by Merv Rowley

How I Learned to Play

When I first discovered the Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer over twenty years
ago, it seemed like no one else in my entire area had ever even heard of one.
I was fortunate in having found a copy of The Dulcimer Book by Jean
Ritchie, without which my dulcimer would probably still be hanging, unused,
on a wall. I had a little musical background from earlier days, and Jean's
book taught me how to tune and to find notes on the dulcimer for particular
songs (each note was represented by a fret position number). In no time, I
was banging out music with drone accompaniment like so many beginners do.

In her book, Jean describes how she herself learned to play. She had listened
to her Dad, Balis Ritchie, playing many times, and finally had the courage to
"borrow" the family dulcimer and work things out from memory of what she had
seen and heard. When she finally asked her Dad outright if she could try to
play, he handed it to her with the remark, "Here, if you can play, you can
play; if you can't, you can't". That suggested to me the idea that no one can
teach another how to play the dulcimer; you must figure it out for yourself!
I proceeded to do just that, believing that I would never meet someone who
could teach others to play a dulcimer! At that point in time, there were no
books of "tablature" that I was aware of. So, I started out playing
familiar, simple tunes by ear, and soon I had memorized quite a list.

Well, that's my personal story. Maybe not everyone could have learned that
way. On the other hand, maybe a lot of you COULD do it that way if you tried.
I've never heard a good explanation of why some people can just hear a tune
in their heads and then pick it out on a musical instrument. It's what we call
"playing by ear". It doesn't mean someone can do that instantly, with no
mistakes. It does mean they can locate the correct notes in the right order,
remember where they were, and finally play them in the right sequence and
tempo to make the music sound right.

How Do We Learn Music?

As a player and teacher for many years, I've had many students. No two have
been quite alike. Some learn quickly, some struggle along before they begin
to see things working out. Each one must discover how to choose and find the
right notes, in the right sequence and timing at particular locations on the
fretboard, so as to make recognizable music. This involves the brain, the
ears, the hands and often the eyes, working together.

Much of this is mechanical (finger placement, strumming, picking or other
finger techniques) that must be practiced until they can be done
automatically when the brain sends the signal This part is like learning to
drive a car. There is also a mental effort required of the student....which
note is to be played, where is it located, how quickly or slowly should it be
played? This is part of the challenge of "information recall", either from
visual directions (musical notation or tablature) or from one's memory banks.
The mental requirements for playing music are common to all instruments,
while the mechanical requirements vary for each instrument.

So, someone told you that the mountain dulcimer is easy to play, perhaps the
easiest of all the stringed instruments! You may also have been told that you
never had to learn to read music. After all, anyone can learn something
that's a "no-brainer". Well, the dulcimer CAN be quite simple to play (how
about one finger on each hand?) Also you DON'T have to be able to read
music, so long as someone will tell you how to find the right notes to play
(tablature, perhaps). But what about that thing called tempo"? How do you
know how slowly or quickly the notes are played if you don't have some
symbols to indicate that to you? Or are you going to rely on remembering that
kind of information?

The point of this discussion is that the ease of playing depends a lot on how
simple the music must be. Also, learning quickly and easily how to play
music you've never heard before means that life will be easier if you learn
how to read simple music notation, like quarter notes, eighth notes, etc. No
one has ever discovered a simpler way to present that information than with
the musical symbols that are used worldwide.

How Should You Learn to Play?

This is a decision everyone must make for him/herself. No two of us have
identical abilities and skills. I believe that success depends first and
foremost on three things. (1) Decide, if you can, the kinds of music YOU
would like to be able to play (not what your teacher says you must learn);
Kids get turned off forever by teachers who insist they play certain kinds of
music. (2) If you can, find a good teacher who will work with you, preferably
on a private lesson basis. Only in this way can your individual needs be
recognized. Don't hesitate to change teachers as you see a need. If you
cannot locate a teacher, try to select a good instruction book by talking to
other players. There are several available, complete with companion audio
tape or CD. (3) Make up your mind that learning may not necessarily be easy,
and that you are willing to dedicate yourself to practice and study in a
timely manner, lesson by lesson. No teacher, however skilled, can force you
to learn anything; they can only show you how it is done, and how you can do
it.

Summary

One of the easiest ways to learn new music, after basic skills are developed,
is with tablature. Use it for what it is, a simple way to read music and to
play it according to someone else's interpretation. Meanwhile, learn the
basics of musical notation. If you use tablature (and many skilled players
do), consider it only as a learning tool. The arrangement will never be
really yours until you have memorized it, and can discard the tablature.