The title says it all: "Dirt Simple." This book and accompanying online audio are designed for a rank beginner who knows nothing about the hammered dulcimer, providing them the tools to make music right away. Starting with the fundamentals of how to hold hammers and tune the instrument, it delves deeper into mastery with posture, stand height/angle, and replacing strings to set up the beginner for a lifetime of good habits. Every concept introduced is simultaneously presented with illustrations and songs that demonstrate and reinforce. Whether the student reads music or plays by ear, the result is the same - music making right from the beginning! Dr. Mark Alan Wade is an experienced teacher with an undergraduate degree in music education and years of public school teaching experience. Now teaching music theory and dulcimer at Denison University, Dr. Wade offers a unique perspective on teaching hammered dulcimer and has three students who have also won the National Hammered Dulcimer Contest as evidence of his master teaching. It's all about the music! Dirt Simple Hammered Dulcimer is written so that the carefully selected tunes are the true teacher. Hands-on learning is made easy with the accompanying audio. Each song is played slowly for students to learn by ear in addition to reading notation. This also allows for the students to hear style traits such as swing, that aren't easily conveyed in written notation. With 29 songs, this book and online audio available for download are a year's worth of private lessons in one concise package!

Every aspect of the hammered dulcimer and its playing techniques is covered in this comprehensive, yet easy-to-understand text. A masterful teacher, Madeline MacNeil exceeds the expectations of a beginner's book, providing a firm foundation for the development of a total musician while maintaining an engaging, informal tone throughout. with detailed discussions on dulcimer layout, hammers, tuning, and stands plus extensive performance notes on every tune, this book is a valuable asset to the beginning through intermediate player. from Oh Suzanna to Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Madeline shows the novice dulcimer player how to map your way through a new piece of music, finding clear, musical directions through what at first must seem like a maze of strings. All tunes are in standard notation. the book's 87 pages are illustrated with photos as well as quaint woodcuts, engravings, and pen and ink drawings.

Killer Technique: Hammered Dulcimer is a book that uniquely focuses on improving the everyday elements of dulcimer playing. Some mundane fundamentals of technique may seem mindless and appear to need no attention. In reality though, even the most basic essentials of dulcimer playing can hold us back without careful examination and precision. This book does just that! The author, himself a National Hammered Dulcimer Champion and music professor, draws on over twenty years of experience in playing and teaching to share his recipe for success. The material focuses on dulcimer-specific skills and drills them in effective and engaging new ways. Targeted areas include dexterity, aim, flow, commonly used percussion rudiments, chords, arpeggios, and chord suffixes. Each exercise is carefully designed to isolate the targeted skill, provide instruction for its most efficient execution, and help you acquire new and improved muscle memory in the least amount of repetitions. Admittedly, working on technique can seem like a chore. This book takes the work out of it and presents the exercises in fresh new ways so you get the most out of them in the least amount of time. Dr. Wade's biggest technique secret revealed in this book is his use of varying rhythms to re-engage the brain and to acquire new and lasting muscle memory. The exercises are not only fun to master but also incredibly effective! It's all about efficiency–not just going through the motions!

The mountain dulcimer has a long and interesting history in the southern Appalachian mountains, and it's an instrument that so many of us enjoy playing. The book begins with the basics of tuning, strumming and finding notes on the dulcimer. The songs and tunes include favorites of dulcimer players, such as Boil That Cabbage Down, Old Joe Clark, Waterbound, Amazing Grace, Aura Lee and Are You Sleeping. The tracks in the accompanying online audio include count-ins and are played at easy-to-follow moderate tempos. Includes access to online audio.

This book was written to aid the dulcimer player in playing as a backup musician. It provides the tools necessary for musicians who are seeking to go beyond simple melody lines. the majority of chords diagrammed are those most commonly used, and those whose notes are clustered on the instrument in six repeated shapes. Diagrams are shown for the 15/14 dulcimer.

Beginning and Intermediate players who have developed a repertoire of melodies will be walked step by step through the process of arranging their tunes. Lessons provide a detailed explanation and numerous examples of root position chords and their inversions on the 12-11 and larger sized hammered dulcimer. Simple tunes are provided for the reader to incorporate newly acquired knowledge of chord theory. Descriptions of bounces, triplets, doubling, counter melodies, arpeggios, scale runs, extended chords, etc. are included as well as opportunities to create arrangements utilizing these techniques.

Although designed for newcomers to the upright bass and bluegrass music in general, this unique approach to creating basslines has something for everyone! The first half focuses on bass-playing essentials, giving the reader a solid technical footing with the instrument. Then, using his own baritone voice and the classic bluegrass song, “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad,” author Nate Sabat reveals his creative process in crafting effective basslines from the song’s melody and chord progression. The second half focuses on bass playing within the specific context of complementing bluegrass vocals. Well beyond what you might expect from an introductory method, Nate tastefully guides the reader by presenting multiple composed bassline options for each of five well-known bluegrass songs: Rabbit in the Log, Don’t this Road Look Rough and Rocky?, Long Journey Home, I Am a Pilgrim, and Angel Band. Nate’s warm, pitch-perfect vocals can be heard on virtually every track, giving this method an undeniable musicality. A lightly accompanied vocal track with no bass is also provided, so you can be the sole upright or electric bassist in the band. You’ll not only want to back Nate up—but sing harmony with him too! The impulse to sing can’t help but influence your bass playing in a natural and positive way. Nate provides notated versions of the eight major scales most commonly used in bluegrass. Once you get them under your fingers, you’ll soon be able to play along with the book’s 50 companion online recordings. With its simple harmonic palette and repetitive nature, bluegrass music offers bassists the perfect opportunity to become musically literate. If you’ve hesitated to learn to read music, this is the time and place to eliminate that drawback. Working through these 46 pages will provide the tools and confidence needed to create your own engaging and musical basslines and hopefully, you’ll be inspired to continue your bluegrass bass journey for years to come. Includes access to online audio.