Modes, Keys, and Capos

Musical Modes and musical Keys are two different systems used to organize sets of notes.  Both "Modes" and "Keys" do similar things.  They cause the song to have an overall uplifting (Dorian, Mixolydian modes and major Keys) or a more somber (Aeolean mode or minor Key) sound quality. Unfortunately, there isn't an easy way to convert from modes to keys.  They are just two completely different ways of describing the subset of notes that are to be used in a song.

There are 12 different notes in the chromatic scale: A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, etc. 

All of the chromatic notes are repeated twice on this image of a partial piano keyboard:

The vast majority of songs use only a small subset of these chromatic notes and those subsets of notes are grouped into "Modes" and "Keys". These subsets of notes are often referred to as "Scales".

Modes -

The model system for music was developed in ancient Greece and is far older than the system of Keys.  There are 7 different modes and they all have Greek sounding names:   Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolean, and Locrian

The dulcimer has been described as a model instrument because it can  play in all these different modes. Depending on if you use the 6 or the 6+ fret, two modes can be achieved at each fret position!  

For example in DAD tuning: 

Fretting at 0 (open), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 gives you the Mixolydian mode

If instead you play 0 (open), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6+, 7 you will have played in the Ionian mode

Beginning at fret 1 and using the 6th fret you get the Aeolean mode, while beginning at fret 1 and using the 6+ fret you would be playing in the Dorian mode. 

While modes are handy to know, and a source of study in music theory settings, they are not often used by most musicians playing music these days.  Instead musicians talk about playing in certain Keys.

Keys -

Musical keys were developed in the Western European music tradition. There are a total of 24 Keys, one major key and one minor key, for each of the chromatic notes. Each major key has a "relative minor" key. That relative minor key will contain the same subset of notes as the major Key it is related to.  The relative minor key will still sound more somber then it's related major key due to the difference of were the key starts and the interval between that starting point (called the "Tonic") and the reset of the notes.

In the circular chart below the 3 different rings show the following:

Outer white ring:  The Key signature 

Middle dark ring: The Major Key that key signature indicates

Inner off-white ring: The Relative Minor key which shares the same key signature as the Major Key it is related to

Again, generally speaking, only a subset of notes are played in any given key.  

For example, if you are playing a song in the Key of D, you will almost always play C# ("C Sharp ") instead of C ( "C natural "). If instead you are playing in the Key of G, you will play  C ( "C natural ") and not # ("C Sharp ").

Singing with the Dulcimer -

In addition to changing the Key to change the overall sound of the song, it's important to change the Key to accommodate the singer's voice, either yourself or someone elses.  Most people's voices sound good in only certain Keys. Therefore, if you wish someone to sing while you play your dulcimer, you will need to find a Key that works for both the dulcimer and the voice.  

For example, you can tune your standard dulcimer down from DAD to CGC to play songs in the Key of C instead of the Key of D. Because you have maintained the musical intervals between each string, you can play songs that are Tabbed in DAD while tuned to CGC. All the notes and chords change when you retune but the Tab will still work. to play the song. 

For even more of a change, you can get a Baritone dulcimer which is typically tuned to AEA which is a 5th below DAD.  Again the interval between the tuning of the strings when Tuned AEA is the same as being tuned DAD so you can play songs that are tabbed out in DAD tuning. You'll just be playing those tunes in the key of A instead of the Key of D.

Note that if you play with others, typically, everyone must play and/or sign in the same key! There are exemptions to this but they are for fairly advanced musicians.

For more details on changes in tuning and how to figure out similar tunings, please see the Tuning page

Capos - 

A capo is a small device that you attach to your dulcimer just before a specific fret. The capo holds down all the strings at that fret position so you dan't have to. This makes playing certain songs much easier. 

When you put a capo on a dulcimer you will change both the Key and the Mode. 

For example in DAD tuning:

If you put a capo just before fret 1 you typically change from the Key of D to the Key of Em.  Also you change from Ionian to Dorian if we use the 6+ fret or from Mixolydian to Aeolean if you use the 6th fret. 

You can put the capo on any fret. The most common capo use on the dulcimer is at fret 1 for Em, fret 3 for the Key of G, and fret 4 for the key of A.  It is important to note that you do not need a capo to play in these other Keys. Most of the time we can play in the Key of G in DAD tuning without using a capo by using the 6th fret (C natural) instead of the 6+ fret (C sharp).

A note of caution if you are used to using Capos on guitars -

A capo on a guitar changes the Key and you can continue to play all the same chords in the usual way by counting frets up from the capo.  This doesn't work the same way on a dulcimer because of the nature of the diatonic fret pattern on the dulcimer instead of the chromatic fret pattern on a guitar. When you use a capo on the dulcimer all the fret numbers in Tab should remain the same with "0" played as open at whatever fret position the capo is at. 

For example, in DAD tuning without using a capo you would play 1-1-3 for an Em chord.  If you choose to use a capo at fret 1 then the Tab would be 0-0-3 for the same Em chord.  This is because the capo is holding down all the strings at fret 1. 

Capo's are available for purchase from most mountain dulcimer makers.