The title says it all: "Dirt Simple." This book and companion audio are designed for a rank beginner who knows nothing about the hammered dulcimer, providing them the tools to make music right away. Starting with the fundamentals of how to hold hammers and tune the instrument, it delves deeper into mastery with posture, stand height/angle, and replacing strings to set up the beginner for a lifetime of good habits. Every concept introduced is simultaneously presented with illustrations and songs that demonstrate and reinforce. Whether the student reads music or plays by ear, the result is the same - music making right from the beginning! Dr. Mark Alan Wade is an experienced teacher with an undergraduate degree in music education and years of public school teaching experience. Now teaching music theory and dulcimer at Denison University, Dr. Wade offers a unique perspective on teaching hammered dulcimer and has three students who have also won the National Hammered Dulcimer Contest as evidence of his master teaching. It's all about the music! Dirt Simple Hammered Dulcimer is written so that the carefully selected tunes are the true teacher. Hands-on learning is made easy with the companion audio. Includes access to online audio containing each song played slowly for students to learn by ear in addition to reading notation. This also allows for the students to hear style traits such as swing, that aren't easily conveyed in written notation. With 29 songs, this book and audio are a year's worth of private lessons in one concise package!

The Anatomy of the Hammered Dulcimer

Accessories

Tuning Accessories and Hammers

Hammers

Replacement Strings and Kit

Tuning Your Dulcimer

Final Tuning Tips

How to Care For Your Dulcimer

Replacing Strings

When to Replace Them

How to Replace Strings

Stand Height and Angle

Hammer Grip

Ready to Play!

Imaginary Scale Boxes

Finding the Notes in the Key of D

Finding Note Names On Paper

Notes on Lines

Notes on Spaces

Finding The Note Names On Your Dulcimer

Review: D Scale Box and Its Notation

Rhythm Notation Explained

Note Durations

Other Notation

Rests

Counting Rhythms

16th Notes and Triplets

Mixed Rhythms

Dotted Notes

Other Meters

Rhythm and Hammer Lead

What We Can Learn From Percussionists

What I Teach and Why: Dominant Hand Lead

Dominant Hand Lead24

Practice Examples

Dotted Notes

Quick Tips To Easy Dominant Hand Lead

Your First Notes!

Boil dem Cabbage

London Bridge is Falling Down

Shortenin’ Bread

Soldier’s Joy

Cripple Creek

Tips to Learning Tunes Faster

Recognizing Patterns

Cincinnati Hornpipe

Exploring the Upper D Scale

Right Hand Right Side / Left Hand Left Side

Golden Slippers in Upper D

Golden Slippers in Middle D

Hand Independence

Spring, from Four Seasons

Woodchopper’s Reel

Pentatonic Scales

Amazing Grace

Angeline the Baker

Redwing

Midnight On The Water

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine

Boys of Bluehill

Liberty Reel

New Note: Cn

Old Joe Clark

Chanter’s Tune

Tunes in the Key of G

G Major Scale Box

The Girl I Left Behind Me

Right Hand / Right Side Rule Review

Gallopede

Syncopation

Stone’s Rag

Cold Frosty Morning

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Leather Britches

Notation Versus Tradition

Silver Spear

Repetition

Arkansas Traveler

Flop-Eared Mule