THE WANDERING MINSTREL Guide & Beginner Song Book for Stick Dulcimers

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What is a Stick Dulcimer?

Stick Dulcimers are Fun, Three Stringed Instruments Anyone Can Pick Up and Play!

Stick Dulcimers are relatives of the Mountain Dulcimer and Lute / Oud. We call our Stick Dulcimers Pickin’ Sticks; derived from the Ressler Pickin’ Stick. Stick Dulcimers have a minimalist "stick" shape body, which makes these instruments the perfect light weight travel companion.

If you’ve been intimidated by other stringed instruments featuring 6, 12 or more strings our Pickin’ Sticks will set your mind at ease. They only have three strings! Pickin’ Sticks use the diatonic sale to produce natural harmonies when all three strings are strummed together. Anyone can pick these instruments up and start playing music without fear of hitting a “wrong” note! Pickin’ Sticks also accommodate advanced fingering/picking and cords, giving it a fuller range of play once you r skills progress.

Quality You Can See and Hear

Playable pieces of art work to inspire everyone’s inner musician.

Over 30 years of professional manufacturing experience goes into the care and consideration of each individual instrument. We strive to bring out the natural beauty of the wood used; tonally and visually. Each instrument produced is unique and will never be exactly duplicable. We are also pursuing the concept of “Exotic Domestics.” Finding rare, highly figured, domestics woods that replicate features typically found only in exotic lumbar.

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Instrument Set Up & Care

Pickin’ Sticks are handcrafted, wooden instruments.

To prevent dings and nicks handle with care. Avoid impacts and use a soft sleeve or bag when traveling. Avoid storing your instrument in extreme temperatures.

When you buy an instrument on-line it will be un-tuned for shipping purposes and will need to be tuned upon arrival. The following information will be needed to set up your new Pickin’ Stick.

Floating Saddle Pickin’ Sticks have a “floating” Saddle. This is a key element for the instrument’s unique sound. To ensure the Saddle is at the correct tilt measure 22 7/8” from the nut to the top edge the Saddle for the .010 string. Measure 22 3/4” from the nut to the top of the edge of the saddle for the.023 string. (See Diagram)

Tuning Our Pickin’ Sticks are tuned to Open G which creates an automatic harmonious cord when all three strings are played together. Open G tuning uses GDG, near Middle C on a keyboard. We suggest using a digital tuner for the best results. Experiment with other tunings such as the key of F, FCF and the key of D, DAD or for a Renaissance/Middle Eastern flare try AAD and DAC.

Restringing Use a light gauge set of Mandolin strings to replace a broken string. Use sizes .023, .014 & .010. Uncoil the original strings and fit with the corresponding size. (See Diagram) Loop the string on the peg then insert the other end into the hole in the tuner. Leave enough slack so you can wind the string around the tuner a couple times. Make sure the Saddle is in alignment. Trim any excess string.

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How to Play the Pickin’ Stick.

1. Hold the Pickin’ Stick comfortably in front of you as you would a guitar.

2. Press down on the melody string (.010 string) to the left of any fret along the neck.

3. Strum all of the stings together or just pick the melody string.

4. Place your finger at different fret locations to hear individual notes. (See Fretboard Map)

5. Practice strumming and picking different rhythms.

Frets are numbered 1 through 12, with 1 at the top of the neck and 12 closest to the soundboard.

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Pickin’ Stick Fretboard Map & Chords of Open G Tuning

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Beginning Songs

Familiar songs, such as childhood nursery rhymes, will help you gain confidence and ease you into playing the Pickin’ Stick. Since you may already know the rhythm and “feel” of the songs below from years of repetition, you don’t have to focus on getting the rhythm “right.” Instead focus on the fret locations, finger placement and joy of hearing the songs come to life as you play each note.

Start by humming the song to yourself without playing any notes, just hold the instrument.

Then guide your finger along the Melody String to the fret allocated to the number shown. You can play just the single note by pickin’ the Melody String alone or you can incorporate all three strings by strumming.

Remember to start out slowly. As you pick up on the melody of these songs you can start to play with tempo and pickin’/strumming styles.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

2 – 1 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 4 – 4 2 – 1 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 2 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 1 – 0 You’ve Just Played Your First Song! Yes it was simple, however if we start out simple and slow to gain understanding of the instrument, you’ll be able hone your skills and advance quicker than you might of thought!

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This Old Man

4 – 2 – 4 – 4 – 2 – 4 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 3 2 – 3 – 4 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 4 – 1 – 1 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0

You are My Sunshine

0 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 0 – 0 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 0 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 2 – 0

0 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 0 – 0 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 0 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 0

London Bridge Falling Down

4 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 3 – 4 1 – 2 – 3 – 2 – 3 – 4 4 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 3 – 4 1 – 4 – 2 – 0

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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

0 – 0 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 4 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 1 0 – 0 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 4 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 0

Baa Baa Black Sheep

0 – 0 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 4 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 4 – 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 4 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 1 0 – 0 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 4 3 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 0

Row Row Row Your Boat or Pirate Ship for Pirate Festivals!

0 – 0 – 0 – 1 – 2 2 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 8 – 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0

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Shortnin’ Bread

0 – 0 – 5 – 5 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 0 – 5 – 4 – 5

0 – 0 – 5 – 5 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 2 – 1 – 0

7 – 5 – 4 – 7 – 5 – 4

7 – 7 – 5 – 5 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 2 – 1 – 0

Frère Jacques

0 – 1 – 2 – 0 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 0

2 – 3 – 4 – 2 – 3 – 4

4 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 0

4 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 0

8 – 4 – 8 – 8 – 4 – 8

Alouette (2/0 = second string open)

0 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 0 – 2/0 0 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 0 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 4 – 4 4 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 4 – 2/0 – 2/0 – 2/0 4 – 4 – 4 – 2/0 – 2/0 – 2/0 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0

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Happy Birthday

4 – 4 – 5 – 4 – 8 – 7 4 – 4 – 5 – 4 – 9 – 8 4 – 4 – 12 – 10 – 8 – 7 – 5 11 – 11 – 10 – 8 – 9 – 8

Boil Them Cabbage Down – A Bluegrass Favorite – If you are not familiar with the tune, simply look it up with YouTube to get the rhythm.

2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 3 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 4 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 0 – 0

For more music and instruction, go on-line and search for Stick Dulcimer TAB. There’s a lot of FREE TAB out there. YouTube has many great Stick Dulcimer classes also. Or simply purchase any Mountain Dulcimer music book; the TAB is 100% transferable (same fret board!)

One of my favorite on-line communities is Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer. They are fun and supportive, plus they

have their own Stick Dulcimer Group! www.fotmd.com

You Can Always Just Play Intuitively

Mastering a few different basic rhythms really steps up your ability to play intuitively. Give it a try!

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Thank you for your purchase!

For more information visit www.pickinstick.com

Contact Us at pickinstick@gmail.com

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Updated 09/24/2015