Get Better at Both Reading Tablature and Learning by Ear
INTERMEDIATE and EXPERIENCED NOVICE
Mountain Dulcimer
Tuesdays • 3:00–4:00 pm Central / 4:00–5:00 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.]

Most players have one main way they learn new music, either by reading tablature and sheet music or by learning by ear. This class will help you get even better at your favorite method while also strengthening the other one. I believe it is important for musicians to spend time on both.

We’ll work through progressive sight-reading from the ground up. If you’ve taken this class with me before, expect new tablature and new tunes. We’ll begin with a brief review, then build forward together.

Compared to the beginner version, this class will go further. We’ll spend more time on more advanced rhythms, chords, and melodies.

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 different note values in 4/4 and 3/4. The rest of this half-hour will be spent sight-reading a large amount of music that starts out experienced beginner and early intermediate 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, we’ll begin to cover how to learn music by ear. We’ll spend most of this time practicing.

Tuesday, March 17 – Class Cancelled

Tuesday, March 24 – Session 2 of 6 - Dotted notes. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Backup, Melody, and Chord-Melody)

Tuesday, March 31 – Session 3 of 6 - 3/4 (waltz) time as well as dotted half-notes. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Backup, Melody, and Chord-Melody)

Tuesday, April 7 – Session 4 of 6 - Slides. Tied notes. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Backup, Melody, and Chord-Melody)

Tuesday, April 14 – No Class

Tuesday, April 21 – Session 5 of 6 - Sixteenth notes. Hammer-ons. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Backup, Melody, and Chord-Melody)

Tuesday, April 28 – Session 6 of 6 - Pull-offs. 6/8 and 9/8 jigs. 30 minutes of progressive sight-reading followed by 30 minutes of ear training. (Backup, Melody, and Chord-Melody)

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.