Learning to Play

Instructional Materials There are many quality books and tapes  available to the Hammer Dulcimer player. A comprehensive list and review of these can be found at: The Official WWW Hammer Dulcimer Page. Click here to go to the books page.	Festivals & Workshops Numerous festivals and workshops are held throughout the year. Many offer sessions for players at various levels of playing experience. A comprehensive listing can be found at: Dulcimer Players News  Click here to go directly to the Festivals Page
Teachers Finding a Hammer Dulcimer teacher can sometimes be a challenge, but as the instrument gains popularity, more teachers become available. A web page devoted to music teachers of all types can be found at: The Music Teachers List	John C. Campbell Folk School The Campbell Folk School is located in Brasstown, NC seven miles east of Murphy. Among the numerous and varied course offerings are courses in Hammer Dulcimer. In 2001 they offered instruction in beginning, intermediate and advanced Hammer Dulcimer and instructors included Anne Lough, Ray Belanger, and Steve Schneider.  Click Here for a current course listing
SEHDP Teachers Some members of SEHDP also  teach. Those currently teaching are: Agene Parsons  Ringgold, GA   (423) 326-0965    agene1336@earthlink.net Vicki Gibboney Aiken,  SC (803) 642-6564 dvgib@scalpnet.com	Music Software and Song Files There are many song files available on the web. See our Tunelist for some of the many, but by no means all, the sources of tunes. MIDI files are available for many of these tunes and can be played back through sound cards on many computers. Music composition software can be used to import the MIDI file, to create sheet music, or as a practice aid. You can change the tempo for playback at a slower speed as you learn a song, and you can mute parts to allow you to play that part along with the tune. Several SEHDP members use Noteworthy Composer, but there are others available depending on your needs.