Get Better at Both Reading Tablature and Learning by Ear
BEGINNER and EARLY NOVICE
Mountain Dulcimer
Tuesdays 10:00–11:00 am Central/ 11:00 am–12:00 pm Eastern
March 10, 17(cancelled), 24, 31
April 7
No class April 14
April 21, 28

(March 10, 24, 31 - April 7, 21, 28)

[March 23 Update - I had to cancel classes Match 17 and 18 due to my mother’s hospital stay. Now that she’s doing better, classes are back on starting March 24 and 25. I’ve updated all the class descriptions on this website to reflect the altered schedule. ]

To play well with others, or even by yourself, you don’t have to choose between reading tablature and learning by ear. You will probably be stronger in one than the other, but I believe you’ll have the best experience as a musician if you spend time developing both, no matter where you’re starting from.

Each week, we’ll spend the first thirty minutes practicing how to read rhythms, melodies, and chords. The last thirty minutes will focus on how to learn by ear. I’ll show you a clear, systematic approach to both, but most of our time will be spent in guided, hands-on practice.

I’ve taught classes like this before, but never one designed specifically for beginners, so be ready to start with the basics and build solid skills from the ground up.

Bring a capo! I recommend https://www.mccaffertydulcimers.com/capos.

Lesson Plan

Tuesday, March 10 – Session 1 of 6 - Review of reading basic tablature, strumming whole-notes, half-notes, quarter-notes, and eighth-notes in 4/4 time. The rest of this half-hour will be spent sight-reading a large amount of music that starts out very easy and gradually progresses to more complex music. This is known as PROGRESSIVE SIGHT-READING. You learn as you go, and there’s plenty of repetition. For the second half of the class, I’ll introduce you to the most basic ways to learn music by ear. We’ll spend most of this time practicing this method.

Tuesday, March 17 – Class Cancelled

Tuesday, March 24 – Session 2 of 6 - Introduction to dotted notes. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Mostly melody with some chording.)

Tuesday, March 31 – Session 3 of 6 - Introduction to 3/4 (waltz) time as well as dotted half-notes. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Mostly melody with some chording.)

Tuesday, April 7 – Session 4 of 6 - Tied notes. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Mostly melody with some chording.)

Tuesday, April 14 – No Class

Tuesday, April 21 – Session 5 of 6 - Slides. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Mostly melody with some chording.)

Tuesday, April 28 – Session 6 of 6 - Hammer-ons and pull-offs. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Mostly melody with some chording.)

These are online workshops via Zoom. You’ll receive a meeting link and handouts by email shortly before the first session, and sometimes handouts a day before other sessions. For dulcimer classes, please bring a capo. Each week, you’ll receive a video recording of the class, usually within 24 hours and often right after the session.

Attending live is not required. You’ll get full session videos whether you’re in class or not. Some folks prefer it this way. do what works for you.

🌟 Multi-Course Bundle – 10% Off

If you add two or more courses to your cart, use the coupon code COURSEBUNDLE at checkout to save 10%. If, for any reason, you don’t receive your discount, email me at stephen@stephenseifert.com. This usually happens when someone purchases courses one at a time over multiple days and later wishes they’d used the bundle.

Whatever you need, just include your full name and email address, and I’ll straighten it out.