We are excited to offer a combined workshop and concert day with two of our favourite USA tutors – Stephen Seifert (Mountain Dulcimer) and Stephen Humphries (Hammered Dulcimer).
The day offers a chance to take classes online with two tutors who are coming in person this October to our annual weekend. If you can’t attend in October or just want a sneak preview of their classes and their approach, this event gives you the perfect opportunity. And while the classes will provide a firm foundation to some of the things covered in October, they are not a pre-requisite and are designed to complement (not duplicate) our October weekend classes. The cost is £30 per workshop session (morning or afternoon). There are 3 workshops to choose from.
In addition there is a lunchtime concert featuring both tutors, open to all, whether or not you attend the workshops. Entry is free but we hope you will send our performers a tip!
We hope to see you there!
Schedule of the day
All times are UK times (BST)
10:00 – 13:00 Stephen Seifert Mountain Dulcimer Workshop 1 – A Foundation of Good Tunes and Useful Practices (experienced beginner and lower intermediate level), Cost £30.
13:30 – 14:30 Lunchtime Concert with Stephen Humphries and Stephen Seifert. Free, with tip jars.
14:30 – 17:30 Stephen Seifert Mountain Dulcimer Workshop 2 – How to Build on Your Foundation – Play Interesting Music (intermediate AND higher level), Cost £30.
14:30 – 17:30 Stephen Humphries Hammered Dulcimer Workshop – Improving Rhythm & Repertoire with Rudiments (Intermediate level), Cost £30.
Lunchtime Concert
There will be two performers in our lunchtime concert. Everyone is welcome to come and listen, and there will be a tip-jar for each performer. Our tutors will play a selection of non-copyright material.
13:30 – 14:00 Stephen Humphries – Hammered Dulcimer – Tip Jar
14:00- 14:30 Stephen Seifert – Mountain Dulcimer – Tip Jar
If you would just like to attend the concert, please note we will be sending out the concert link to ALL Nonsuch members, in case they would like to attend. If you are not a member (and not booking for one or more of the workshops) you are still very welcome, so please email us for a link.
Workshop Descriptions
Stephen Seifert Mountain Dulcimer Workshop 1 – A Foundation of Good Tunes and Useful Practices
– for experienced beginner and lower intermediate level
Time: 10:00 – 13:00 BST
- Strumming (accuracy, swing vs. straight, and variation)
- I’ll show you how to make easy versions of just about any tune, and then I’ll show you how to make them a little bit fancier. Nothing crazy.
- Play Melody in Three Places (melody string, up high on the melody string, and bass string)
- Backup Chords (shortcut chords for lower levels)
- Minimal Chord Melody (the easiest way to play chords and melody at the same time)
- PLUS Some of my favorite tunes and arrangements.
Stephen Seifert Mountain Dulcimer Workshop 2 – How to Build on Your Foundation – Play Interesting Music
– for intermediate AND higher level
Time: 14:30 – 17:30 BST
How to Build on Your Foundation – Play Interesting Music
You don’t have to know hundreds of tunes to make listenable and interesting music. You really just need to learn how to make a handful of your favorite melodies more fun to play and listen to. I’m going to show you a group of techniques that build on the foundational ideas presented in the previous workshop.
- Flat-picking and playing melodies across the strings. (easy and fancier)
- Finger-picking
- Next-Level Backup Chords
- Generating Harmonies EASILY
- MORE Chord-Melody Techniques
- Creating Intros, Endings, and Cool Licks
- Right and Left-Hand Exercises (for picking and fingering improvement)
- MORE How to Make Simple Things Fancier
Stephen Humphries Hammered Dulcimer Workshop – Improving Rhythm & Repertoire with Rudiments
Time: 14:30 – 17:30
– For Intermediate level
Come and spend the afternoon exploring basic concepts to improve your rhythmic grasp on the hammered dulcimer. Through examining and practicing single stroke, double stroke, and multiple bounce rolls, we will discover some key ways to improve your hammer control and aid you in progressing beyond some of the barriers that hinder your playing. Additionally, we will learn and apply these techniques to a 17th century piece by harpsichordist Francois Couperin. Whether you have been playing the instrument for years, or you are a brand new beginner, these simple concepts will help you derive more joy from playing the music that you want to play! Examples from Stephen’s book A Rudimental Approach to the Hammered Dulcimer, Vol. 1 will be provided for this workshop.
Practicalities & Booking
All those who register will be sent information about the Zoom links by email before the workshops, with Meeting ID, Password, and helpful tips about how to participate if you have not used Zoom before.
Please note that registration fees for these workshops are non-refundable. If you have made a booking error in the workshop that you have chosen and wish to correct it, please contact the event organisers as soon as possible.