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Got a New Mountain Dulcimer for Christmas?
We have just the thing to help you play it! The String-Side Up Lesson Series is for Absolute Beginning mountain dulcimer players and assumes you have no prior experience with dulcimers. This 31-episode series starts with the parts of the dulcimer, takes you through what is happening with your right and left hands, including strumming, picking (right hand), fingering or using a noter (left hand), playing chords, noodling for harmonies, learning tunes, playing in a linear fashion (up and down the…
Lullabye of Muffe
The Lullabye of Muffe is a terrific tune for working on the skills of hand separation and hand independence for hammered dulcimer players. Steve Eulberg teaches this lesson series in the hammered dulcimer skills section of dulcimercrossing.com
Subscribe now to get 24/7 access to this and all of the lessons we offer from 8 different teachers in over 1,000 videos!
Jingle Bells for Mountain Dulcimer in 3 Different Tunings
This winter-time tune by James H. Pierpont has long been associated with Christmas, but actually is about riding in a fast sleigh through (and sometimes IN) the snow! Steve first demonstrates and teaches how to play this song in the key of G from three (3) different tunings! First we have chords to accompany singing in DAA tuning and then the melody in the lower octave:
Secondly we have both chords and melody in DAd tuning, making use of the capo at the 3rd fret:
Finally we re-…
Joy to the World
by Linda Ratcliff A holiday season favorite (sometimes listed as an Advent tune, and often as a Christmas tune), Linda leads us through an arrangement for playing on the Hammered Dulcimer.
Subscribe to dulcimercrossing.com and you can learn to play this tune from Linda step-by-step in the full lesson series.
Mississippi Sawyer Dulcibro
Mississippi Sawyer is a fun one and, it turns out, is accessible for playing a dulci-bro or resonator dulcimer! Steve Eulberg has added the skill of playing across the strings for playing the jumping melody of this old-time tune with a slide.
Subscribe to dulcimercrossing.com and you can view the whole lesson set!
Still, Still, Still Hammered Dulcimer Trio Demonstration
Here is a demonstration of this beautiful Austrian carol on the hammered dulcimer in three parts. Subscribe to this lesson on dulcimercrossing.com
Here the parts are played simultaneously:
Subscribe and learn this and other tunes!
I Wonder As I Wander
by Steve Eulberg This Appalachian tune, collected and added to by John Jacob Niles, is a lovely, haunting Aeolian melody that fits so well on the mountain dulcimer in DAC tuning.
Steve's mountain dulcimer lesson series explores playing this tune in traditional drone-style, as well as in a flatpicked melody across the strings, and with chords for singing and a chord-melody version. There is a lot to explore that will help your wandering be filled with wondering.
Subscribe so that you ca…
Children's Song of the Nativity
Our guest instructor, Linda Thomas, shares one of the beautiful tunes from her collection An Old English Christmas, published by Mel Bay in this 16-episode lesson series. Here is a demonstration of the tune.
Subscribe at dulcimercrossing.com and let Linda teach you how to play this wonderful tune in time for the holidays!
Mission: Take the Dulcimer Pledge
by Steve Eulberg I have a mission: I am seeking to equip, support, challenge and encourage musicians who play dulcimer. As I teach across the US in clubs, festivals and workshops, I ask my mountain dulcimer students to raise their right hands and take this pledge. So, stop whatever you are doing right now, raise your right hand and take this pledge with me. It will make a difference in your life!
Playing Expressively
Nina Zanetti's 12 episode lesson set on playing expressively has all kinds of nuggets in it for musicians of every kind. Her specific instructions and suggestions apply to the mountain dulcimer, but are applicable if one is a singer, or hammered dulcimer or harmonica player. Check out the introduction to the series:
The rest of the series is available at dulcimercrossing.com. Just sign up and you can see them all!
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