Check this out. Jeff Hames hosts a forum on his site but it's not what you would expect. Once a month, there's a topic. This topic gets most of it's activity in a 60-minute period. Most of those participating are well known dulcimer teachers and performers. It's like a round-table discussion once a month. There's all kinds of good information to explore for mountain and hammered players. (http://jeffhames.com//forum/)
Robert Force & Albert d'Ossché
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The first mountain dulcimer book I ever saw, owned, and read was In Search of the Wild Dulcimer by Robert Force & Albert d'Ossché. One of the authors, Robert Force, has made the whole thing available on his website. Just under his top banner, you'll see a cover of the book with the word "Instruction" under it. Click and enjoy. It's a classic!
Gallier TABs
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Although Gary Gallier is known for his compositions and improvisations, he has been delving deeper into traditional filddle tunes for the past couple years. Check out his great bunch of recent tabs.
Rockwell Cabbage Explorations
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Jerry Rockwell has just posted some sheet music and audio files documenting his recent explorations of the "Bile Them Cabbage" form. The audio samples go from simple acoustic to wild electric.
"Renowned mountain dulcimer player Stephen Seifert, composer Conni Ellisor and artist manager Brian Horner have joined forces to rally America's dulcimer community to raise enough money to support the creation of a new piece of music for mountain dulcimer and orchestra. "Blackberry Winter", the world's only work for mountain dulcimer and orchestra was written in 1996 by Conni Ellisor and performed by Stephen Seifert and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and they're excited to premiere a sequel to this beloved piece." - http://dulcimerconcerto.com/
(The following article is reproduced with permission. It originally appeared in the Winter 2010 issue of Dulcimer Players News)
Blackberry Winter: The past, the present, and the future of the Mountain Dulcimer in Classical Music
By Brian Horner, artist manager for composer Conni Ellisor
The orchestral history of the mountain dulcimer is fairly short: "Blackberry Winter" for mountain dulcimer, Tennessee music box and strings. That’s the only concerto written for the instrument. The piece was...
Here's my new Jerry Rockwell mountain dulcimer. (Click the image to go to the full-size version where you can adjust the quality settings.) In this video, I go through a number of different styles and techniques to give you an idea of what this beautiful instrument can do. I also shot this video to test out the equipment I'll be using to shoot Dulcimer School video. To learn more about Jerry Rockwell, his music, and his instruments, visit his site at http://jcrmusic.com/.
A good time was had by all. Plenty of open air jamming. Some traditional playing, which I enjoy, but a real blast of some innovative new stuff. Got to play with more instructors than usual. Eating at the Shrimp Shack was perfect. Sailing during sunset on Danger's Prize was one of the COOLEST things I've ever done. Thanks to Bing, the staff, and all the students for a really cool festival. (Thanks also to Bing Futch and Robert Force for the two pictures.)
In a few days, a bunch of us dulcimer players will be headed South for a few days for the first ever Key West Dulcimer Festival. Bing Futch, the festival director, has created a schedule that allows for plenty of jamming and beach time. The staff he's assembled is pretty amazing. Won't you join us? If you'd like more information, please visit http://stephenseifert.com/component/banners/click/4.html.
Conni Ellisor, who worked with David Schnaufer to write Blackberry Winter, wants to do a piece for mountain dulcimer and full orchestra. The Tucson Symphony Orchestra has already agreed to premier the piece. To learn more about this project, please visit http://dulcimerconcerto.com/fr_index.cfm.
WOW! Had a blast playing non-stop for hours. Bono of U2 was inches in front of me but it seems the dulcimer didn't catch his ear. Pictures coming soon.
Victor Wooten just performed for about 20 minutes at breakfast. WOW!!! Although he's a bass player, he's been one of my main musical influences from very early on. One man. One bass. Really amazing!
If you're not familiar with NAMM, it's where music merchandise is showcased at booths to attract interested buyers (usually music store owners). No money changes hands. You can wonder around and play with every cool thing you ever wanted and a bunch of stuff you didn't even know existed.
Can't believe I didn't bring a camera. Will update later today.
Anyone else here in or near Anaheim, CA? Want to jam? Lessons? Workshops? Fish tacos? Anything? - Stephen
Just got to Anaheim, CA. Working with the Folkcraft booth at Winter NAMM 2010. (National Association of Music Merchants) If anyone else is here, please email me at
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or drop by the booth. Any dulcimer players in this part of the country? Email me so we can do something. I'll check back. - Stephen
Don't miss this one. It's a serious blast. Mountain dulcimer instructors include Doug Berch, Jeff Furman, Bing Futch, Dave Haas, Maureen Sellers, and me. There's around 10 hours of instruction and LOTS of jamming. Here's what I'm teaching:
Alternating Bass for Fingerpickers - The goal here is to keep an alternating bass line happening while playing the melody and chords at the same time. First, we’ll go through short exercises for your right hand. Then we’ll play through a number of tunes, learning to syncopate on the spot. Time will be spent on right and left hand muting and damping.
Playable Medieval, Elizabethan, and Renaissance Style Music - We’ll start in and mostly use DAD. Bring a capo. I’ll walk you through Medieval melodies, Elizabethan lute pieces, and tunes from the Massif Central region of France. Sound hard? They’re not. We’ll cover strumming, finger picking, and fingering helpful in playing this music.
Foundational Techniques - DAD - We’ll review stringing, tuning, holding, strumming, fretting the dulcimer. Then we’ll cover a number of effective ways to learn tunes you might know and a few jam tunes you need to know.
String Side Up - New player? In 90 minutes I will have you playing a tune or two, show you how to tune your dulcimer and get you started on the right path toward good strumming. This class is for people who are true beginners on the instrument.
I'm working on a new section for my website where you'll be able to see and hear my favorite dulcimers using photographs, video, and audio. If I believe in a dulcimer enough to use it in recordings and performances, I want to honor the builders by sharing with you as much as I can about each instrument. For now, here's photos of my three newest. The first is a Jerry Rockwell. It's a very long diatonic with the added 6½ and 13½. The second is a fully chromatic David Beede. (I don't have David's yet. He sent me this photo to show the progress.) The third is a Warren May with peg tuners and no ½ frets.
Want to know how I use Tabledit? I've produced over 20 online videos, over 5.5 hours worth, covering everything from basic installation to the most advanced features I use. Whether you want to make a book or just some simple handouts, it's all covered here. To start checking them out, just click Tabledit Tutorials in the top menu. The player won't let you hit the play button until 10% of the selected video is loaded. This takes about 15 seconds on a DSL line. Please report any errors or omissions. Enjoy!
Mountain Dulcimer Folk Webcast Archive
These shows are free for your listening pleasure. They're like radio shows where I play music and interview folks from the mountain dulcimer community. You can listen to them on my Webcast page or you can download them to your computer.
Want to Be a Guest on Mountain Dulcimer Folk LIVE?
Send me some of your recordings and tell me your favorite three tracks. MP3 tracks are fine in a pinch. Send me a long bio, a three sentence bio, a photo, your contact info, and links to everywhere you're on the web. If you're doing something even slightly remarkable in the mountain dulcimer world, I want you as a guest. I want to hear from you!
Nashville Area Jams
Beginners to advanced, please join me at the Fiddle & Pick in Pegram, TN on the first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 9 PM and on the third Saturday of each month from 10 AM to 12 PM. There's many good clubs in the greater Nashville area you should check out. Here's what we offer:
We're not a club, we're a jam.
There's food and drinks.
Tab is welcome, BUT you're welcome to leave it at home, too.
This is a safe place for learning how to learn by ear. It will take time.
You don't have to know the tune to play. Just show up.
Mistakes WELCOME! This is learning by immersion. YOU ARE WELCOME!
Super slow with lots of repetition for at least one song.
Snappy tempos.
Last ½-Hour for truly advanced players.
Upright bass always present.
One pretty song for every 5 fiddle tunes.
We rarely play something just three times.
This is not prepare then do. It's learn as you do.
"Renowned mountain dulcimer player Stephen Seifert, composer 
A good time was had by all. Plenty of open air jamming. Some traditional playing, which I enjoy, but a real blast of some innovative new stuff. Got to play with more instructors than usual. Eating at the 
