ABOUT THE CLASSES...
At Heritage Dulcimer Camp, we divide the day into morning and afternoon sessions and offer additional mini-seminars in the afternoon. The instructors have provided a summary of their curriculum to help you choose the best class for your interest and ability.
MORNING SESSIONS: 9:00 TO 11:30 pm
HAMMERED DULCIMER
Princess Harris, Beginning
We will start with the basics and build from there. We will cover everything; tuning, exercises, practicing, jamming, and learning new tunes. We might have time to move on to simple back up techniques and building arrangements. Students can expect to be playing a fair number of tunes by the end of the week and to feel confident that they are on their way!
Cathy Barton, Intermediate
Do You Wanna Dance?: Dance Tunes From Around the U.S. and Canada. I will stress repertoire, including tunes from New Mexico, the Ozarks, Canada, an American Indian tune, etc., and using these tunes I will concentrate on rhythm, dynamics, and embellishments. I will offer ideas on how to give dance tunes both energy and beauty. Although I will provide music, I will stress learning by ear. I encourage students to bring tape recorders.
Mark Alan Wade, Advanced
This is an innovative eye-opener to seeing the BIG picture of dulcimer and its layout. A veteran public school music teacher, Mark's morning curriculum will hone core fundamentals presented in a fresh new way. You will see patterns that you never knew were there! Mark also has a sneaky way of teaching songs that in turn actually teach larger musical and technical concepts. In short, you will leave these classes with new songs to share and an arsenal of new tricks to apply to your own pieces!
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MOUNTAIN DULCIMER
Maureen Sellers, Beginning
- Sunday night- I'll give each student a survey. They will check what they want to learn this week, next week, next month-they will set goals.
- Monday- Get everyone in tune and learn the anatomy of the dulcimer. Survey the class to see what their dream is for their playing. Scales, beginning strumming, start barre chords and sing with the instrument. (Yep! We will sing and play the first day! No child left behind!)
- Tuesday- Review strumming (this will happen at the top of each day to get the muscles warmed up and ready to play.) We'll discuss different ways to hold the dulcimer, picks and check to see if each person has the right dulcimer to insure their success. Also will be looking for ways to tweak each dulcimer for optimum sound and use. We will start playing some songs, breaking them down measure by measure. Learn to tune the dulcimer to itself and with an electronic tuner.
- Wednesday- Strumming. Begin working on three basic chords and how to finger them. More tunes.
- Thursday- Strumming and exploring speed! Talk about ways to stay in a jam session if you do not know the tune. Learn popular jam tunes.
- Friday- Strum practice. Goal setting. Where to look for music and help when the student returns home. Visualizing success. More songs. Perform for each other (optional).
Steve Eulberg, Intermediate
Of course I can play that on the dulcimer! Now that you've learned the basics of strumming and reading tablature, you need to expand your playing techniques and musical theory. We're going to dig in and get very acquainted with our dulcimers: using different tunings; left-hand fingering exercises to work both up/down and across the fretboard; right-hand finger-picking and flatpicking exercises and patterns. Learn to embellish your basic music with hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides; to adapt an arrangement with different chord positions; to play in and modulate to different keys with and without a capo or retuning; to flatpick and fingerpick a tune. Be prepared to roll up your sleevers, buckle your safety belt and have fun!
Bonnie Carol, Advanced
We'll begin by being sure we're solid on any skills and knowledge pertaining to the dulcimer - modes, tunings, keys, capos, structure of tunes and chord progressions, etc.
- Then we'll study the skills of BEING a musician. These can include:
(1) arranging tunes for performance - bring a tune to work on
(2) arranging tunes for groups - well divide into small groups and make arrangements and play them for each other
(3) learning all the jamming skills such as reading guitar chords, presenting tunes, following tunes you don't know, etc. Bring tunes to experiment with.
(4) practice skills - how do you get better when you're already pretty far along. You may also bring your questions and proposals for things you'd like to learn and we'll consider them.
(5) performance skills
AFTERNOON SESSIONS 1:30 TO 2:30 pm
The instructors will offer material in a wide range of playing styles during the week. These classes offer students exposure to topics not necessarily covered in the morning classes, and allow participants to take classes from other teachers. Each instructor will teach one elective for each skill level.
Princess Harris
Plucking on the Hammered Dulcimer (three separate sessions– Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced)
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Cathy Barton
Beginner: Simple Embellishments: chording, droning, arpeggios
Intermediate: John Hartford's "Delta Queen Waltz"
Advanced: Ragtime and its Roots. The class will stress a ragtime tune, a cakewalk and a Caribbean merengue.
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Mark Alan Wade
Beginner: Things I learned the hard way- starting off right!
Intermediate: Rounds on the Hammered Dulcimer: learn ensemble skills and a handful of easy-to-learn-in-one-class tunes.
Advanced: Making Your Dulcimer Talk: string bending, pivot tones, chromatic licks, and more!
Maureen Sellers
BEGINNER: Utilizing simple barre chords we'll sing and play instantly!
INTERMEDIATE: Hymns and gospel songs from the Smithville, TN area. Some lovely old hymns collected nearly 100 years ago!
ADVANCED: Civil War Songs — Some really great songs from my books and some not in my book.
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Steve Eulberg
BEGINNING MD: Learning 2 things: "Elk in the Meadow" a jig using DGD tuning. (Yes, you can too do this!)
INTERMEDIATE MD Blues in A on the Mountain Dulcimer (DAd) featuring "Goin' to Kansas City"
ADVANCED MD Jim Croce on the Mountain Dulcimer: "Time in a Bottle"(DAC) and "Operator"(DAd)
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Bonnie Carol
Bonnie will teach three separate "Jamming" courses with tunes appropriate for each level - Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced
JAMMING FOR ANY INSTUMENT- my belief is that jams are a very rich source of new material and ways to interpret old material. It's a chance to be experimental in your own playing. Once you know a basic tune, you can try it in different octaves, try a harmony, learn the chords, develop a counter melody or chordal backup. The things you can try out while the tune repeats numerous times are rich if you have a few basic skills with which to experiment. I begin this study topic with tactics for playing when you do, and when you don't, know the song: reading guitar chords, finding chords on your instruments, picking out a melody on the fly in a jam, leading jam songs yourself, etc. The class will be open to both mountain and hammer dulcimer students (and any and all other instruments!)
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MINI SEMINARS 2:45 to 3:45 pm
Each hour long class will offer something special; in the past we’ve had classes on such subjects as carving a limberjack, juggling, and dealing with performance anxiety. Topics will be announced at orientation.
- Princess Harris - Playing for Weddings
- Cathy Barton with Dave Para: Come For to Sing: Songs With Good Choruses.
- Maureen Sellers: Dulcimer 101- How to know if your dulcimer is the best one for you. How to tweak it for the best sound and playability. Simple things to get a sound you might like better- change strings, strum in different places, use different style picks or no picks or finger picks. Different sound from different types of strings. Checking to see if your dulcimer is fretted true. How to change strings. Using a tuner. Understanding the spatial fretboard and its connection to a piano keyboard. Noter or not? Q & A if we run out of this stuff!
- Bonnie Carol: LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC FOR INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED HAMMERED DULCIMER - a brief survey of the breadth of Latin American Music and learning a Latin American folk tune or two.
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MOUNTAIN DULCIMER ORCHESTRA 4:00 to 5:00 pm
Conducted by Maestro Steve Eulberg
Last year's orchestra was a wonderful success and we get to do it again this year! We'll put together a stupendous performing ensemble out of standard dulcimers, bass dulcimers, gingers and baritones...whatever we have... and in just one week, we'll prepare for the Thursday night performance!
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