EXTENDED SESSION - Class Descriptions
TBA Intermediate/advanced MOUNTAIN DULCIMER
TBA Past beginner/early intermediate MOUNTAIN DULCIMER
Diane Hochstetler New players/beginners MOUNTAIN DULCIMER
Greetings! I am Diane, and I will be working with the 2026 Buckeye Mountain Dulcimer Beginners.
The only prerequisite for this class is a desire to learn about the dulcimer. In our class, we will learn ELEVEN BASICS:
1) You must tune it!
2) Our right hands… picking & strumming
3) Understanding tablature
4) Chords & Chord-Melody Style
5) Answering questions & pursuing rabbit trails
6) Notes & Rhythms
7) Dulcimer Melodies
8) Our left hands… fingering & noters
9) Instrument Care & Anatomy
10) Playing Tunes Together
11) {Yes, the eleventh is “You Can Do It.”) You can !!!
TBA Intermediate/advanced Hammered Dulcimer
TBA Past beginner/early intermediate HAMMERED DULCIMER
Melanie Shapiro New Players/beginners HAMMERED DULCIMER
This class will be an introduction to the hammered dulcimer for those who have little or no previous experience with the instrument, starting from “string side up”!
We’ll cover basics such as the layout of the dulcimer and finding your way around all those strings. We’ll also learn how to hold your hammers and strategies for determining efficient hammering patterns.
Of course, no introduction would be complete without discussing tuning the beast(!), so we’ll cover that as well.
We’ll explore these topics while learning some of the most common jam tunes as well as some in the Buckeye Roadshow tune list.
About Thursday and Friday at the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival
Shari Wolf Band-it! Multi-instrument class - beyond beginner players
What is this Band-it! class all about?
In joining the band, you'll fnind a group eager to explore working with familiar jam tunes that take on a new interest when arranged with a plan rather than playing them a few times and then on to the next. We'll work on instrumentals (fiddle tunes, waltzes, hymns) and we'll explore singing a variety of traditional music.
Next, I'll introduce some new tunes that we can learn from scratch and approach them with new ideas of arranging in the mix.
In the past, Band-it! has learned and arranged Kerry Polka, Johnny Armstrong, Skye Boat Song (before it became popular) and some good old time and Irish tunes.
You'll gain information on starting the tune, ending the tune, switching leads, turn arounds, and vamps. We'll work on these things focused on instrumentals and vocals. We'll start playing in the key of D and go from there.
Please bring any instruments that you would like to play to contribute to our band sound.
Instruments that have participated in previous BAND-It! classes include: pennywhistle, autoharp, recorder, bowed psaltry, banjo, fiddle, bodhran, mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, ukulele, banjo uke, guitar, upright bass, marimbula, spoons, bones and probably more.
Instructors Joining our Saturday Staff
Thanks to the following instructors that will join us on Saturday.
SATURDAY 5-hour beginner's classes:
Autoharp - Phyllis Davis
Hammered Dulcimer -
Mountain Dulcimer - Shane Braden
HARP ( 3 hour morning session) - Phyllis Howard
ATTEND CLASSES THROUGH ZOOM
The Buckeye Dulcimer Festival will be Zooming several classes during the Thursday and Friday (10 hours) extended session.
Classes that will be Zoomed:
TBA
All zoom classes will be recorded and available to participants after the festival as part of your Zoom registration.