Dirt Simple Hammered Dulcimer
The Anatomy of the Hammered Dulcimer..........................................................................................5
Accessories................................................................................................................................................6
Tuning Accessories and Hammers................................................................................................7
Hammers..........................................................................................................................................7
Replacement Strings and Kit.........................................................................................................7
Tuning Your Dulcimer............................................................................................................................9
Final Tuning Tips.............................................................................................................................10
How to Care For Your Dulcimer.........................................................................................................11
Replacing Strings...................................................................................................................................11
When to Replace Them...............................................................................................................11
How to Replace Strings................................................................................................................11
Stand Height and Angle........................................................................................................................12
Hammer Grip.........................................................................................................................................13
Ready to Play!.........................................................................................................................................14
Imaginary Scale Boxes.................................................................................................................14
Finding the Notes in the Key of D.......................................................................................................15
Finding Note Names On Paper............................................................................................................16
Notes on Lines................................................................................................................................16
Notes on Spaces...........................................................................................................................16
Finding The Note Names On Your Dulcimer....................................................................................17
Review: D Scale Box and Its Notation.................................................................................................18
Rhythm Notation Explained................................................................................................................19
Note Durations................................................................................................................................19
Other Notation........................................................................................................................19
Rests................................................................................................................................................20
Counting Rhythms.........................................................................................................................21
16th Notes and Triplets...........................................................................................................21
Mixed Rhythms........................................................................................................................22
Dotted Notes.................................................................................................................................22
Other Meters...........................................................................................................................................22
Rhythm and Hammer Lead..................................................................................................................23
What We Can Learn From Percussionists...................................................................................23
What I Teach and Why: Dominant Hand Lead.........................................................................23
Dominant Hand Lead...................................................................................................................24
Practice Examples........................................................................................................................25
Dotted Notes.................................................................................................................................25
Quick Tips To Easy Dominant Hand Lead...................................................................................26
Your First Notes!....................................................................................................................................27
Boil dem Cabbage.......................................................................................................................27
London Bridge is Falling Down.....................................................................................................27
Shortenin’ Bread............................................................................................................................28
Soldier’s Joy...................................................................................................................................28
Cripple Creek................................................................................................................................29
Tips to Learning Tunes Faster..............................................................................................................29
Recognizing Patterns....................................................................................................................29
Cincinnati Hornpipe......................................................................................................................30
Exploring the Upper D Scale................................................................................................................30
Right Hand Right Side / Left Hand Left Side...............................................................................30
Golden Slippers in Upper D..........................................................................................................31
Golden Slippers in Middle D.........................................................................................................31
Hand Independence..............................................................................................................................32
Spring, from Four Seasons............................................................................................................32
Woodchopper’s Reel...................................................................................................................33
Pentatonic Scales....................................................................................................................................34
Amazing Grace.............................................................................................................................35
Angeline the Baker.......................................................................................................................35
Redwing.........................................................................................................................................36
Midnight On The Water................................................................................................................37
Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine....................................................................................................38
Boys of Bluehill................................................................................................................................39
Liberty Reel....................................................................................................................................40
New Note: Cn..........................................................................................................................................41
Old Joe Clark.................................................................................................................................41
Chanter’s Tune..............................................................................................................................42
Tunes in the Key of G............................................................................................................................43
G Major Scale Box.........................................................................................................................43
The Girl I Left Behind Me...............................................................................................................43
Right Hand / Right Side Rule Review................................................................................................44
Gallopede.....................................................................................................................................44
Syncopation.............................................................................................................................................45
Stone’s Rag....................................................................................................................................45
Cold Frosty Morning......................................................................................................................46
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing............................................................................................47
Leather Britches.............................................................................................................................48
Notation Versus Tradition....................................................................................................................49
Silver Spear.....................................................................................................................................49
Repetition................................................................................................................................................50
Arkansas Traveler..........................................................................................................................50
Flop-Eared Mule............................................................................................................................51
Glossary...................................................................................................................................................52
Alphabetical Index of Tunes.................................................................................................................54