Instructional Recording: HD Seasonal Music Arrangements, Volume 1
Now available!
CD: $25
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This recording is a double CD of over 60 separate tracks of instructions for arranging and playing five Christmas pieces: In the Bleak Midwinter, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Angels We Have Heard on High, The Wexford Carol and Hush My Babe (I Shall Arise; Restoration.) This recording once again presents a wide variety of ideas. Most of the tunes should work well for advanced beginners. I generally present at least one simple version of the tune. But certainly the arranging ideas go well beyond that level such that intermediate and even advanced players should find many ideas to explore for some time. There are a ton of ideas presented here. This CD is well-suited to an advanced beginning as long as they recognize that many of the ideas will take much time to master.

Includes the written music (stored as Word files on the CD) for the basic tune AND two additional arrangements for most tunes:

  • The basic tune
  • A description of hammering and phrasing
  • Chord progression and substitutions
  • Use of the relative minor and 7th chords (major, minor, dominant & diminished 7th )
  • Use of secondary dominants and the circle of fifths
  • Shifting octaves
  • Plucking and playing
  • Hand separation
  • Basslines
  • Dissonance
  • Chromatics
  • Accent shifts and syncopations
  • Flams, two and three note chords
  • Use of fills, drone notes and melodic runs
  • Tremolos
  • Hammered and bounced triplets
  • Ideas for improvisation and many variations
  • Dynamics and phrasing
  • Includes fully embellished versions
  • Many other arranging ideas

Ideas and techniques are applicable to many different pieces of music.

Instructional Recording: Fiddle Tunes (Reels) Volume 1
CD: $25
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This recording is the first of what is planned to be a series of instructional recordings (e.g. reels, waltzes). The focus of these recordings is to guide the student through a host of arranging ideas in a systematic way. The recordings essentially mirror what I do in weeklong workshops or lessons. These recordings are geared primarily to intermediate and advanced but much of the material is appropriate for the advanced beginner.

This recording is a double CD of separate tracks of instructions for arranging and playing four fiddle tunes: North Carolina Breakdown, Oklahoma Rooster, Round the Horn and Eddie’s Reel. The ideas and techniques are applicable to many tunes. Written music with chords for each basic tune is included. Tracks include descriptions of:

Instructional Recording: Fiddle Tunes (Reels) Volume 2
CD: $25
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This recording follows up on the Volume I reels CD. This double CD has separate tracks of instructions for arranging and playing four fiddle tunes: Shenandoah Falls, The Cuckoos Nest, Reel St. Joseph’s and YZ Hamilton’s Breakdown. In general, this CD includes ideas and tunes that are somewhat more advanced than Volume I in that the chord progressions are more adventurous, the rhythms presented are more complex in places, and there is far more on back-up. The simplest of the four tunes melodically is Reel St. Joseph’s. Reel’s St. Joseph’s presents an opportunity to incorporate a few simple syncopations and some very interesting chord substitutions. Shenandoah Falls is also not too hard melodically except perhaps for some syncopation. However, I present a wide variety of ideas that are challenging including several different approaches to back-up and a harmony and demonstrate how to blend many ideas. In The Cuckoo’s Nest, I again present several ways to back-up the tune and I walk through adding lots of challe nging ideas including basslines and various rhythmic ideas. YZ Hamilton’s is really an old time rag and again presents syncopations along with chromatic back-up ideas. The tune is great for working on swing.

The ideas and techniques are again applicable to many tunes. Written music with chords for each basic tune is included. Tracks include descriptions of:

  • The basic tune
  • Description of hammering and phrasing
  • Flams
  • Chords
  • Basslines
  • Chord substitutions
  • Drones
  • Fills
  • Melodic Runs
  • Syncopations
  • Anticipated beats
  • Using chromatics
  • Ghost notes
  • Variations
  • Improvising
  • Many other rhythmic and melodic ideas
  • Many back-up ideas (vamps, harmony, chromatic runs)
  • Fully embellished version
Instructional Recording: Waltzes and Slow Tunes, Volume 1
CD: $25
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This recording is a double CD of separate tracks of instructions for arranging and playing two waltzes and two slower pieces extremely well-suited to display a wide variety of ideas. ALL of the tunes in their basic form are quite simple and easily played by an advanced beginner or even by many beginning players. Many of the arranging ideas are perfect for advanced beginners (as presented in Evening of Roses and Coleman’s March). However, there are many additional ideas presented for these tunes that will challenge at least intermediate level players. While again a relatively simple tune, the arrangement of Caspian Lake is probably more suited for an intermediate level player. The arrangement presented for The Down Home Waltz is probably most suited for at minimum an intermediate level player.

All ideas and techniques are applicable to many tunes. Written music with chords for each basic tune is included. Tracks include descriptions of:

  • The basic tune
  • A description of hammering and phrasing
  • Chord progression and substitutions
  • Use of the relative minor and 7th chords (major, minor, dominant & diminished 7th )
  • Use of secondary dominants and the circle of fifths
  • Hand separation; plucking and hammering together
  • Using octaves
  • Basslines
  • Dissonance
  • Chromatics
  • Accent shifts and syncopations
  • Flams, two and three note chords
  • Use of fills, drone notes and melodic runs
  • Tremolos
  • Hammered and bounced triplets
  • Ideas for improvisation and many variations
  • Dynamics and phrasing
  • Back-up ideas
  • Includes fully embellished versions
  • Many other arranging ideas

Ideas and techniques are applicable to many different pieces of music.

Instructional Recording: Waltzes and Slow Tunes, Volume 2
CD: $25
Order by mail (order form)

This recording is a double CD of separate tracks of instructions for arranging and playing three waltzes and one march in three four time. This recording once again presents a wide variety of ideas but is more geared to the intermediate/advanced player than is the Volume I CD. One of the tunes (Jerry Holland’s My Cape Breton Home) is quite appropriate for an advanced beginner level and several of the tunes could be played by advanced beginners in a simpler form. However, the ideas presented for all the tunes on this CD go well beyond an advanced beginner level. Next in complexity is The Clock Waltz (Quebec) which is a good example of creating an arrangement from a variety of relatively simple ideas (accent shifts, bounced triplets, flams, fills, dissonance). The hardest tunes on the CD are Waltz of the My Dreams (Quebec) which makes extensive use of chord substitutions, accent shifts and other ideas; and The March of the King of Laois (Ireland) which de monstrates bassline ideas, dissonances, some improvisation and much more. This CD in general is probably more suited to intermediate and advanced players than is the Volume I counterpart.

All ideas and techniques are applicable to many tunes. Written music with chords for each basic tune is included. (To see examples of the sort of arranging that I present on these CDs, feel free to download a sample from this website by going to the "Tune Arrangements" and "Dulcimer arrangements" pages.) Tracks include descriptions of:

  • The basic tune
  • A description of hammering and phrasing
  • Chord progression and substitutions
  • Use of the relative minor and 7th chords (major, minor, dominant & diminished 7th )
  • Use of secondary dominants and the circle of fifths
  • Shifting octaves
  • Basslines
  • Dissonance
  • Chromatics
  • Accent shifts and syncopations
  • Flams, two and three note chords
  • Use of fills, drone notes and melodic runs
  • Tremolos
  • Hammered and bounced triplets
  • Ideas for improvisation and many variations
  • Dynamics and phrasing
  • Includes fully embellished versions
  • Many other arranging ideas

Ideas and techniques are applicable to many different pieces of music.