CLASS: Intro to Mountain Dulcimer

Mountain Dulcimer is one of the easiest and most fulfilling instruments to play: Once it's tuned, you can hardly make a mistake. While it sounds beautiful playing "high piney" tunes from the Appalachian Mountains, it also lends itself to more contemporary music like The Beatles and Leonard Cohen.

Every class, we’ll learn a couple new tunes. Over the course of the six classes you’ll learn two tunings, how to follow dulcimer tablature, chords and strums to help you with your musical pursuits, and a couple of tunes per meeting. Once you've done that, you can join in on higher level classes Deborah offers.

NOTE: You will need a dulcimer for this class. If you are local, I have loaner dulcimers available for a $50 deposit. To purchase one yourself, I recommend looking for the following brands, new or used: New Harmony Dulcimer Co., Folkcraft, McSpadden, Blue Lion. Write me at deborahj@djhamouris.com for more info.

"Deborah Hamouris is a terrific teacher. I've learned a lot in her intro dulcimer class and feel that it has given me the grounding to start exploring playing with others already. She has adapted well to make the online experience work. i am looking forward to the next class.” -Tom Lent, Student

"I had never touched a dulcimer before last month, but in 6 short weeks of Deborah’s class I now feel capable of picking some melodies and know enough chords to play along with guitar strumming friends. Deborah’s class is really well paced for a newbie like me, challenging, rewarding, and fun. Highly recommended!” -Jennifer Ware, student

DJ Hamouris
DJ is a composer, teacher, recording artist, and community music organizer. She teaches mountain dulcimer at The Freight in Berkeley, CA, and in her east bay home. DJ founded the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering in 2013, produced the first online dulcimer festival in 2020, and co-founded the Berkeley Dulcimer Orchestra in 2014 with Steve Eulberg. Since March 2020 she has participated in 10 global virtual dulcimer festivals and is planning Dulcimoon – a women-led virtual dulcimer festival for 2023. Musically versatile, she performs with her husband, Buffalo, as The DulciMates. DJ has produced 6 recordings and "Indian Summer," a book of her music and original arrangements for mountain dulcimer. She is working on a similar book for the baritone dulcimer. Learn more about DJ’s recordings, books, and online classes at https://djhamouris.com/.

Class Dates:
6 Wednesdays, 9/14-10/26 (skips 10/19), 5:30-6:45pm PDT