“The Weight” by The Band | Dulcimer Guitar Lesson

Today we’re learning “The Weight” by The Band on the Seagull Merlin dulcimer guitar.

This is one of those songs that everybody seems to know, everybody wants to sing along with, and — by popular demand — we’re finally breaking it down.

In this lesson, Justin walks you through the song in three main sections: the intro, verse, and chorus. The intro has a few quirky little details, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and timing moments, but don’t let that scare you. Once you get into the verse, the song settles into a simple three-chord progression, and the chorus sits beautifully on a diatonic dulcimer because it’s so rooted in the major scale.

As always, this is just one way to play it. Make it your own, take it slow, and don’t worry about making it perfect right away. The goal is to get the shapes and patterns under your fingers so you can play it comfortably and confidently.

In this lesson, you’ll learn:

The iconic intro riff
The main verse chord progression
How to play the chorus
A simple walk-down/tag section
Tips for practicing tricky sections slowly
How to build the song up section by section