ISBN 9780786648504. Acoustic Music. 8.75x11.75 inches.
Every aspect of the hammered dulcimer and its playing techniques is covered in this comprehensive, yet easy-to-understand text. A masterful teacher, Madeline MacNeil exceeds the expectations of a beginner's book, providing a firm foundation for the development of a total musician while maintaining an engaging, informal tone throughout. With detailed discussions on dulcimer layout, hammers, tuning, and stands plus extensive performance notes on every tune, this book is a valuable asset to the beginning through intermediate player. From Oh Suzanna to Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Madeline shows the novice dulcimer player how to "map your way through" a new piece of music, finding clear, musical directions through what at first must seem like a maze of strings. All tunes are in standard notation. The book's 87 pages are illustrated with photos as well as quaint woodcuts, engravings, and pen and ink drawings. The CD in the You Can Teach Yourself Hammered Dulcimer book/CD package is a play-along recording of all of the tunes in the corresponding book. Each tune is counted-off and played at a moderate tempo on solo hammered dulcimer for easy play-along.
