Workshop Descriptions
The middle section of this program shows the workshop
grid. Use these descriptions to help find the workshops that will work best for
you. Anyone can listen in on any workshops. A few workshops will have
instruments for you to try out. No instruments are required for many of the
workshops. Some of the workshops on the Dining Hall Stage are more for
entertainment than for participation.
Saturday Workshops & Events
Workshop Cluster 1, Saturday, 5/25,
1] For Pete’s Sake (All)
Join Bob,
Jeanne, Bill, Kathy, and Rich to celebrate the Seeger
legacy and Seeger-style singing for millennials and beyond during this, Pete's 100th birthday
year.
2] Beginning Bass (Not the Fish) (Beg Bass)
Bring a bass if you have one. This is an introduction,
but some experience with an instrument, like guitar, would be helpful. Applies
to bass guitar or upright bass, but use the lowest strings on a guitar for the
workshop.
3] Slow Traditional Harp Tunes (All Harp)
Lever harp beginner to advanced players welcome,
tunes taught by ear with full use of your lever harp. Sheet music provided by
Allison.
4] Playing Strong Rhythm on MD #1 (Adv Beg) (DAD)
Bill will cover rhythmic dulcimer styles with
variation, which can enhance the overall sounds of the instrument. This will
include adding structure to the strum and cross picking using some common and
well known tunes for this so the focus can be on the right hand.
5] Songs of the West for Mountain Dulcimer (Int/Adv) (DAD)
Randall will share
songs about his beloved
6] Get Over Yourself (All) (No Instrument Required)
Regardless of whether you’re struggling to learn an instrument or you’re already a
highly skilled player (two extremes on the musical spectrum), the fear of
failure is as detrimental to struggling and frustrated musicians as is the ego
to proficient performers – both stem from too much inward focus. Brett feels
that if we want to succeed at whatever we do, it’s
time to be honest with ourselves and to actually, just...Get Over ourselves.
7] Arpeggios for Hammered Dulcimer (Beg HD)
Learn the basics of arpeggios, what they are, and how to use them on the hammered
dulcimer from Colin.
8] Get Control for Hammered Dulcimer (Int HD)
Players often have
poor hammer holding skills and lack basic hammering technique, which hold them
back from accomplishing their basic goals. Ted will spend time focusing on
hammering and a few rudiments to solidify your playing.
9] Introduction to Bowed
Psaltery (Beg
BP)
Learn basics about different ways to
hold and play the bowed psaltery for clearer sound. Note reading is a plus but
not necessary, and Sue will teach easy songs.
Workshop Cluster 2, Saturday, 5/25,
1] Tall Tales & Legendary Characters (All)
Join Mustard’s Retreat, Bill, and Linda as they sing
about and tell about famous, not so famous, real, not so real, bigger (and
smaller) than life characters that folks should know about.
2] Beginning Autoharp Accompaniment (Beg AH)
Toni will work on autoharp basics such as finding and
playing chords, strumming patterns, and playing by ear. A few autoharps are available
for loan.
3] Playing as a Band (All Levels & All
Instruments)
The members of Stringed Fantasy will share things
they have learned in over 20 years about organizing, getting gigs, putting
variety in performances, etc.
4] The Mountain Dulcimer Roll (All MD) (DAD)
Differing from the flat-pick right hand technique
where a single note is played as part of a sequence of
notes, the dulcimer roll creates an unvarying pattern from which single notes
are emphasized in the context of the chord or passage being played. This is
much easier than it sounds and has been a fundamental, definitive technique of Bob’s playing for 50 years. It is used
alternately with the strum to emphasize nuances within the melody. Few
techniques will offer as dramatic a new musical landscape for you as will this.
5] Playing Strong Rhythm on MD #2 (Adv Beg/Int) (DAD)
Bill will continue rhythmic dulcimer styles with
variation, which can enhance the overall sounds of the instrument. This will
include adding structure to the strum and cross picking using some common and
well known tunes for this so the focus can be on the right hand.
6]
Laura will share the unique sound and some techniques
used to play the waltzes from this part of the world.
7] Christmas in May (All HD & All Instruments)
Janet will have a few fun Christmas tunes, arranged,
for your enjoyment and/or performance. From easy to more
challenging, depending on attendees.
8] Fun with Rudiments
& Polyrhythms for HD (Adv HD)
There’s so much more to playing the hammered dulcimer than
alternating hands. Ted will show you it’s so much fun
opening your mind and hands up to different rhythms.
9] Beginning Whistle (Beg) (Whistle)
Jim will help you learn basics of holding, blowing,
fingering, and playing some simple tunes
Workshop Cluster 3, Saturday, 5/25,
1] Just
Plain Folk (All)
Tom Ball will interview and record songs and tunes
from Mustard’s Retreat (with the help of engineer, Jim Stone, and sound man,
Bill Conrad) for later broadcast on his Just Plain Folk radio program on WCFI, 96.1 FM in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
2] Autoharp
Melody Techniques (All AH)
Bob is a
master player on so many instruments. He will be able to give great hints for
the best ways to bring out the melody and to support it on this versatile
instrument.
3] The Music of Bill Staines (All)
Join Rich & Kathy in singing & playing songs
of iconic folk singer & songwriter, Bill Staines.
Bill has been traveling and performing his way across this country for decades.
He has been a popular guest of Dulci-More numerous
times for the Festival & Concert Series. He is the author of “River”, “
4] Playing by Heart for Mountain Dulcimers (Adv Beg/Int) (DAD)
This is for all dulcimer players wherever your skill
level may be. Marge will help you have fun learning to play without depending
on written music. Start playing a few things by "heart" and you will
love being freed up! Taught in DAD
tuning.
5] Learn
Come learn some unique and fun old-time tunes that
are from the eastern mountains of
6] Next Steps for Whistle/Flute/Recorder (Adv Beg/Int
Winds)
Can you play a few tunes on your whistle, flute, or
recorder? Jim will broaden your skills – working on breathing, phrasing, notes
in both octaves, tunes in D, G, (and maybe minors), playing with others, and
perhaps some simple ornamentation. You will need a D-whistle, modern or Irish
flute, or soprano/tenor recorder. If you don’t feel
ready for this, see Jim Miller before or after the workshop for some “getting
started” help. Handout provided for several tunes, with standard notation and
note names.
7] Hammer Technique for
Hammered Dulcimer
(Beg HD)
Colin will help you learn the
basics of playing position, dulcimer height, how to hold the hammers and strike
the instrument, and more.
8] Bombs Away for Hammered Dulcimer (Int/Adv HD)
Learn how to add accompaniment to waltzes in your
solo playing in this hands on class. Mark will help you discover how to use
your sub bass bridge notes and fill in chords while keeping the melody in the
forefront.
9] Holding a Rhythm for
Mountain Dulcimer
(Beg MD) (DAD)
This workshop is an introduction to the flat-pick and attendant strumming techniques for
strengthening the wrist, articulating strings, understanding bass and treble
angles of attack, mastering changes in tempo, and incorporating timbre. We will
work toward synchronizing the melody and rhythm hands. We will explore grouping
sets of notes, which work sequentially toward building songs and mastering
tunes. This “Bootcamp" crash course condenses
the first five chapters of In Search of the Wild Dulcimer
and is a dynamic foundation course in rhythm, tempo, strumming, and melodic
structure.
Ability Level Jamming Workshops Cluster, Saturday,
5/25,
If one doesn’t work, try another. Join the fun!
2] Intro to Jamming (Beg/Adv Beg)
Marge, Gary, and Toni will lead this jam for all
instruments at a slow pace with easy tunes to help people get used to something
many find scary, but is really fun – playing well with
others.
3] Advanced Beginner/Intermediate Jam (Adv Beg/Int)
Stringed Fantasy will lead some tunes and give you a
chance to lead others of all kinds in a lightly structured jam for those used
to playing together.
4] Song Writer &
This session with Randall and Linda is about sharing
a song you love to play and sing – whether it is your creation or someone
else's. Sometimes people will join in and harmonize, learn the chorus, or maybe
they know the song, too. Come and share – let's make
it happen!
5] Spirituals (All)
Learn some of the history of the genre of folk songs
known as Spirituals. Then be prepared to play and sing along as Rich &
Kathy explore Black, White, Appalachian, and 2nd
Advent Spirituals. Song sheets with lyrics will be provided.
Feel free to sing, play, and share a Spiritual they may not have included.
6] Ukulele Jam (All Uke)
DUH! Dulci-More Ukulele
Hangout members will lead and showcase many tunes from beginner level ones in C
to more complicated ones. Something for everyone with several
loaner ukes available.
7] Swing Your Partner! Square Dance (All)
For this beginner friendly Appalachian square dance,
everyone is welcome! Get up and moving to a live band with
some Appalachian square dancing! Sarah will be teaching everything you
need to know…no previous experience needed! Come learn moves like “do-si-do”, “grand-right-and-left”, and “see-saw” that make up
most square dances. If you can walk at a moderate pace, you can square dance.
Be prepared for easy exercise and to have a blast!
Mark will lead a volunteer square dance band. Dance, play, or try both for a
while.
8] Intermediate/Advanced Jam (Int/Adv)
Bill and Jim will lead some tunes and give you a
chance to lead others of all kinds in a lightly structured jam for those used
to playing together.
9] Celtic Jam (All)
Join members of the Hired Hands for an all-level
Celtic jam.
1] Name that Old-Time (or Other) Tune, Saturday, 5/25,
This version of a slick television game show is for
the enjoyment of all after a full day of workshops. Get in on the fun and
prizes from
1] Open Stage/Clubs Open Stage, Saturday, 5/25,
Sign up at the registration area to let our festival
hear some of your unique sounds. All acoustic instruments and styles are
welcome.
Sunday Workshops & Events
1] Hymn/Gospel/Spiritual Sing, Sunday, 5/26,
Join a group with your instruments or just your voice
to share many favorites. Lyric sheets for many old favorites are there, but
others may also be sung.
Workshop Cluster 4, Sunday, 5/26,
1] The Ramblin’ Conrad Story (All)
Bob & Jeanne will
share a live version of this story from Bob’s past of one of his great
influences. There will be time at the end for questions and comments. It was the
longest side ever on an LP with really close grooves
back in 1974.
2] Songwriting (All)
The members of Mustard’s Retreat will share some of
their songs and the processes that they go through when writing. They will try
to answer some of your questions and help with your problems.
3] Surviving a Jam (All Levels & All Instruments)
Has there ever been a
time that you wanted to join in on a jam, but found the idea of making it
through one too intimidating? Have you ever joined a jam, only to find yourself
lost and not able to keep up? Come learn tips that are so simple from Brett,
yet valuable techniques that will help you maneuver through the next jam with
ease and enjoyment. Learn to anticipate chord changes, understand chords and
key changes, keep time, jam etiquette, and how to "mess
up well"! to become a proficient jammer! This is a hands-on workshop so bring your
instrument! Level: All levels and instruments.
4] Adding Some Fiddle Tunes for Mountain Dulcimer (Adv Beg-Adv MD) (DAD)
Introducing some catchy fiddle tunes that Marge have
been playing over the past thirty plus years. We will stay in DAD tuning and
talk some about the techniques that can be used to get
the tune going. This workshop will be for past beginners, people who already
have a few tunes they are comfortable with and are looking for a few more to
add.
5] American Folk Songs for Mountain Dulcimer (Int) (DAD)
This is a repertoire-building workshop for
intermediate dulcimer players. Linda will teach participants several songs from
the American Tradition including: Follow the Drinking Gourd, John B Sails, Old
Black Joe, Tom Dooley, and Wabash Cannonball.
6] Unaccompanied Appalachian Ballad Singing (All Singers)
Come and be a part of the rich tradition of
unaccompanied ballad singing in the southern mountains. In this class you will learn many fascinating ballads as well as the
unique vocal techniques and phrasing styles found in this genre of folk music.
All songs will be taught by ear, so a recording device
will come in handy. Lyrics will be provided.
7] Beginner Q & A for
HD (Beg HD)
There’s so much to learn at the beginning so bring your
questions and discuss them with Ted and the group while trying some things out.
8] Extended Chords for Hammered Dulcimer (All HD)
Janet will present two songs
and a few examples of where you can use extended chords to add beauty to tunes.
9]
Get started playing the Mountain Dulcimer
with Rich & Kathy by learning tuning, strumming techniques, chords, and
melody playing with singing accompaniment. Handouts
will be provided. A few loaner instruments will be available.
Workshop Cluster 5, Sunday, 5/26,
1] Ukulele Jam (All Uke)
Bob & Jeanne Zentz with DUH!
Dulci-More Ukulele Hangout members will lead and
showcase many tunes from beginner level ones in C to more complicated ones. Something for everyone with several loaner ukes
available.
2] Tips for Good Singing (All)
Linda and Roz will help you
enjoy singing more with improved breathing, pronunciation, listening, and
harmony.
3] Fast Dance Tunes for Harp (All Harp)
Learn some fast dance tunes with tricky arrangements.
Sheet music provided by Allison.
4] Flatpicking the Mountain
Dulcimer (Adv Beg/Int MD) (DAD)
Strum, strum, strum or Boom Chuck-a Boom, this workshop
goes way beyond strumming, teaching you to play across, rather than up and down
the fretboard, proper picking, timing, and dappled
with a generous offering of left hand techniques that will add color and speed
to your picking! You will also learn to take songs you already play and move
them into the flat-picking position! So Much Fun!
5] The Barre (Bar) Chord
for Mountain Dulcimer (Adv Beg/Int MD) (DAD)
When Bob wrote Wellyn in
the summer of 1972 little did he know it would become a staple in many dulcimer
players' repertoires. From the vantage of 47 years
later, he can see how this came to be. Built around "full-stop” barre chord positions, it is fun to play. Folks like the
athleticism of these “power chords," the rock n’ roll rhythm and the
major-to-minor key changes. We will start with this and work into Norman
Blake’s, Slow Train. Here the barre is used to create
the explosive back beat of a steam locomotive and
really lights up the key of G. Finally, Bob will teach how these barres allow you to quickly change
keys, especially into A and Em.
6] Caroline Paton – A
Folk-Legacy of Song (All)
The recent death of Caroline Paton,
the last of the three founders of Folk Legacy Records, song collector, singer
collector, and tireless promoter of traditional song, brings to mind the wealth
of songs that have come into many of our repertoires through her. From Dulci-More favorites like
7] South of the Border for Hammered Dulcimer (Beg-Int HD)
Mark will help you learn some beautiful folk tunes
from
8] Hand
Colin will help you learn how to use each hand
separately to play melody and harmony at the same time.
9] Let’s Learn Some Easy Mountain Dulcimer Tunes in
3/4 (Beg MD) (DAD)
Play melody with drones or let
Workshop Cluster 6, Sunday, 5/26,
1] Just
Plain Folk (All)
Tom Ball will interview and record songs and tunes
from Colin Beasley and Sarah Morgan (with the help of sound
man, Bill Conrad) for later broadcast on his Just Plain Folk radio
program on WCFI, 96.1 FM in
2] Folk-Legacy: Singing the Archive (All)
Bob and Jeanne have spent much of Jan-Apr harvesting
about 200 bankers' boxes of documentary evidence and artifacts from the good
old Folk-Legacy house, items that they hope will become part of a folk archive
in
3] Beginning Autoharp Melody (Beg/Adv Beg Autoharp)
Bill will help participants understand how to find
melodies for playing leads on the autoharp. Participants will be encouraged and
instructed on playing by ear and on playing by finding the notes from written music as we understand how our chord bars are related to the
notes of the scale. Some loaner Autoharps will be available.
4] Minor Melodies for Mountain Dulcimer (Adv Beg) (DAD)
Linda will help participants learn several ways to
produce minor tunes on the mountain dulcimer including DAC and DAG tuning and
the use of a capo.
5] Let’s Play Some Fiddle Tunes for Mountain Dulcimer (Int/Adv) (DAD) Capo
6] Singalong Magic (Adv Beg/Int Guitar &
All)
Around a campfire or sitting on the floor with
preschoolers at the local library, it is important to get the audience
involved. Randall will bring tunes and tricks to plug kids large and small into
the magic of music!
7] Irish Airs (All HD & All Instruments)
Janet will have a few slow
Irish (or other) airs, with beautiful ways to fill in and enhance the melody
and over-all sound of the tune.
8] North of the Border
for Hammered Dulcimer (Beg-Int HD)
Take a trip up to
9] Beginning Clawhammer Banjo (Beg 5 String Banjo)
This is not bluegrass, it is
all done with a downward motion of the right hand with easy fingering on the
banjo neck. Just bring a plain old fashion banjo with five strings. Try a
simple tune or two with Bill, but most effort will be to get the strum right
using the G banjo tuning.
3] Worship Service, Sunday, 5/26,
Doug George, pastor of the First United Methodist
Church of Salem, will lead a short service and share a message that should be
meaningful for all.
1] Open Stage/Clubs Open Stage, Sunday, 5/26,
Sign up at the registration area to let our festival
hear some of your unique sounds. All acoustic instruments and styles are
welcome.