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Dulcimer Jam
Favorite Jam Session Tunes for Hammered or Fretted Dulcimer
by Bonnie Carol

Introduction to Playing Back-Up

on Mountain Dulcimer

One of the most enjoyable parts of playing music is contributing back-up (accompaniment) to the music, whether you're backing up other instruments in a jam session or your own voice as you sing.

There are many different approaches to playing back-up on the mountain dulcimer and knowing some can give you lots of variety in your playing. My approach is focused primarily on - but not limited to - imitating other instruments. In this article we'll make use of two basic ways of playing back-up using the tune "Boil 'em Cabbage Down."

1. Playing "Chops"

Have you ever listened to a bluegrass band and heard the mandolin playing percussive strums on the off-beats? That is called playing "chops." The mandolin has a very rhythmic role in a bluegrass band. When I was learning how to play bluegrass mandolin I remember my mandolin teacher telling me, "You gotta be the drum. Think like a drum and you'll get it. It's all in the chops, you gotta play the chops." I didn't know it then but he really did know what he was talking about.

First, it's good to get comfortable with the chord shapes we'll be using. You are welcome to use other chord shapes if you wish, but the important thing is to leave no open strings when playing this "chops" style. You'll see why when we get into how we make the chop sound. The rhythmic concept of playing these chops is about playing only on the 2^nd and 4^th beat of each measure.

Technique Tip: As soon as your pick crosses the strings, relax your fretting hand so you're not holding the strings down to the fretboard. This will stop the strings from resonating and give you that chop-like sound. Try a few times just making a chord. I've chosen chord positions that give me the best "mandolin" sound. However, any other chord you choose that covers all three (or four) strings will work. Just strum and relax, strum and relax, strum
and relax until your hands start doing it without your having to think.

I've found that you can really dig in and be heavy handed with this approach to back-up more so than on others. Some of these chord shapes can be quite a stretch, so it's probably good to practice just getting your hand comfortably used to these chords for smooth switching between them. Most importantly, just remember what my old mandolin teacher once told me, "You gotta' be the drum. Think like a drum and you'll get it. It's all in the
chops, you gotta play the chops."

Listen to Aaron "chop" these chords to "Boil 'em Cabbage Down" as Katie Gerringer plays fiddle.

2. Playing the Bass Line – another style of back-up

Imitating a bass player doing back-up is the exact opposite of playing the chops. Now we're going to play only on the 1st and 3rd beat of each measure and we're going to play on the bass string only. Your fretting hand gets to take a well deserved break (after doing all those stretchy chords for your chops).

The concept of this style has to do with alternating between two notes on the bass string at the first and third beat. These notes are known as the root and the fifth.

Listen to Aaron play "bass-line" back-up to "Boil ‘em Cabbage Down" as Katie Gerringer plays fiddle.

Technique Tip: Try placing the outside edge your hand directly on the bridge where the strings sit. This will dampen the strings a little and give a little more of that thick, "bass like" tone. The trade-off is that you lose volume. Be careful not to dampen the strings too much or you won't hear anything. If you feel like you've lost too much volume try rolling your hand back until less and less of your hand is touching the strings.

To conclude this article on basic back-up, here's a sound file of me backing up Katy Gerringer's fiddling on "Soldier's Joy". I'm using the above "chops" and "bass-line" back-up styles in a kind of free-form way, changing around to vary it. I hope you have lots of fun trying these back-up techniques in your own ways!