Beginning The Mountain Dulcimer -- How the novice gets started (The magic tricks to make even the raw beginner sound like a seasoned pro). This class is a gentle introduction to playing the mountain dulcimer, and a discussion of the techniques that help to make musicallity out of notes and tabulature. 11 - 12noon Emily's Lobby
Bridging the Gap Between Beginner and Intermediate I - II -- This class teaches the beginner the value of playing melodies across the strings, and places emphasis on the skills needed to master the Intermediate level of mountain dulcimer playing. Through the use of fiddle tunes and songs, the beginner will learn to 1) transpose, 2) change keys, and 3) move melodies from major to minor. Come to class tuned in DAd. 3 - 5PM Meeting Room
Vox Rhythmata -- Bing Futch's highly rhythmic singing and playing style has earned him a reputation as "the rock 'n' roll dulcimerist" though his music spans many genres. In this free-flowing workshop, he shares techniques with an eye (and ear) towards incorporating various strum and picking rhythms as well as getting comfortable with playing and singing. 9 - 11AM Meeting Room
Primal Dulcimer -- free form channeling of energy into improvisational melodic and percussive playing. 11 - 12noon Kitchen
The Dark Side of the Mountain Dulcimer -- Exploring minor keys, drones, dissonance and musical conflict. Some of the most compelling and expressive music comes out of our shared human condition. 3 - 4PM Emily's Lobby
EASY Beginning Mountain Dulcimer -- beginner and advanced beginner -- Familiar tunes: Aura Lee, Careless Love, Bury Me Beaneath the Willow, and two seasonal favorites. Also printed recommendations on handling the dulcimer, practicing, and often used accessories. 4 - 5PM Senior Room
Ensembles -- Mixing it up with dulcimers. Learn simple, yet very effective, techniques that will help you arrange tab for dulcimer ensembles. Whether you're arranging for a dulcimer club, or you just want to workout some duets tunes with your favorite dulcimer pal, this workshop is for you. OR if your tunes are becoming a little tired in your ear, this workshop might aid you with ideas of how to spice up the same old same old tunes. 1 - 3PM Computer Room
Using The Dulcimer To Teach Yourself About Harmony -- The fretted dulcimer is designed to express some of the most ancient forms of harmony in Western music--drones and open fifths. Its diatonic fretting makes it pretty close to foolproof when it comes to choosing certain kinds of harmonious finger patterns, much as the black keys on the piano won't lead you into dissonance no matter how you play them together. 9 - 11AM Emily's Lobby
Creedless Carols -- You can celebrate the holiday season without making theological statements about it. Khrysso will present both popular and lesser-known non-sectarian songs spanning Thanksgiving through Twelfth Night. Most titles are diatonic and are readily adaptable to dulcimers, but there will be other suggestions, as well. Invite your Jewish, Buddhist, Humanist, Agnostic, and Pagan friends! 11 - 12noon Computer Room
Ohio Shakers and their Music -- The Shakers were a group that set themselves apart from society. They established their own communities in Ohio in the early 1800s and thrived until the end of the century, growing their own food, making their own clothing, housewares and furniture, and creating their own religion, government and music. Music was an integral part of their culture, a unique blend of individual creativity and collective folk process, rich in beautiful melodies and lively rhythms. In this lecture/performance students will learn about the history and lifeways of this fascinating culture, and how their music reflected their shared experiences and the things they valued. 9 - 11AM Senior Room
Get A Good Start -- Get a good solid, fun start on the hammered dulcimer. This will also serve as an entertaining introduction to the HD if you are thinking about learning. 1 - 3PM Senior Room
An Overview of the Music Therapy Field with an Emphasis on Using the Dulcimer For Our Own Personal and Spiritual Growth as well as Helping Others -- This will be a panel discussion and intro to the therapeutic use of both mountain and hammered dulcimers -- in hospitals, hospices, and other care-giving facilities. We will also talk about resources for using the dulcimer for our own personal healing and spiritual growth. Some possible music styles will be demonstrated to get you started. 9 - 11AM Computer Room
One String At A Time -- This workshop is an extended introduction to flat-picking and cross-picking on the mountain dulcimer. We will start with well-known songs and illustrate how to use these techniques to spice them up. We will learn cross-picking patterns in different timings and how to use them in familiar tunes plus how to use flatpicking to emphasize the melody in a song. Some flatpicked or cross-picked tunes will also be taught. Participants will be encouraged to share their music for instruction and practice. (MD-AB,I) 9 - 11AM Kitchen
Oxford Carols -- Repertory from the Oxford Book of Carols. Different keys and several different timing changes. Words are also supplied. (I, ADV) 3 - 4PM Senior Room
Cabbage Chords In Four Modes -- Using my recently composed round/canon-like song entitled "Love BeTween Us All" (or love_btu -- see my home page where I have a downloadable pdf), we'll move through D Ionian, then the B Aeolian, then E Dorian, and finally A Mixolydian ---- all in the same performance!. The chords are very simple to play, and we will go through it many times, so it should be fun to play along with no matter what level you are on. This is a great way to learn your modal harmony! (Tuning DAD) 11 - 12noon Meeting Room
Those Mystical, Magical DRONES -- This two-hour session will be a celebration of the simple, magical sound of the open string drones of the mountain dulcimer. Many dulcimer players forget about the most unique characteristic of the dulcimer, which is the enchanting sound of a single-line melody moving up and down over (or under) a drone. When the drone is an octave apart, our plaintive little folk instrument starts to sound a whole lot like a "stringed bagpipe!" We'll start out in DAD, then move to LOWA-A-D (kind of like a "modern bagpipe tuning"), and we'll wind up in LOWA-A-A (the classic bagpipe tuning). We'll learn some very bagpipe-y kinds of tunes and just generally noodle around to get the feel of this dronal style of playing. You may have heard traditional-style noter players playing like this with a strumming style, but we will be arpeggiating our drones and melody via flatpicking or fingerpicking. 1 - 3PM Emily's Lobby
How To Build Your Own Backing Tracks -- You will have a chance to pick a simple chord progression and build a play-a-long or practice CD, using keyboard synth, dulcimer, or guitar. 3 - 4PM Computer Room
Panel Dicussion and Demo: Recording With Your Computer -- This will be a general summit and overview of getting started in digital audio. I'm hoping we can have Steven K. Smith and Bing Futch present to discuss:
4 - 5PM Computer Room
Autoharp Pinch/Pluck Melody Playing -- The purpose of this workshop is to introduce the participants to the pinch/pluck method of melody playing on the autoharp. Participants will use fingerpicks and thumbpick (or bare fingers and thumb) to play the melody while incorporating some backup and /or harmony in this pleasing and useful style. Emphasis will be placed on developing right hand accuracy and directionality as well as left hand technique. 1 - 3PM Kitchen
Beginning Melodic Autoharp -- The purpose of this workshop is to help participants understand how to find melodies for playing leads on the autoharp. Participants will be encouraged and instructed on playing by ear and on playing by finding the notes from written music as we understand how our chord bars are related to the notes of the scale. 4 - 5PM Emily's Lobby
Dance Around the World -- This is a workshop for novice to intermediate mountain dulcimer players. ÊParticipants will try different dance tunes including a French Bouree, a German waltz, a court dance and a modern waltz. ÊParticipants will also get the chance to see and hear two relatives of the dulcimer Ð an epinette and a Kratz zither. Ê(DAD tuning) 11AM - 12noon Senior Room
Improvisation and Variations -- Improvisation is what you do when you are playing your dulcimer freely, without preconceptions. Variation is giving some freedom to the tune you're playing. They're closely related. It's nothing more than letting the music in your soul come out and breathe. It's not hard, but you have to be able to give yourself permission to do it. Aside from that, I'll give you some ideas and exercises to get you started. There'll be lots of chances for hands-on discovery of paths you may have not noticed before. (DAD tuning) 1 - 3PM Meeting Room
Sea Songs (repertoire) -- advanced beginner/intermediate -- (need capo) tabs for: Ê Cape Cod Girls, Drunken Sailor, Coast of Peru, Strike the Bell 3 - 4PM Kitchen