Look at this music keyboard to think about two keys. The left white key on the picture is C. From This C to the B There are 7 white keys. The next key is C, an octave higher than the first C. The entire keyboard will contain several octaves, but they look the same as this small group.

Half steps: This octave actually contains 12 notes, so there are 12 half steps. From C to D there are two half steps, because there is a black key between them. Notice that there is not a black key after the E and B keys. From C to D and from D to E is two half steps, but from E to F is one half step. This happens again between the B and C notes. Remember that B and E do not have a sharp.

Diatonic Scale: Even though there are twelve notes available, most songs in the key of C will only use the seven notes on the white keys. The 12 notes are called a chromatic scale. The seven notes are called a diatonic scale. A dulcimer uses a diatonic scale. If your dulcimer has 14 frets it can play two octaves on each string. Extra frets are designated as half frets, such as 6.5 or 6+. Most dulcimers have that 6.5 fret. Many dulcimers also have a 1.5 fret and most of the ones I made also have an 8.5 fret.

Understanding keys: If we change the key we want to keep the same sequence of one or two half steps between notes. For the key of D our first note is D. The second note is E. There is a black key between them so that is two half steps. The Third note is F. We want the third note to be two half steps up, so the note must be F# instead of F. The forth note only goes up one half step so it is G. Notes 5, 6, and 7 go up 2 half steps. For the key of D that is note B to note C. B has no sharp so the C note must be C#. Some keys use a lot of sharps or flats, but the reason is to keep the same sequence of 1 or 2 half steps between the notes.  Because the sequence is always the same a dulcimer can be tuned to any key.

Another notation that is used is to number the notes:

                     1 2 3  4 5 6 7  1

Key of C: C D E  F G A B  C

Key of D: D E F# G A B C# D

We can refer to the fourth or fifth note instead of saying the note name. That way if you change the key we are still talking about the same note position.

In the key of D, note that the third is F# and the fifth is A.

The dulcimer Fretboard: This picture shows the notes on a dulcimer tuned as DAA. The base string starts the scale at D. In the information above I called that note 1. It is played on an open string so on the dulcimer we call it fret 0. The second note E, played on fret 1. The next fret is the 1.5. It will not be used for the melody of most songs. Remember that the F# on fret two is the note we need for this key. The rest of the notes should follow easily. Fret 7 will start the same sequence an octave higher. If you are tuned as DAD the middle string would have the notes shown on the bottom, but the melody string would have the notes shown on top but they are an octave higher.

Because of the DAA tuning the middle and melody strings have the notes shown on the bottom. These strings will play an A, the fifth note of the key of D. Most songs will have a low note that is the same as the key, or a fifth lower than the key, an A. When the low note is A you can play the whole song on the melody string. With DAD tuning you must play those three low notes (A, B, and C) on the middle string.

Reading Music:

You will be using dulcimer tabs to play music, which uses numbers in place of the notes. You will not have to recognize the note name quickly, but it would be good to understand the letter name of the notes. The time signatures are important. There will be four beats per measure played at some consistent pace. You would play four quarter notes for each measure, but two eighth notes replace one-quarter note. A half note is held for 2 beats. A three-quarter note is three beats, etc.