Joe Collins Mountain Dulcimers

Each month, a new set of two high quality dulcimer tabs will be available on this page. Please do not sell or mass distribute these tabs. I am making them available for individuals and for dulcimer clubs that wish to use them. If you like my tab, I hope you will consider purchasing some of my tablature books.

Simply click the title below to download the tab file. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, see instructions below.

This month, I'm returning to my roots. When I first started playing the dulcimer, I started on hymns. Hymns are so much a part of who I am because of my long exposure to them and my deep convictions about how the universe works. The hymnody under which I was tutored was heavily influenced by the evangelistic movements of the later 19th century which were characterized by a profound reverence for the Bible and the cross. I share this reverence, in part, because of the work of hymn writers who left that legacy and my church who passed it on to me. These two hymns are representative of that period.

Wonderful Words of Life (DAd) - This is a wonderful song I grew up singing in church. Written in 1874 by Phillip Bliss, this song must have been one of the standards in the revivalism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in America.

I Saw the Cross of Jesus (DAd) - Another hymn I've been singing since childhood. The tune to this hymn is anonymous, but the words were written by Frederick Whitfield, a clergyman educated at Trinity College in Dublin in the mid 1800s. The song celebrates the power of the cross of Christ to restore and keep safe our human souls. I urge you to look at the complete set of lyrics at http://www.cptryon.org/xpipassio/hymns/isawthecross.html.

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If you fill out the form with a viable e-mail address you will receive a notification about once a month. Many of the people on my list are within driving distance of Shelby, NC so you may receive a couple of e-mails per year concerning dulcimer workshops and events in Shelby. If you are not within driving distance, please forgive me.

Different authors use different conventions when writing out tablature. I have chosen to do mine in a way that is easy for beginners to use. First of all, the numerals that are in bolder, larger print represent the melody of the tune. If you do not play chords, you can simply use one finger (or more) to play only the melody notes with your noting hand while strumming all the strings.

If you do choose to the play the chords I suggest, realize that I do not put down the complete chord for every single note. I feel like doing so clutters the page with too many numerals. When you change into a chord (designated above the musical notes by letters - D, A, Bm, F#m, etc.), I assume that you will hold that chord until the next chord change. In other words, all fingers will stay in the same position except the ones for which the numerals change until the next chord change. When one numeral is listed for a note, it does not mean that you can hit only that string. Provided you keep the chord position that is listed under the most recent chord name, you can continue hitting all the strings.

Occasionally I will use an "X". This means to avoid hitting that string at all. Otherwise, it does not hurt to strum all the strings.

If a capo is called for, I follow the same conventions each time. I do not renumber the frets except for the fret where the capo is placed. That way the open position is still "0," just like without a capo. However, 5 still represents the 5th fret. Therefore, with the capo on the 4th fret, I have no numerals below 5, except for, of course, "0."

The tabs are in an ACROBAT format. If your computer does not presently have Acrobat Reader, it is available free of charge at the click of a button below. Just click and follow directions. You will then be able to read and print out the files using Acrobat Reader.

Click the box to download the reader necessary for reading and printing the tabs.

Do you need to hear the song in order to learn it? I know that for me, it is easier to learn a song if I can hear how it goes first. You can download the following files. They are in a midi format and can be played on a windows media player. If you do not currently have a media player, one can be downloaded by clicking HERE.

The Foothills Dulcimer Club of Shelby, NC meets once a month. The featured tabs for the meeting are the same ones as on this site. Please click on the button below to find out more about the club, its meeting times, etc. We'd love to have you come and join us!