Customer Reviews

Hammered Dulcimer ragamuffin style!

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I have had a hammered dulcimer with the hope of learning to play the way that Rich Mullins did for quite a few years. I read all the instruction I could get my hands on to no avail. Finally - Yes Finally - I saw Hammered Dulcimer Ragamuffin Style! and got a copy. Wow! In just a matter of an hour or so I was playing along with some of Rich's music off a CD. People have heard me play and can't believe I have only been playing for a couple of weeks. I am now learning to embellish the patterns in the book and am very excited about what I'll be able to do a few months from now. Great book! Simple and effective.

I am quite confused by a previous review by Ray who slammed this book. He evidently DID NOT read the editorial review and somehow created in his own mind that this was a collection of Rich Mullins music or something. I don't know why Ray would want to document his stupidity for all to read. He is the kind of person that made Rich angry. I teach hammered dulcimer and I purchased this book out of curiosity because I enjoy Rich's music. I now recommend it to all my students as a foundational playing style even if they don't know who Rich Mullins is becuase it is such a versatile technique. This book will teach anyone to play the hammered dulcimer ragamuffin style the way Rich Mullin's played. My students learn the technique very quickly and it generates quite a bit of excitement for them. Dr. Kidwell tells you that this book is an instructional book that will get you started playing the hammered ducimer ragamuffin style. Indeed, the book teaches the ragamuffin style very effectively and goes further by providing some simplified music theory so you can quickly progress into more and more difficult songs. Ray also stated that this book did not come with a CD which is true. It does come with ONLINE RESOURCES that include sound files to play along with and quick videos that SHOW you what the hammering patterns should look like. There are also links to Rich Mullins songs etc. Actually, Dr. Kidwell did a splendid job in constructing a very simple, yet, effective instruction method for what appears to be a complicated playing style. I certainly have enjoyed the book and my students love it. Dr. Kidwell, pay no attention to Ray, you are right on with this book! Thanks

March 2003

TWO MONTHS AGO, I was inspired by the video "Live - Lufkin Texas" ...that I wanted to learn to play the hammered dulcimer like Rich Mullins. (If you have not seen the video, and you are either a fan of Rich Mullins or the Hammered Dulcimer, you'd love it).

ONE MONTH AGO, I purchased an Ardie 15/14 off of ebay and excitedly drove to Amarillo to pick it up. I never touched a HD before this. I have some rather limited experience on the violin, but any serious music playing goes all the way back to my Jr. High School days back in the early 70's.

About THREE WEEKS AGO, maybe even less, I received Jay Kidwell's book.

LAST WEEK, I started practicing with some musicians and singers from the church that I attend.

During practice, none of them believed me, that I had only been playing less than three weeks. They also don't believe me when I tell them it is an easy instrument to learn using Jay Kidwell's teaching. But to make a long story short, if they want to think that I am some sort of Hammered Dulcimer expert, that's fine, as long as they keep praising The One who deserves all our praise, Jesus.

Thank you Jay, for giving me the instruction and confidence to start playing publicly in such a tremendously short period of time. And it is so much fun and sounds so good! While I am not near what Rich could do, I plan on getting there one day. Thanks for such a great book.

I got to thinking about the harsh comments below about Jay's excellent book and would like to comment. First, anybody who is looking for a HD songbook of Rich's music, stop looking because you won't find it. Jay's book is an excellent introduction to playing chords on the HD. That is all it was ever advertised to be. To say that Rich did not play chords on the HD is laughable. Of course he played chords. But when a person is as advanced as Rich was in his musical gift, a chord becomes something more than a chord. It takes on a new form. But that does not come from reading any book. That comes from how gifted you are, how much you desire to learn and improvise, how much you desire to practice, how closely you listen to Rich's playing in his music, etc. No book can teach you that. As for the blank chord pages, the human mind can learn much faster by finding those chords in all 12 keys, rather than reading them from a chart. Jay's book made that possible for me. Jay's book covers the basics quite well, and really got me started understanding this once thought, difficult instrument. Thanks Jay, for an excellent HD primer.

I just got this book yesterday and it is absolutely fantabulous... I have already learned more of what I've wanted to learn in one night than I have in the past 5 years. Jay has done a great job with this book... very easy to understand his concepts. And don't miss the website that you get access to when you buy this book... has some great support video and music files as well as additional tips!

Thanks Mr. Kidwell for doing such a great job!

this is an awesome book if you want to learn how to play the hammer dulcimer like rich mullins. i have no clue how to read music but i found it easy to read this book and learn how to play the hammer dulcimer. it only took me like 2-3 weeks of pratice and i could play the hammer dulcimer pretty good! i would definatily recomend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to play the hammer dulcimer.

I've had my dulcimer for about 18 months now and was afraid I wasn't going to get any better at it without instruction - which is hard to find. But now I've had Hammered Dulcimer ragamuffin style! for less than a week and I'm already playing along with some of Rich Mullins' recorded music! Jay shows you how to take any music noted for guitar players and play them on your dulcimer. I'm very excited and I feel like a kid in a candy store! If you've wanted to be able to play some of Rich's music with your HD, get this book and you will - in no time!

"The ragamuffin style of playing the hammered dulcimer will augment any advanced players technique and could easily be sufficient if they are new to the hammered dulcimer."

I don't know if an advanced player might get something out of this book. I have to wonder if the other reviewers have some kind of relationship with Rich, either personally or at least fans of his playing. After building my own dulcimer, I was searching for some books to get started. I have a good deal of experience with music, read it adequately and understand keys and chords from guitar, but this book cannot make the claim "easily be sufficient if they are new to the hammered dulcimer."

If you break down the book, there's the normal 5 pages for titles, copyrights, etc, about 2 pages of introduction, 12 pages of actual instructions, 26 pages of blank chord and hammering patterns, and the rest of the 77 pages are chord and hammering patterns for many different keys, only 2 per page.

So just beware, beginners will not find much here.

Do to finger problems, I lost the ability to play the piano & organ. I had always liked the sound of the HD on Rich Mullins' songs. Watching the dvd on "Here in America", I realized that I could play this. For pleasure, playing the melody is necesssary, but my goal is to play with our Worship Team at church, much like Rich, with a soft solo intro, then hard-hitting accompaniment. I will eventuallly fall into my own style. A great Lynn is better than a pale imitation of Rich. If you are expecting to find a book of Rich's songs, this is not it. This teaches "the style", not the song, and does a fine job of it! -- Lynn Gehringer

This book is great. I first learned about the hammnered dulcimer by listening to Rich Mullins. I also build dulcimers and this book is a great way to learn to play one simply and quickly.
T. Herman