A Mel Bay Publications, Inc. Webzine
February 2009 · Bimonthly
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“Texas”A Traditional Tune for Mountain and Hammered Dulcimersby Doug Berch As a player of both mountain and hammered dulcimers I often find myself playing the same tune on both instruments. I learned the fiddle tune “Texas” when I was playing a lot of old-time music in New York City in the 1970s. “Texas” is a Mixolydian mode tune in the key of A. I find the key of A to be a versatile key on both mountain and hammered dulcimers. The scale falls in areas of both instruments giving easy access to most of the range and chordal possibilities of the instruments. Before playing “Texas,” there are few details I will point out to help you along. “Texas” is a “crooked” tune, meaning the rhythm is irregular and does not fall squarely in the meter of beats and bars as most tunes. Notice that measure 6 and 12 change time signature. Most of the tune is in 4/4 but these two measure change to 6/4 adding 2 beats to both the A and B parts of the tune. Below is an illustration of the Mixolydian mode in the key of A. The Mixolydian mode is similar to a major scale but the 7th note of the scale is flattened. On the hammered dulcimer this should be pretty straightforward. On the mountain dulcimer I play the tune in A while tuned DAD. I do this by using an A chord as my home position on the fretboard. The illustration below includes the fingering I use when doing this. Tablature is only a map for the musical territory of an arrangement. For the sake of clarity I have left the improvised introduction, variations, dynamics and ornamentation of the tune to the ear of each player. The recording of “Texas” that accompanies this article is from my CD “Songs From My Past – Music with Mountain Dulcimer.” This recording of “Texas” begins with what Middle Eastern musicians call a “taksim,” an improvised, rhythmically free introduction. The tablature begins where the actual melody of the tune first begins. There is a brief pause between the taksim and the melody. Listen to Doug Berch play “Texas.”
About the Author   Dulcimer built by Doug BerchI am originally from Brooklyn, NY. After playing piano in rock bands in my early teens I became interested in folk music and changed musical directions. At the age of 16 I began playing mountain dulcimer and started making them a year later. Within a year or two I was also playing hammered dulcimer. Somewhere in the mix I also started playing pennywhistle and a few other instruments. There were few books on playing mountain and hammered dulcimer available at the time and I could not find a teacher, so using a basic knowledge of music theory and a passion for music I taught myself to play. As a teenager I performed at coffee houses, folk clubs and sidewalks in New York City. I performed as a soloist as well as a member of several old-time string bands and British and Celtic ensembles. When I was 21 Madeline MacNeil encouraged me to enter the national dulcimer scene. It was 1979 and I spent the summer traveling around the United States attending dulcimer festivals and meeting other players. Within a year I was performing and teaching around the country at dulcimer festivals, folk festivals, concert venues, etc. In 1983 I won first place in both the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship and The National Hammered Dulcimer Championship at Winfield, Kansas. I recorded two solo LPs (remember those?) for Kicking Mule Records and appeared as a support musician on many other recordings. In early 1984 I moved to Boulder, Colorado. I became a member of the faculty at The Swallow Hill School of Music in Denver and taught there for 12 years. I also became a member of the Celtic group Colcannon and performed with them for about 10 years. In 1990 I released two cassettes, one featuring a tune I wrote called “Ocean of Wisdom.” “Ocean of Wisdom” has since been recorded by two other hammered dulcimer players. During the early 1990's I decided to take a break from touring to pursue other interests. In 1995 I moved to Michigan to work at Elderly Instruments. I was a manager there for 12 years. About 2 years ago I felt it was time to return to performing and dulcimer making. I left my job at Elderly Instruments and I have been enjoying my return. This past Fall I released two solo CDs: “Songs From My Past – Music with Mountain Dulcimer” “The Sadness of Common Objects – Hammered Dulcimer Instrumentals” You can find out more about my music, performances, recordings and dulcimers at my web page: I can be reached by email at Please feel free to say hello! [ top ]
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