1A  MD - Int & Above - Old-Time Gospel Tunes - Well known hymns for the mountain dulcimer focusing on upbeat gospel tunes like Are You Washed in the Blood?," "The Sweet By and By,"The Gospel Plow," & another or two. GREAT tunes to play in church with the traditional sound of the dulcimer!

2A  MD - Int & Above - Playing Pretty - This workshop focuses on developing techniques that will help you become more expressive. we will go beyond learning the notes to learning about how to use dynamics and phrasing to make your music more emotive (n capable of pulling out feelings). We will also share exercises you can use to continue to develop these skills.

3A  MD - Novice & Above - It Takes Two to Waltz, Vol 4 - A repertoire of beautiful waltzes arranged for two parts including a Celtic piece entitled "The Shepard's Wife" & an original by Joe Collins entitled "Butterfly Tree Waltz." *Participants will be given access to an mp3 accompaniment track for both songs

4A   MD - Beginner/Novice - Making Arrangements for Beginners - This workshop takes a simple tune and progressively takes students through several different ways to play that tune. It teaches students to use different octaves, muting, and timing changes to a simple tune. The purpose is to help students learn skills that will enable them to make their own arrangements of tunes they love to play.

5A  MD - Int & Above - Designing a Medley for the Mountain Dulcimer - this workshop looks at the basics of creating a musical arrangement from various melodies or parts of a melody/ It covers choosing the right melodies for a medley and transitioning between melodies when they differ in timing, tempo, or key (especially from major to minor keys)

6A  MD - Beginner & Above - Sweet & Gentle Songs for the Mountain Dulcimer, Vol 1 - While we all appreciate fast & furious tunes, sometimes it is good to relax and play sweet, gentle songs on the mountain dulcimer. Let's face it; some songs are just prettier. This is a repertoire workshop of pretty tunes that are not hard to play, but really make the soft melodious sound of the dulcimer shine! Including "Brahms' Lullaby," "Midnight on the Water." & others! 

7A  MD - Novice & Above - Appalachian Mountain Songs II - A repertoire workshop of songs that have been cherished in Appalachia. From the somber "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair" to the rollicking "Old Dan Tucker" and several songs in between, you will learn some tunes that will bring out the Appalachian in your Appalachian dulcimer!                                                                                             8A - MD - Novice & Above - Dulcimer Christmas in DAC - A repertoire workshop of Christmas tunes. Participants will play several songs in the DAc tuning and learn about some basic chord structures in that tuning. Songs include" "I wonder as I Wander," "O Come, O Come. Emmanuel." and four others. While all the songs provided will probably not be covered during the workshop, students will develop skills to help them play the rest on their own.

 

 

1B  MD - Beginner/Novice - "Jam Without Paper" - You'll learn basic jamming survival techniques, basic chord positions, practice hearing chord changes, & learn how to keep up your strum with the beat as the jam gets faster. D-A-D Tunes.

2B  MD - Beginner/Novice - "Easy Tunes" - Learn some easy traditional tunes straight from the Appalachian mountains that "Sit well" on the dulcimer. D-A-D Tuning

3B  MD - All Levels - "Singing with Your Dulcimer"- Learn easy ways to accompany yourself or other singers with your mountain dulcimer. We'll cover ways to do this in the key of D as well as the keys of G and A. D-A-D Tuning, Capo recommended.                                          4B  MD - Novice/Intermediate - "Good Ol' Time Country Songs" - We'll learn some irresistible old songs that everyone should know, but may have forgotten. Let's keep these good ol' songs alive and pass them on! D-A-d Tuning, bring a capo.

5B  MD - Beginner/Novice - You'll learn some exercises to help you relax while playing and lean into using our senses as you play. We'll explore playing each note as you mean to play it, and discuss ways to adjust your fretting and strumming hands to get the sweetest sounds from your dulcimer. This class will focus on easy tunes that you already know.

6B  MD - Intermediate - "Jean Ritchie Songs" - Learn original and collected songs from Kentucky's own "Mother of Folk". Jean Ritchis. We will focus on singing these songs, with some tab provided for melodies. These songs will be in a variety of keys and tunings, so bring a capo.

7B  MD - Novice/Intermediate - "Life Beyond the Key of D" - If you want to learn to play with others in a variety of keys, this workshop is for you. We'll explore playing simple melodies and chords using the I, IV. V chord progression in D-A-d tuning. Using a capo is helpful but not required. 

8B  MD - Intermediate - "Syncopation Can Be Fun" - You'll learn rhythmic strumming patterns to inject a little island flavor into your playing. we'll have fun transforming familiar tunes like "Mississippi Sawyer" into "Mississippi Samba" and learn some tunes with calypso rhythms,

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1C  HD - Novice - "Music Box Dancer" We will learn the basic song, add an intro, & add a harmony. Makes for a GREAT duet!. 

2C  HD - Beginner & Up - "Prairie Sunflower" A popular jam tune. Fun tune to play arpeggios. We will try it in the keys of "G" &  "D"

3C  HD - Novice - "Peer Gynt" A song for learning where more notes are located. A nice slow song for special moments.

4C  HD - Beginner - Play all the notes on your dulcimer! Major & minor scales with a few chords thrown in!

5C  HD - Beginner - "7th Chords" We will find them and see where they lead in your music. Major and minor 7th chords.   

6C  HD - Intermediate - Let's play an "A" tune."Swing Away" A lilting dance tune originally played in the key of Bb, but moved to a dulcimer friendly key.

7C  HD - Intermediate - Play your part while others play theirs. We can meld simple phrases and create a "BIG" sound!  

8C  HD - Intermediate - "Eggnog" a holiday tune made up of familiar songs. An excellent way to learn to create medleys,

 

 

1D  HD - Int/Adv - Using Chords and Arpeggios to Add Backup  We will divide the class with half playing a favorite fiddle tune or waltz and half improvising a backup. then switch. We will learn a simple arpeggio "pattern" that uses the entire dulcimer!

2D  HD - Int/Adv - I'm "In the Mood" for Rag Tunes. Learn how a 3-note repetitive pattern over a 4-note measure gives you that "rag" feeling. We will use "In the Mood" and another rag tune if there is time.

3D  HD - Int/Adv - "Hangman's Reel" (with embellishments) Amaze yo-ur friends with the deceptively simple tune. Simple embellishments make it look extra flashy!

4D  HD - Adv - Bach's Minuet in G Major (BWV Anh 114)

Although attributed to Bach because itv was included in a book of music complied for his wife, Anna, in 12725, it was later found in a book by fellow composer to Bach, Christian Petzold. It has since been attributed to Petzold, but still recognized as "Bach's Minuet in G Major" We will learn the melody, bass melody, and chord backup.

5D  HD - Int - "How Chords Change the Flavor" John Stinson #2 Learn the tune by patterns/ear, then add chord backup that changes the flavor of the repetitive patterns.

6D  HD - Beginner -Simplest Chord in the World for Beginners (AKA "One Chord to Rule Them All" We will learn Heart and Soul, and if time, simple arpeggios using Pachelbel's Canon in D progression

7D  HD - Beginner - How to Cheat at Jamming when you don't know the tune. Using chords, scales, root/fifths, & pentatonic scales.

8D  ALL - Ensemble Playing - all levels, all instruments. How to add pizzazz to your group by using intros/outros, chord backup, alternative melodies, breaks/solos, and more! (*Team taught with Joe Steiner)

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1E  Ukulele - Beginner - Learning Chords to Back Up Your Dulcimer-Playing Friends

2E  MD - Advanced - Ook Pik Waltz - Using a beautiful waltz to explore arranging ideas

3E  MD - Advanced - Pig Ankle Rag - Using consistent pick direction to open the door to syncopation

4E  MD - Int - Making It Swing - Using a couple of Bob Wills tunes to learn "swingy" backup & get ideas for arranging lead lines

5E  Ukulele - Past Beginner - Introduction to Chord Melody 

6E  MD - Past Beginner/Int - Riding the Rhythm - Opening the door to improvisation through right hand technique 

7E  MD - Past Beginner - Exploring Kelvin Grove (Aka My Bonnie Lassie-Oh or The Shearing's no For You): Learning & arranging a beautiful traditional Scottish tune

8E  All Levels/All Instruments - Ensemble Playing - How to add pizzazz to your groups' playing by using intros/outros, breaks/solos, & more! (*Team taught with Chris Steiner)

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