Quick Start – Tuning 

 1.  Get the equipment you need
        o    An electronic tuning meter. See picture
        o    An isolating clip to connect dulcimer to meter. See picture
        o    A star-end tuning wrench, See picture

2.  Position the equipment
       o    Put the tuning wrench on the tuning peg of any “A” tone on the dulcimer.
       o    Clip the isolating clip to any tuning peg or hitch pin in the middle range of the dulcimer
       o    Put the tuning meter in a position where it can be read easily

3.  Tune ONE A string
        o    Dampen one string of the pair or trio of A strings.  Pluck the undampened string of the pair or trio.
        o    Lower the pitch by turning the wrench ANTI-CLOCKWISE a little. 
                     Remember – righty is tighty and lefty is loosey.  This is done, in part to make sure that the wrench
                     and the tuning meter are working on the same string.
        o    Now, watching the tuning meter, slowly bring the string up to concert pitch.

4.  Bring the other strings in the course into tune by ear
This is usually faster than relying upon the meter and will be as accurate as a meter once you get used to doing it.  This only works in a quiet place.  It cannot be done reliably where the noise level is high or other musicians are tuning.  In a noisy place use the tuning meter for all strings in a course.

5.  Now tune all the other “A’s” on the instrument
Then tune all the “Bb’s”.  Then all the “B’s”. Then all the “C’s”. And so forth.  This will seem slow and tedious.  However, the benefit is that you will quickly learn the geography of the instrument.  That means the learning curve on where to find the tones will not be as steep or as long. 

6.  Check the tuning on the entire instrument.
It may be that strings have stretched or tension across the bridge has equalized and thrown the tuning off.  It is likely the instrument will need some touch up tuning.

Tricks                                        

It may be difficult to get both sides of the bridge to proper pitch.  Here are some techniques that will help.

► ALWAYS tune the right side of the treble bridge string first. 
Then adjust the left side of the string to pitch.  This process may have to be done two or three times to bring both sides of the string to concert pitch. It goes much faster if you tune the right side first and adjust on the left side second.

►  If the string seems to be “stuck” and is unresponsive to the tuning wrench except in big jumps, try these tricks:
o    Loosen the string and put some graphite on the delrin cap rail, OR 
o    Loosen the string and rub the delrin with a soft, lead pencil, OR
o    Loosen the string and put some “Nut Sauce” on the delrin or metal cap rail, OR
o    Loosen the string and put some silicon grease on delrin or metal cap rail, OR
o    Loosen the string and rotate the delrin a quarter turn to move away from the notch that has been cut into the material by the pressure of the string.

Graphite is available at hardware stores and is used as a lock lubricant.  Nut Sauce is available at music stores and is used on mandolins, guitars and banjos. It is packaged in a convenient tube with a plunger and is easy to use.  Silicon grease is available at hardware or plumbing stores  Silicon grease is the same thing as Nut sauce, but comes in a small tub and is not as convenient to use.

►  If the string moves easily across the bridge but it is still not possible to bring both sides of the bridge into concert pitch, try this.
The instrument may need attention from a luthier.  It may be that the bridge just needs to be move a little – that’s an easy task.  It could be that the instrument is warped – that could be a catastrophe.  A good instrument tech will know.

One of these tricks should take care of the problem.

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