Dulcimer Player Descriptions
For our festival, we are employing the following descriptors for workshops:
BEGINNER
You should be familiar with:
• Tuning your dulcimer
• Reading and playing from tablature
• Basic right and left hand techniques for strumming and fretting
• Strumming basic rhythms
• Playing notes on the melody string
• Simple two finger chords
INTERMEDIATE
You should be comfortable with all of the above plus:
• Fingering more complex three finger chords
• Basic fingerpicking technique
• Basic flatpicking technique
• Playing more intricate rhythm patterns
• More complex timing, use of dotted quarter and eighth notes, etc.
• Use of embellishments (hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides)
ADVANCED
You should be comfortable with all of the above plus:
• Playing in different keys
• Using alternate tunings such as DGD, DAC, etc.
• Adding melodic variations to simple melodies
• Playing 5 or more tunes from memory
• Performance skills and musicality
• Basic chord theory and its application