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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-…

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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! 

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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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June Apple

Linda Thomas, from Kansas City, teaches this fun modal tune for Hammered Dulcimer Players!


She is accompanied by her favorite guitarist, Dan Delancey.  Together they give a fine demonstration of the fun that a mixolydian tune can be on the dulcimer.  Then Linda teaches the tune and how to play back-up chords in an 11-episode lesson set.


Sign up and you can view the whole series here: dulcimercrossing.com

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Harmonics Lesson by Nina Zanetti

You know those beautiful chiming sounds that you hear on recordings or watch people play on the mountain dulcimer?  Those are called harmonics and, when you know where and how to play them, they can be part of your toolkit for playing the mountain dulcimer, too.

Nina Zanetti, 2008 National Mountain Dulcimer Champion and DulcimerCrossing Instructor, is known for her lyrical instrumental finger-style arrangements of classical and celtic tunes. In this 20-episode lesson set, Nina explains …

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