Steve Fest #1 Workshops

These online workshops were recorded live during my Steve Fest Summer 2020 online dulcimer festival.


Your Instructor


Stephen Seifert
Stephen Seifert

Stephen Seifert's teaching and playing has made him a favorite with dulcimer players all over the world since 1991. In that time, he's been a featured performer at over a thousand dulcimer festivals and other music events including. Stephen has also been a dulcimer soloist with orchestras around the U.S. He was Adjunct Instructor of Mountain Dulcimer with David Schnaufer at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music from 1997 to 2001. He also taught, performed, and recorded with Mr. Schnaufer as a duo throughout the country. Stephen has authored ten books, four CDs, and 16 instructional videos, Dulcimer School, and this site, Mountain Dulcimer A to Z. When it comes to dulcimer, he's eat up!


Course Curriculum


  Session 01 Beginner - The Very Least Beginners Need to Learn to Have a Lot of Fun Playing the Mountain Dulcimer When you start a new hobby, it’s so easy to waste time, focus, and money on all the wrong stuff. With this workshop, fun and easy is the name of the game. I’m going to share with you my favorite ways to get new dulcimer players making good music right away.
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  Session 02 Beginner - Five Easy Essential Jam Tunes Put the hard stuff on hold. Strengthen your foundation with these enjoyable, playable classics. They’re going to ask you what tunes you know. I’ll help you get ready.
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  Session 03 Beginner/Intermediate - Get Better at Reading Music I know what’s it like to feel paralyzed staring at a page full of dots and lines. I also know what it’s like on the other side. I’m going to show you how I trained myself to ready rhythms, notes, and tablature.
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  Session 04 Intermediate - Introduction to Flat-Picking I’ll show you EXACTLY how to take standard jam tunes, move them down and octave, and place them across the three strings. We’ll start with easy and head towards intermediate. These are NOT hard tunes. Expect some exercises as well.
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  Session 05 Intermediate - Introduction to Finger-Picking I love how fingerpicking the mountain dulcimer makes me feel and sound like I’m playing a harp. There’s nothing like it. We’ll work on tunes and techniques. Remember, this is an introduction, so I’m making sure these are playable for intermediates.
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  Session 06 Intermediate - Don’t Memorize the Chord Book; Just Take this Class When I first started playing, I met a guy who was really good with chords on the dulcimer. I asked him for advice. He handed me a thick chord book and told me to memorize every chord in the book. That didn’t work for me. It felt like I was memorizing a phonebook. I’m going to show you what DID work for me, and I bet it will work for you, too. Stop struggling with chords and get on with music from the heart.
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  Session 07 Intermediate - The Complete Guide to Playing with a One-and-a-Half Fret You've got this extra fret. Now what? It's GREAT for backup chords, sprucing up your melodies in simple ways, and playing slightly more sophisticated chord-melody arrangements. I'll show you everything I know.
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  Session 08 Intermediate/Advanced - 12 Ways Blues on the Mountain Dulcimer Will Heal Your Heart I've been studying blues vocals, harmonica, piano, and guitar to better understand how to play real-sounding blues on the mountain dulcimer. I'll show you everything I've figured out regarding backup, lead, and some cool country blues.
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  Session 09 Advanced - Classical Music for Dulcimer by a Modern Composer This classical-type piece was composed for mountain dulcimer and full orchestra by Conni Ellisor. I'll share with you all I can along with technique to make it happen. This is a really fantastic piece of music. Let's dig in!
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  Session 10 Advanced - My Favorite Fingerpicking Arrangements with Variations I’ve used these on stage many times. We’ll work on right-hand technique, clean playing, and variations.
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  Thursday Jam - Starts beginner, moves through intermediate, and ends up somewhat advanced.
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  Friday Jam - Starts beginner, moves through intermediate, and ends up somewhat advanced.
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days after you enroll

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

Enroll as a subscriber to access this course.