Re: Calling all Mountain Dulcimer experts!
Looks like a few people missed the part about major seventh chords - and this thread is just a few posts long!
Let's make sure we're all talking about the same thing.
Seventh chord (AKA dominant seventh): 1-3-5-7b
Minor seventh chord: 1-3b-5-7
Major seventh chord: 1-3-5-7
This last one is what the OP asked for. Please don't cloud the issue with these others; too much theory and not enough playing is more work than fun.
You are not going to turn a minor seventh chord in a major seventh chord by bending up just the seventh note. You would also have to bend up the minor third. Why make things more complicated? I know you're talking about just that note, but still ...
The point DroneAlone makes about a chromatic fretboard is spot on, as most dulcimers (in my experience) do not have one, but rather skip frets here and there with some sort of streamlining in mind. This approach may be fine if you want to emphasize the droning effect or only play in a few keys, but if you want to play in all keys you would have to have a chromatic keyboard.
That is one of the two main hindrances I see in playing more complex chords on a dulcimer. The other is that there are only three notes in play, even for dulcimers with four strings, as the top strings, while doubled, are set too close to split into two fully functional strings. There may be dulcimers with four truly separate strings, and if you have one of these then you may be able to devise a tuning which will permit more complex chords.
Like a major seventh chord. In order to play a four note chord on three strings you have to make a compromise. I'm used to this, having tried to play jazz chords of five tones or more on an instrument that provides only four tones. Even some four-tone chords have fingerings that drop a tone for ease or to permit playing in certain positions. (The 2-4-3-5 D7 comes to mind, with no root.)
Try this. If you want to play a Dma7 chord (D-F#-A-C#), try playing an F#m chord - F#-A-C# - which it resembles, just without the root tone, D. Finding a fingering for that on a dulcimer tuned D-A-D ... ... well, I guess 4-4-7 or 7-4-4 are inversions that might work.
Good luck! Oh, and maybe the best thing to do would be to switch to mandolin.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
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