this book is $30. In the
Included with the index listings below are some examples of
songs from the pages of the songbooks:
This song above shows an example of the current 2 octave
melody line notation with DAA dulcimer number tablature for the lower octave.
This song above shows an example of the current 2 octave
melody line notation with DAA dulcimer number tablature for the lower octave.
This
song above shows an example of the 2 octave melody line notation with DAA
dulcimer number tablature for the lower octave.
Using the Dulci-More Public Domain Songbook Octave Volume (with
DAA Numbers for Lower Octave Melody Notes)
The
unique thing about this Octave Volume of the Dulci-More Public Domain Songbook
is that the melody notes are shown in the same range as those in the General
Volume (with DAA Dulcimer Numbers) and the Autoharp Volume, but they are also
shown an octave higher. This may be especially helpful to music readers who
play fiddle or violin, mandolin, flute, recorder, whistle, and other
instruments who may prefer not to play in the lower octave because it is not
commonly used for melody playing on that instrument or because some notes would
be missing on the instrument in that lower octave. Many people play by ear,
learn to read the lower octave while playing the notes an octave higher, learn
to jump octaves as needed on their instruments, or learn to substitute harmony
notes when needed. Those people have no need for the extra clutter, confusion,
and messiness that the additional octave in this volume adds. However for those
whose minds are clearer when reading music in the correct octave and those who
prefer help when jumping octaves, this volume is an excellent choice. Many
adjustments in the positioning of chords, syllables in lyrics, lengths of tails
and beams in the music notation, and ties and slurs were made to try to keep
everything legible on the pages. Remember that the DAA Dulcimer Numbers are
only shown for the lower octave melody notes since adding the octave numbers
would have really added to the clutter, confusion, and messiness on the pages.
However, any time one wants to play that higher octave on mountain dulcimer,
add 7 to the given melody number (and one can write it in lightly with pencil
on the pages as long as needed). Otherwise, almost everything is the same as
described below from the General Volume (with DAA Dulcimer Numbers).
Many
beginning level musicians like to have some explanation about why things are
set up the way they are here. Some people wonder why there are more notes than
in other arrangements of the same songs. Some players want to know if they can
play these songs in other tunings. People who don't play dulcimers wonder what
the melody string tablature numbers are all about. This is an attempt to answer
some of the common questions and to offer some explanations for how to work
with the music to your best advantage. This information will help some and will
only create bigger questions for others. If you fall in the latter category,
just play what is here for a while, and then come back and try to understand
the information later. If it still doesn't work, go to a workshop for your
instrument, read explanations in other books more devoted to these subjects, or
take some lessons.
This
songbook is designed to allow people a chance to learn and to play some of the
songs that Dulci-More plays at meetings and events. The arrangements give
melody lines in standard musical notation. Accompaniment chords are included
above the standard notation. Lyrics are below the standard notation. Below the
lyrics (or below the standard notation for instrumentals), melody string
tablature numbers for lap dulcimers are shown (usually for DAA tunings).
Some
people may choose to use these arrangements to make their own adaptations to
suit their needs (rewritten, not copied to avoid violating copyright laws) (an
autoharp melody chord volume of this book is available). Typical changes might
be making other tablature (3 line dulcimer tab in DAD, DAA, or other in 3 or
more lines; 6 line guitar tab; 5 line banjo tab; 4 line mandolin tab; or
other), otherwise adapting the songs to fit your instrument or tuning, eliminating
parts that you don’t use (some use just music for instrumentals, others use
just lyrics for singing, and others use lyrics and chords for singing with
basic accompaniment), or transposing the song to another key for ease of
playing on your instrument or for singing in your vocal range. Understanding a
little bit about the mechanics of these operations will allow some to make many
of the changes right in this book. Owners may want to write in or cross off
some numbers, notes, lyrics, chords, or other things to make the music easier
to understand and/or to play and/or sing. A suggestion might be to lightly
write in pencil so that additional changes can be made or so that one can
revert to the original as one gets used to using the book (especially for
sharing books), but permanent changes with ink, markers, or highlighters may
work best for some.
Some
players and singers may choose always to read music, using this or other books
as references, guides, and tools whenever they practice or perform (to become
paper trained as some would say and as many classical musicians are). Others
may choose to use the book only enough to become familiar with the songs before
beginning to play the songs by ear and/or to convert the melodies, chords,
and/or words to memory (to make the songs their own as some would say and as
many classical musicians do). Both methods have their places. The arranger uses
both methods at times and encourages you to do what works best for you and
suggests that what is best may change over time and in different circumstances.
Special Notes on These
Arrangements
Since
these arrangements are done by someone who is primarily a singer, the notation
may be a little harder to understand than some other arrangements. The key to
these arrangements are the dotted line ties and slurs. When there are different
numbers of syllables in different verses, notes are broken into smaller
components (for instance, a quarter note might become an eighth note and two
sixteenths connected by dotted line ties) to show the timing of the lyrics in
the different verses. Thus, singers and those who want to play the melody
exactly as done by singers might use a quarter note for one verse and some
combinations of notes (two eighths, an eighth and two sixteenths, or a dotted
eighth and a sixteenth) for the other verses depending on the phrasing of the
words. Naturally, the syllables are below the note on which one would begin to
sing them, and they are generally held until the next syllable begins (although
sometimes a rest is appropriate before the next syllable, more often for
slurred notes than for ties). The arranger used the phrasings shown at some
point (and may still use them). They are general suggestions, but the arranger
and others may find that variations in the phrasing might work better than what
is shown, depending on interpretation and effects wanted.
The
chords shown above the standard notation are generally acceptable accompaniment
chords (often the simplest possible accompaniments, but very complicated
arrangements for some songs). Other color chords may be chosen and written in
for variations in the arrangements. The arranger likes the sound of V7 chords
compared to V chords (also written 57 compared to 5 and referring to A7
compared to A chords in the key of D). They are often interchangeable, but for
the ears of some players or for some kinds of music the V chord is more proper
than the V7 chord (like old-time music played by traditional string bands). Use
your own judgment, the preference of your ear, or the choices being used by
others you are playing with to determine whether to use the V or V7 chord. As
with other things in the book, the owner may choose to cross off, add in, or
somehow highlight the 7 until playing it in the preferred way becomes natural.
Chords shown in parentheses are alternate chords. Generally folks in a group
should decide before playing a song with alternate chords whether to stay on
the previous chord or to switch to the alternate chord (although both may work
together).
Special Notes for Mountain
Dulcimers and Tablature
For the
mountain dulcimer (also called the lap dulcimer, the fretted dulcimer, the
Appalachian dulcimer, and other names), a single line of dulcimer tablature is
shown for each song. Generally these are for a dulcimer tuned in a DAA tuning.
The simplest way of playing the dulcimer is to play the melody on the one or
two strings closest to you by holding them down just to the left of the frets
indicated by the numbers and allowing the two strings farther away from you to
sound without being held down. Those two strings produce the same sound with
each strum and are referred to as drones. Since many early dulcimers in some
areas only had frets under the melody strings, playing songs with the melody
and drones is a very effective and traditional way of playing the dulcimer. It
is how the music in this book is basically set up for the dulcimer, but other
methods of playing can also be used with the book as described below.
The
single line of dulcimer tablature represents fret numbers played on the melody
string of the dulcimer. The letters B or M following some numbers indicate that
those notes are played on the bass or middle strings respectively. Some
dulcimers have extra frets (commonly referred to as half frets because they are
about half way between two standard frets and provide a tone half way between
the other tones for accidentals between the do re mi fa sol la ti do of major
scales).
In a
DAA tuning, a major scale starts at the third fret and goes to the 10th fret. If
the sound of a simple tune that you should be able to recognize sounds wrong,
then you may have one or more half frets. The majority of dulcimers produced
currently probably have a 6½ fret. It seems to be getting more common for some
dulcimers to have 13½, 1½, 8½, and occasional others. There are even some
chromatic dulcimers with frets spaced to produce all half tones like on a
guitar, banjo, or mandolin. Many of the songs in this book use a 6½ fret. The
version of In the Garden here uses an 8½ fret. For dulcimers without half
frets, some tunings may allow you to find the notes on another string (use the
illustrations at the top of the chord chart pages to help find them). For notes
not found anywhere in your tuning, it may be possible to play something else
for your arrangement of the song (see Study War No More for an example), to
play a harmony note, to simply play the drones, to play other notes in the
chord, or to do something else (like bending the notes as discussed below)
depending on what sounds acceptable to your ear and the ears of those around
you. Some players choose never to play songs that require a different tuning or
technique than they are used to. Some find one song that they love which
requires a new tuning or technique and learn to use it for that song (and then
find that a whole new realm of songs is open to them). Proceed at your own rate
for these things. One way to get notes not represented by a fret position on
the dulcimer is to bend a note, stretching a string by pulling or pushing it to
the side along a fret to raise a note half a tone above the tone usually
produced at that fret using your hearing to tell how far to stretch the string
to get the correct tone.
Those
preferring a different dulcimer tuning can read the musical notes or write in
different numbers to allow playing by the numbers. After doing this for a few
songs, some people become adept at converting the numbers in their heads and no
longer have to write them on the pages. It would probably be most common for
people to try to convert to DAD. Here are a couple of hints to help with this.
The general rule is to subtract 3 from the number shown in DAA to get to DAD.
This will not work for 0 (the melody string played open without being fretted
anywhere), 1, or 2. The notes for 0, 1, and 2 should simply be played on the A
string that is left (the middle string) at the 0, 1, and 2 positions. Otherwise
notes stay on the melody string where 3 becomes 0, 4 becomes 1, 5 becomes 2, 6
becomes 3, and so on. However, there is one difference in the spacing of the
frets to watch out for. If 9 is converted to 6, the notes will be a half tone
flat (or low). Thus, 9 becomes 6½ rather than 6. Notes on the bass string stay
in the same place since that is a D string in either tuning. Some people may
subtract all of these numbers in their heads very quickly as they come to them.
Others may just think of the numbers in these different locations or visualize
the fretboard as having these different numbers on them (even using stickers on
the fretboard for a brief time to get used to them) since many people and clubs
prefer to play in a DAD tuning, but want to incorporate songs found here).
Using Different Tunings
for Mountain Dulcimer
If a
song is shown in a different tuning (DAC, DAG, DAD, DGA, DGG, DGD, or something
else) it is necessary to retune to that tuning to have the melody string sound
properly with the drones for the song. Since many dulcimers have 4 strings
rather than 3 strings, and some players may not have access to other information
about the tunings, here is a little explanation. Except for a few dulcimers
strung for left handed players, the tuning pegs should be to the left and the
strum area to the right as you hold your instrument. The string farthest away
from your body is the bass string (generally heavier than the other strings).
The one next to it is generally called the middle string. The one closest to
you is the melody string. If there are four strings and the two close to you
are closer together than the other strings, then there are two melody strings.
They are always tuned alike and referred to as just one melody string. Fretting
should be done by placing a finger or noter just to the left of the fret
without actually touching the fret to give the clearest sound. (If your
dulcimer has 4 equidistant strings, 5 strings, 6 strings, or some other number
of strings, it may be best to check with an experienced player to find out how
they are all related). The tunings referred to here are in the order of bass,
middle, and melody strings. In a DAA tuning, the melody and middle strings are
tuned to an A higher than the D of the bass string (musically a fifth higher,
and the dulcimer tunings shown below the first staff line of each song reflect
the relationship of the strings to each other). To change from a DAA tuning to
a DAC or DAD tuning, tune the melody string higher; to a DAG tuning, tune the
melody string lower; to a DGA tuning, tune the middle string lower; to a DGG
tuning, tune the melody and middle strings lower; and to a DGD tuning tune the
melody string higher and the middle string lower.
Playing a Mountain
Dulcimer in Different Keys
A
dulcimer player may choose to tune all the strings higher or lower (keeping the
relationship between the different strings the same) to play in a different
key. Some examples of notes used for different keys are on the chord chart
pages.
Another
way to play in a different key (although this can be very limiting for finding all
of the needed notes) is to use a capo. In this book, the dulcimer tunings below
the first staff line show the actual notes that the dulcimer is tuned to and
the resulting open string notes at the capo when a capo is used. The numbers
with a capo are given for the actual frets as in all of the other songs except
that 0 refers to the capo position since that is where the string is being
played open because the capo acts as a replacement for the nut. Naturally,
frets to the left of the capo are not listed since they will not produce
different sounds.
Basic Accompaniment Styles
If you
are chording to provide backup for singing or other melody instruments, use the
diagrams shown on the chord charts, putting one finger (or the thumb) just to
the left of the fret for each string that needs to be fretted and strum across
all the strings. By knowing a few chords, it is easy to accompany many songs.
Knowing a few more chords allows you to accompany songs being played in some
keys different than the basic key in which your dulcimer is tuned. Many players
prefer the sound of chords to the sound of drone strings and chord while
playing melodies. Dulcimer tablature written on three lines is often designed
to give this sound. With the one line dulcimer tablature in this book, you need
to figure out your own chord accompaniments by learning several positions for
different chords and then using the chords shown above the standard notation
along with the melody line if you prefer that style of playing. As you do this,
you will recognize several patterns for your left hand that will be used
regularly, and playing melody with chords will become natural and easy with
practice for those who want to have an alternative to playing with drones.
A few
songs (particularly some instrumentals) are shown twice. The difference may be
only showing DAA versus DAD melody tablature numbers so that people can get an
idea of how these two tunings compare and to let people realize that the two
tunings can be played simultaneously by two players since they are both in the
key of D and complement each other well. In other instances, a second key with
a different tuning is shown for the song to help players realize that there are
different ways to play these songs on the dulcimer. Often the key other than D
is considered the standard key for the song by most people who play it, but our
club voted early in our existence to try to keep most of our music in the key
of D with fretted dulcimer tablature in DAA (and the songs can be played that
way when not played with someone using the more standard tuning). A few songs
give a possible harmony part.
Several
songs in G, D minor, E minor, or other keys with alternate dulcimer tunings and
tablature are in the book.
More About Using the Book
for All Players
The
vocal ranges of some (or many) songs in this songbook are too low or too high
for many people. Sometimes people play with instruments not based in the key of
C like Bb trumpets, clarinets, tenor saxophones, Eb alto saxophones, F French
horns or with instruments that can only play in the key of C like many small
harps, many basic harmonicas, and some whistles. Transposing the songs from the
key of D (or other original key) may be needed in these situations. Whenever an
alternate key is used, everyone must switch to the new key by doing whatever is
necessary whether it involves playing different chords and notes, retuning,
using a capo and playing the song as written, or some other method.
Mountain
dulcimers (and some others) can often use the trick of retuning all the strings
to a different key and playing the numbers written rather than changing all of
the notes in the song. Hammered dulcimer players will need to move to another
set of marked bridges (and may have a limited number of keys available). Many stringed
instruments can play the chords written or can play easier to form (or more
familiar) chords by putting on a capo at a specific fret and playing relative
chords in a different key by understanding how to transpose. Others may need to
transpose each individual note in each song those playing melody. Those singing
or playing by ear can do the transposing just by listening and finding the
relative pitches.
Transposing Wheels and
Chart
The
Transposing Wheels and Chart shown below and the Major Key Chord Chart on a
later page can be used to change the notes or chords in a song from one key to
another. To use the transposing wheels to change the chords in a song, decide
what new key would work best. Finding the key of the original song can usually
be done by finding the final melody note of a song or the final chord of a song
(unless the song sounds like it doesn’t come to a conclusion in which case it’s
best just to refer to the key signature and to whether the song feels like it
is in a major or minor key).
Once
the original key and the new transposed key have been decided upon, count the
number of steps to get from one key to the other on the wheel and note whether
the direction of travel is clockwise or counterclockwise. Then count the same
number of steps in the same direction to change each chord from the original to
the newly transposed key. Remember to include suffixes such as seventh or minor
for new chords. Use the same method for the notes of the song.
To use
the charts choose rows for the original and the new keys and find the original
and the new notes or chords in the columns. For notes, decide whether to go to
higher or lower tones. Watch out for accidentals not in the major scale.
Guitar,
banjo, mandolin, and other players not wanting to play everything in the key of
D might capo at the second fret and play the songs in this book in the key of C
(or capo at the seventh fret and play G or capo at the fifth fret and play A).
Chords played on any instrument with a capo should be played as if the capo is
a new nut with all finger positions relative to the capo as they would be to
the nut without the capo.
Transposing Chart
Key Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
C C D E F G A B C
G G A B C D E F# G
D D E F# G A B C# D
A A B C# D E F# G# A
E E F# G# A B C# D# E
B B C# D# E F# G# A# B
Gb Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb
Db Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db
Ab Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab
Eb Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb
Bb Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
F F G A Bb C D E F
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