WORKSHOP TITLES & DESCRIPTIONS
Kara Barnard - Mountain Dulcimer - 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A
1A MD - What's Tablature? - Tablature is everywhere! It's easy to get intimidated by all those lines and numbers. Let's make it easier by slowly breaking it down together. Once Kara knows you're all relaxed and ready, we'll learn a new song together. - Beginner
2A MD - One Simple Chord Shape - The guitar player is playing in the key of A and there are multiple minor chords involved! What do I do? We'll learn several chord strumming songs in multiple keys to make sure you have the tools you need for any situation. ALL Levels
3A MD - Hammer Ons, Pull Offs, & Slides - A starter package workshop to get you going on these fun techniques. We'll break it down with exercises then apply our new techniques to "Hard Times Come Again No More" and an original song by Kara. - Intermediate
4A MD - Advanced Harmonics - Let's get more volume out of your harmonics and explore some really cool ways to create harmonics where they aren't supposed to be! You'll put your new tools to work learning Grandfather's Clock and Silver Bells. - Advanced
5A MD - What's an Arpeggio? - Experiment with fingerstyle and cross picking while using your basic two finger beginner chords. We'll learn two of Kara's original tunes, "Ozark Beginnings" and "Nascar Waltz" - Beginner
6A MD - More Jazz Manouche - You've loved the Django style songs Kara's already taught you. Let's do a deep dive into more jazz chords and learn a fun tablature study to play while we practice them. You'll also have ample opportunity to play some really cool hammer on, pull off combinations when we learn "Hold That Tiger" - Advanced
7A MD - Three Finger Chord Efficiency - Do your left hand fingers get tangled up and lost on the fretboard? Let's iron things out. We'll work muscle memory exercises and smooth ways to get from one chord to another then top it off with a melodic study to put our new skills to the test, - Intermediate
8A MD - Eleanor Rigby for Duets, Trios, and Ensembles - Learn Kara's multiple part arrangement of Eleanor Rigby. Kara's arrangement of this Beatles classic is a blast to learn and play with your friends and ensemble groups back home! *Particpants must have a capo. - Advanced
Donna Griffin - Hammered Dulcimer/Ukulele - 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B
1B UKE - Chord Families - Reviewing/ learning chord Families for the keys of C, D, and A minor; then plugging them in to familiar songs - Beginner/Intermediate
2B UKE - Blues in A minor - Chords and solo using the pentatonic scale (you can't be wrong!) - Beginner/Intermediate
3B HD - Playing in 6/8 Time - Jigs including Ten Penny Bit and Swallowtail Jig - Beginner/Intermediate
4B HD - Simple Ornamentation - Rolls, arpeggios, double stops, and applying them to traditional tunes - Beginner/Intermediate
5B UKE - Understanding the Fretboard - Moveable chords, memory devices, and tunes that take advantage of notes up and down the fretboard - Beginner/Intermediate
6B UKE - Beatles Tunes on Uke -Beginner/Intermediate
7B HD - Arpeggios to Carry the Melody Using Dynamics - Apply to La Partita (Sounds hard, but don't be scared!) A fun way to approach melodies embedded in arpeggios - Beginner/Intermediate
8B HD - Learning Ragtime Tunes - Exploring the syncopation ("ragged tempo") and apply to Ragtime Annie, Pig Ankle Rag, and Dill Pickle Rag - Beginner/Intermediate
Dave Haas - Mountain Dulcimer - 1C, 2C, 3C, 4C, 5C, 6C, 7C, 8C
1C MD - Hooked on the Classics! - Expand your repertoire with these wonderful classics arranged for the mountain dulcimer. Learn "Jesu, Joy of Ma's Desiring", "Trumpet Voluntary", and "Minuet in G". These tunes are often played at weddings. Improve your strumming, arpeggio, and fingerpicking skills. Come ready to be hooked! - Advanced
2C MD - Fun Fiddle Tunes! - Improve your play of fiddle tunes and faster tunes. Learn left- and right-hand techniques to facilitate smooth playing. Improve your backup by playing chords in multiple positions and adding a "chop" to your backup. All new tunes this year! *A capo and smile arec required! - Intermediate
3C MD - Keys to Smooth Play! - Improve your strumming and explore new fingerings to increase speed and smoothness of play. Learn backup chords in two positions and how to participate in a jam session. Improve your confidence. You will be glad that you took this workshop! - Beginner
4C MD - Playing in Different Keys! - Did you know you can play in any musical key with the mountain dulcimer? We will focus on the keys of D. G. A. and C, and then discuss how to play in any musical key. Gain insight on playing more smoothly. a capo is required* - Intermediate
5C MD - Playing Slowly with Expression! - You can play arpeggios, but want to play smoother. Discover where to place your right hand to improve accuracy, clarity, and volume. Explore fingerings which allow formation of chords and transitions between chord shapes. Learn to provide chordal accompaniment to yourself or others who are playing or singing slow songs. - Intermediate
6C MD - Hymns of Faith! - Praise God with these powerful and popular hymns. Learn left and right hand techniques to improve your playing of both slow and fast songs. Learn how to provide accompaniment for hymns that are played or sung. Build your repertoire of popular hymns. -Intermedite
7C MD - Hornpipes, Reels, and Aires - Oh My! - Add some wonderful tunes to your Celtic repertoire. Learn left and right-hand techniques that facilitate smooth play and drive the tempo of the tune. Bring your four-leaf clover and a smile. No Blarney! - Advanced
8C MD - Slow: Peaceful Playing in a Frantic World! - Find the peaceful side of the mountain dulcimer. Learn to play beautiful melodies by plucking the notes individually (arpeggios). Discover fingering and plucking techniques for smooth play. Learn how to accompany others playing slow tune. - Beginner
Butch Ross - Mountain Dulcimer - 1D, 2D, 3D, 4D, 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D
1D MD - Chopsticks - Yes, that same beginner piano song, easy on piano, not so much on the dulcimer. We'll be using it as a springboard to fun and unique concepts using both left and right hand techniques. Everything from the fun and easy ideas to truly insane and ill-advised ideas -- Intermediate & Up
2D MD - Rhythms Beyond 4/4 -An exploration of the rhythms that exist beyond common 4/4 time. Jigs, hornpipes, bluesy shuffles, and even odd time signatures will be explored - Advanced Beginner & Up
3D MD - No, You Don't Need More Notes - Almost all of the notes that you'd ever want on a dulcimer are in there already, and there are many ways to get the few remaining ones. We will explore string bending, retuning, temporary frets and more. We won't just learn how to do these techniques. We'll learn how and when to use them, and most importantly, why - Advanced
4D MD - Drone-noter Beatles - This is a strumming class, This is a STRUMMING class, THIS IS A STRUMMING CLASS. Even the noter part is optional. Learn techniques you need using songs you love. Be prepared to retune - Beginner
5D MD - Show Off! - Learn to make unusual, offbeat and fun sound on the dulcimer. In short stuff that sounds cool! Learn string bending, natural and artificial harmonics, two-handed tapping, slapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and using the dulcimer as a drum - Advanced
6D MD - It's All Cabbage, Really - The first song most people learn (and get sick of) is actually a Rosetta Stone of information. Learn how much harmonic information is contained in this simple song and how much you can use it to learn new songs quickly or play along in jams, even if you don't know the tune - Beginner & Up
7D MD - Beatles for Dulcimer - If you haven't heard of the Beatles, you should really check 'em out. They're a great young band with a lot of potential! D-A-D (capo required) - Novice & Up
8D MD - Get Off on the Wrong Foot - There are wonderful tried and true methods of learning the dulcimer that many great instructors are teaching in person and online... Well, we ain't gonna do NONE of them. This is a decidedly non-traditional approach to getting started on the dulcimer OR just a great way to supplement what you already know - Beginner
DeeDee Tibbits - Hammered Dulcimer/Whistle - 1E, 2E, 3E, 4E, 5E, 6E, 6E, 7E, 8E
1E HD - Beginner I - Start your adventure with some good basics. Exploring your dulcimer... Key shapes and scales... and end up with a couple of fun tunes! - Beginner
2E HD - Practice Tips For Playing Better - There are many ways to get even better in this wonderful instrument! We'll dive into putting them to use on a beautiful tune from France! - Past Beginner/Intermediate
3E Whistle - Folk Songs From Around the World - From Korea to Ireland and a stop in France... we'll whistle our way around the world! - Intermediate
4E HD - Putting Some 'Pluck' Into Our Playing - This tune from Ireland will give us a chance to try a new skill and add it to our arrangement. - Intermediate
5E HD - Improv Made Easy - Taking Swing Low to a new level and learning how to improvise can be such FUN! - ALL Levels
6E HD - Playing Together - Hammered dulcimer with others is ALWAYS fun! - ALL Levels
7E Whistle - American Roots - America has such a RICH musical heritage! This class will visit the Shaker world, the pre-Civil War South and throw in a bit of good ol' Americana! - Intermediate/Advanced
8E HD - Roslyn Castle - This haunting Celtic tune is perfect for a solo piece or a duet arrangement - Advanced