Timothy's Blog

Timothy's blog on dulcimers, music, nature and life!
APR
16

The folk hymn 'Behold the Lamb of God' for solo hammered dulcimer

The folk hymn 'Behold the Lamb of God' for solo hammered dulcimer

Back in the late 1980s when I was excitedly collecting melodies from old folk hymn books, especially George Pullen Jackson’s scholarly books and the actual shape-note hymnals such as The Original Sacred Harp and The Southern Harmony (in those the tune is in the tenor, by the way), one of the hymns that really caught my attention was ‘Behold the Lamb of God’ --- and I made a ‘lead sheet’ for it in a singable, playable key. 

But I’ve never made an arrangement of it for hammered dulcimer until now, when I turned the camera on and explored ways of making it sing on the instrument without the words but with the words in mind.

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26351 Hits
FEB
09

'All Through the Night' using hammered dulcimer chord rolls

'All Through the Night' using hammered dulcimer chord rolls

There are many different ways we can arrange an exquisitely slow melody! 

One option is to mix and match all sorts of techniques for a colorful and interesting presentation.

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11632 Hits
JAN
31

Some simple techniques for hammered dulcimer arranging, part 3

Some simple techniques for hammered dulcimer arranging, part 3

The third and final installment of our series of ideas for hammered dulcimer arrangement of simple tunes brings up yet more significant challenges, but all of these are extremely useful if you want to make your music really sing! 

Numbers 16 and 17 take a bit more focus and practice, but when you develop them you’ll find that in the resulting effect ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts!’

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11641 Hits
JAN
30

Some simple techniques for hammered dulcimer arranging, part 2

Some simple techniques for hammered dulcimer arranging, part 2

Continuing the list of ideas for arranging a melody, here are six techniques you can mix and match to fill out and color and personalize a piece!  Sometimes I stick to just one technique for an entire arrangement, and sometimes I use many of them in a very complex (but fun) pattern of uses, and most are a combination somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of complexity.

7. Arpeggio chords -- chords suggested between melody notes by adding notes that complement the melody, resembling the effect of a fingerpicked guitar.

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22389 Hits
JAN
29

Some simple techniques for hammered dulcimer arranging, part 1

Some simple techniques for hammered dulcimer arranging, part 1

When I start to play a new solo tune on the hammered dulcimer, I tend to look right away for approaches I can take that will make it my own: arranging so it says something I want it to say.

Usually I start simply: either choosing a slow and simple but exceptional melody, or I take a faster one and slow it down a bit to make room for adding arrangement details.  (Faster tunes can be arranged with lots of colorings and special details too, but often I do choose to work with a slower melody line that allows lots of room for additions.)

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14906 Hits

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