by Steve Eulberg
With mountain dulcimer, every tuning has benefits to recommend it. Every tuning also has limitations.
Someone wrote to me recently to ask why we include lessons on the DulcimerCrossing website in the DAA tuning. Here are the 4 reasons that I wrote back in response:
1) Do-sol-sol or 1-5-5- (e.g. DAA) Tuning
1-5-5 is the most common original tuning for mountain dulcimers in the USA, and, on instruments with no 6+ or 6-1/2 fret, it is the only way to play the Ionian (Major) scale on the melody strings. The Ionian Mode or Major Scale is the one that most of the tunes played in the US are found. That scales goes from frets 3-10 (not playing the 6-1/2 fret).
DAA is the most common occurring version of this tuning at this point in history among players across the USA. (We’ll explore how “D” came about as the basis for tuning mountain dulcimers in another post.)
2) Notes below “Do”.

3) Close-Harmonized Chord Voicings.

4) Familiarity with other players.
There are many people who prefer this tuning, and a good number of clubs and groups who use it as their primary or only tuning. Some of them even use DAA in their club or group’s name.
We’ll explore in more depth the benefits and limitations of different tunings in other posts.
As always, if you have questions or comments, or you have some additional input, please let me know!