CAROL CROCKER
Fiddling in the Fall
Level: Intermediate
Tuning: DAD
Celebrate the season with a few fall-themed fiddle tunes arranged for mountain dulcimer, including “Shaking Down the Acorns.” We’ll focus on bringing fiddle-style energy, rhythm, and lift to the dulcimer.
Shaped Note Hymns from the Colored Sacred Harp
Level: All levels
Carol will share hymns from The Colored Sacred Harp arranged for mountain dulcimer parts. Students will explore this rich American shaped-note tradition through approachable ensemble-style arrangements.
Lullabies From Around the World
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Lullabies are a beautiful reflection and expression of love between parents and their babies. In this workshop, we will explore lullabies from Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Be careful not to get sleepy in class.
Tunes and Techniques for Beginners
Level: Beginner
As you begin your journey of learning how to play the mountain dulcimer, we’ll add several simple and traditional dulcimer tunes and songs to your repertoire. Basic fingering and strumming skills will be covered.
Songs of the Spirit, Book 2
Level: All levels
Carol will share selections from Songs of the Spirit, Book 2, her collection of African American spirituals arranged for mountain dulcimer. Students will explore familiar melodies, simple arrangements, and the spirit of these powerful songs.
STEPHEN SEIFERT
Learn Like Grandpa Did
Level: Experienced Beginner
This class is for newer players who want to feel more comfortable and confident with the dulcimer. Students will use a few simple tunes to work on the basics that matter most: steady strumming, clean fretting, how to play by ear, simple tab reading, and making music without overthinking every note. Nothing here is meant to be scary. We’ll take things one step at a time and focus on habits that help you play better at home, in class, and with other people.
Stephen Foster Chord-Melody
Level: Intermediate
Chord-melody playing does not have to be big, crowded, or hard on your hands. We’ll work through a number of Stephen Foster classics, combining melody and chords in a clean, useful way. The goal is to understand where the melody lives, where simple chords fit, and how to make a tune sound fuller without overworking it. Expect practical tips on fingering, strumming, drones, and choosing just enough harmony to make the tune come alive.
Flatpicking Dulcimer Jam Standards
Level: Intermediate
We’ll use a number of favorite dulcimer jam tunes to develop your ability to flatpick tunes across the three strings. Stephen will also show how to add in strums to keep things sounding strong. The class will concentrate on timing, pick direction, melody placement, simple chord choices, and relaxed, steady playing. The goal is to make these tunes sound musical and feel good.
Make Tunes You Already Know More Interesting
Level: Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate
A good player does not have to play a tune the same way every time through. In this class, students will take familiar melodies and explore ways to add variety without losing the tune. We’ll try different octaves, simple fills, tasteful chords, little licks, intros, endings, and ways to move between melody-drone playing and minimal chord-melody. This is practical arranging: learning musical choices you can make on the spot.
Blues Backup and Soloing
Level: Upper-Intermediate and Up
Using the twelve-bar blues form, students will work on playing backup, right-hand strumming, picking, dampening, left-hand muting, simple and fancy chords, and how to create blues licks on a single string as well as across all three strings. The handouts allow Stephen to work with students who have the one-and-a-half fret as well as those who do not.
LAURIE ALSOBROOK
Strum Camp
Level: Beginner
This workshop will give you tools for happy strumming and tunes selected to help drive your right hand. Half of our session will be devoted to strumming in 4/4 time (fiddle tune) time and the remainder will focus on 3/4 (waltz) time.
Capo ONE-derful!
Level: Novice
Put a capo across the first fret for a tuning you will not regret.
E-minor will come with each dulcimer strum, For a sound you will not forget.
If you do not have a capo, we can improvise!
One (+) derful!
Level: Lower Intermediate
Have a 1+ fret? Let’s put it to use! Some of your favorites will have a bit of pizazz added with new notes and new chords. If you don’t have a 1+ fret, we can improvise with a bit of tape and a paper clip.
New Old Time
Level: Intermediate
Sadie at the Back Door? Nail that Catfish to a Tree? These tunes and others, while sounding old-time, were composed within the last 40 years. They are as fun to play as their titles are to say. Let’s add a few old/new tunes to your jam repertoire.
Jean Ritchie: In Song and Story
Level: All levels
Inspired by Jean Ritchie’s book “Singing Family of the Cumberlands” this workshop offers recollections that transport us to another era. Fun readings from Jean’s memoir will accompany selected songs. Please bring a capo.
BING FUTCH
Find the Chords Hiding in the Melody
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
A melody tells you more than you think. In this workshop, we’ll take simple tunes and learn how to find the key, discover likely chords, and build useful backup parts from the notes that are already there.
Selective Strumming for Cleaner Melodies
Level: Intermediate
Move beyond strumming everything all the time. We’ll work on controlling which strings ring, which strings stay quiet, and how selective strumming can make melodies clearer, smoother, and more musical.
Groove, Pulse, and the Right Hand
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
A tune comes alive when the rhythm feels good. We’ll explore simple groove patterns, accents, strumming direction, and rhythmic feel so your playing supports the melody instead of just keeping time.
Small Embellishments, Big Difference
Level: Intermediate
Slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, vibrato, accents, and little connecting notes can make a simple tune sound more expressive. We’ll learn where to place these tools so they support the music without cluttering it up.
Chord Shapes, Inversions, and Easy Harmony
Level: Intermediate
DAD tuning gives us useful chord shapes that can be moved, flipped, and simplified. We’ll use basic inversions and partial chords to create smoother harmony, better backup, and fuller-sounding arrangements.
**JAM WORKSHOPS**
From jamming fundamentals to jamming expertise, this track has something for everyone – mountain dulcimers! Each instructor will present a jam workshop throughout the retreat.
CAROL CROCKER: If You Sing It You Can Play It
Level: All levels / Jam
Tuning: DAD
A core technique of learning new tunes or learning to play by ear is to internalize the tune by singing it or humming it. After you have learned to hum a tune, you can begin to translate that tune to your dulcimer. With the dulcimer being a new-player-friendly instrument, this method of joining the jam can be very helpful.
STEPHEN SEIFERT: Join the Jam Without Panic
Level: All levels / Jam
Jams can be fun, but they can also feel confusing if you’re not sure what to listen for, what to play, or when to jump in. In this workshop, Stephen will share practical ways to survive and enjoy a jam even when you don’t know every tune. We’ll talk about simple backup ideas, common jam habits, finding the beat, using chords, catching pieces of the melody, and knowing when less is more. This class is for anyone who wants to feel more comfortable making music with other people.
LAURIE ALSOBROOK: A Rockin’ Barre Jam
Level: All levels / Jam
Discover how useful and fun barre chords can be in this jam like no other! Rockin’ Robin? Proud Mary? Wild Thing? YES!
BING FUTCH: Make It Up As You Go
Level: All levels / Jam
You don’t have to know every tune to play in the jam. In this workshop, we’ll learn how to create parts on the fly, find simple harmonies, follow chord movement, use rhythm when the melody is unfamiliar, and play something useful on every song.
**SUNDAY OPTIONAL WORKSHOPS**
Just in case you’re not ready to leave this fun retreat, there’s an Early Bird (8am) GAZEBO JAM and SUNDAY MORNING SPECIALS (Optional Workshops, 9:30-11am). There is a $20 fee for an additional workshop on Sunday Morning – sign up with the instructor by Saturday evening.
LAURIE ALSOBROOK: Songs of Taize – From the Taize Community in France, these peaceful songs can enhance any worship service OR simply be enjoyed at any time. Short songs, which played again and again, give a meditative feeling. This workshop will include songs of the Taize tradition: “Laudate Dominum,” “Confitemini Domino,” and more. DAD, DAC tunings; please bring a capo.
**Make It – Take It!**
Cardboard Dulcimer
Are you just getting started OR would you like to build one for a child, grandchild, friend, or just have an extra one at home?? Here’s your chance!! We have SIX kits available for the 2026 Retreat. Cardboard Dulcimer building takes place during the FRIDAY OPTIONALS at 1:30pm.
We have loaner dulcimers for you to use while your new cardboard dulcimer gets ready.
Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreat 