Firelands Dulcimer Club - lessons for beginning lap dulcimer
Put together by
Barbara Gregory
1999-2006 President of Firelands Dulcimer Club
1. Hands on tuning
a.
loosen the tuning pegs and make students retune instrument to DAD
b. discuss electronic tuners
c.
tuning to another dulcimer or instrument
d. tuning the instrument to itself
2. Holding and strumming the dulcimer
a. discuss straps - under knees or around back
b. how to hold pick
c. basic strum
3. Playing one string
a. Banks of the Ohio
b. Bile Them Cabbage Down
c. Do Lord
d. Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm
e. Old Molly Hare
f. Over the Waterfall
g. Sir Sidney
Smith's March
h. Wildwood Flower
4. Playing bar chords and accompanying songs
a. play any of the above songs. Sing with the music.
5. Playing a medley of three songs
a. Old Gray Liza
6. Adding harmony - dulcimer duets - on one string
a. Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm
7. Adding the middle string
a. Amazing Grace
b. Angeline the Baker
8. Adding the bass string
a. Cindy
b. Clementine
c. Columbus Stockade Blues
d. Crawdad Song
e. Fiddler Has Played His Last Tune
for the Night
f. Joys of Quebec
g. June Apple
h. Leake Co-Two Step
i. She'll Be
Comin' 'Round the
Mountain
j. Whiskey Before Breakfast
9. Adding the capo
a. Black Hawk Waltz
(not available on website)
b. Daggett's Revenge (not
available on website)
10. Fingerpicking
a. Childgrove
(not available on website)
b. Morning has Broken
c. Southwind
(not available on website)
11. Strumming and picking together
a. Come Dearest the Daylight is Gone
(not available on website)
b. Greensleeves
c. Haven of Rest
(not available on website)
d. Joys of Love (not available
in DAD on website)