Customer Reviews

The Best Dulcimer Method Yet

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I bought this book and have been using it for over 2 weeks and it is great. Alot of variety of music. It provides standard notation, Fingering for 1-5-5 tunings and Chords. The standard notation is all in the key of C (this is good because I play along with my wife (Carol) who has a C/G Concertina). The only draw back is that the words provided are typically only the first verse and Chorus. Ted Neil, Round Rock, Texas.

This is a great introduction to dulcimer playing as done in the traditional American folk style, before the "folk revival" of the 1960's. Most of the tunes are in C major, with the dulcimer tuned to CGG. Fret numbers are given for the melody string only, because the other two strings are droning. There are only a few minor (Aeolian) songs, that need the dulcimer to be retuned and they are near the end. The explanations at the beginning of the book is brief and light on theory, and only three chords are introduced, the C, F, and G7. So if you're looking for a more indepth discussion of modes and chords, this book will not provide that. A brief reference to Elementary Music Principles is given on the inside back cover and suffices to teach the reader basic rhythm, note values and rests.

The good thing about this book is the collection of 139 folk songs, some of them which are not heard too often in these days. The songs work best with a broad sweep of a quill, or plastic coffee stirrer for us city folks.

Good selection of songs. Needs to be spiral bound in order to stay open.

Good beginner book on how to play the dulcimer. Lots of useful information and easy to understand. You'll be up and playing in 15 minutes!