Hammered Dulcimer tuition with Geoff Smith (MMus) - world-leading virtuoso & innovator in composition, technique & performance on the Hammered Dulcimer
- Hammered dulcimer lessons with Geoff Smith are available for beginners to advanced and in all styles of music. Lessons are provided in person or online via Google Meet.
- Geoff Smith currently has two spaces available:
- For a free introductory dulcimer lesson please contact Geoff at: dulcimer.co.uk@gmail.com
- Geoff Smith (Mmus) is the only fully qualified professional hammered dulcimer composer, performer and teacher in the UK. Smith is the only dulcimer teacher who teaches in all styles of music and he is the only UK hammered dulcimer player to have taught at the world renowned China Conservatory in Beijing.
- Lessons focus on each person's individual requirements and musical preferences: whether traditional folk, classical, popular & contemporary song, jazz, improvisation or composition. Lessons also focus on developing rhythmic, expressive & dynamic techniques through the use of a comprehensive range of percussion rudiments.
- Lessons are conscientiously tailored to what you would personally like to achieve.
- Please see further below for actual examples of hammered dulcimer lessons that include music notation together with detailed text and guidance notes for each lesson. As you will see further below the first lesson is 'Searching for Lambs' (sung by Mrs Sweet on August 16th 1907 at Somerton in England and transcribed by Cecil Sharp). The first lesson consists of three versions: a version for beginners, a version for intermediate players and a version for advanced players.
A rich archive of repertoire is sourced for lessons; and notation pdfs and audio files are provided and tailored for each individual. During your free informative, friendly and welcoming introductory lesson via Google Meet Geoff will discuss with you your hopes and aims as a dulcimer player, and consequently a tuition plan will be developed and mutually agreed. And if necessary advice can also be provided in relation to the technical set up for your online lessons.
Examples of tuition repertoire:
Folk: Planxty Irwin by Turlough O'Carolan (traditional Irish) The Foggy Dew (Irish), Searching for Lambs (English), Nonsuch (English), Willie O Winsbury (Scottish),
Glasgow City Police Pipers (Scottish)
Musical Theatre: West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein)
Folk / Jazz: Light Flight (Pentangle)
Jazz: Take Five (Dave Brubeck)
Classical: Ravel, Stravinsky, Manuel de Falla, Lully, Conti, Minues Para Psalterio (1786), Solostücke aus der Handschrift Barcelona (1764)
Film soundtracks: various soundtracks by Ennio Morricone, Halloween (John Carpenter), The Wicker Man (Paul Giovanni), The Godfather (Nino Rota)
Television themes: Belle & Sebastian (French TV series)
Soul: I Hear a Symphony (Holland–Dozier–Holland)
Contemporary song: Hurt by Johnny Cash (Trent Reznor)
Chinese: Jasmine Flower (traditional Chinese)
Klezmer: Varshaver Freylekhs
Greek: Lesvos Palios Karsilamas
note: please see further below for actual examples of hammered dulcimer lessons that include music notation together with detailed text and guidance notes for each lesson. As you will see further below the first lesson is 'Searching for Lambs' (sung by Mrs Sweet on August 16th 1907 at Somerton in England and transcribed by Cecil Sharp). The first lesson below consists of three versions: a version for beginners, a version for intermediate players and a version for advanced players.
Advice can also be provided with regard to buying a hammered dulcimer as well as hammers and all related accessories.
Further details about Geoff Smith
Smith is the only musician in the world to have explored, in both composition and performance, a comprehensive spectrum of percussion and drum rudiments on the hammered dulcimer.
Smith is the only UK hammered dulcimer player to have taught at the world renowned China Conservatory in Beijing. The lessons at the China Conservatory focused on teaching advanced dulcimer techniques and composition to Yangqin students. The Yangqin is the Chinese hammered dulcimer.
Intrinsic to facilitating Smith’s innovative performance techniques has been the use of a new ergonomic design of hammers as well as the concomitant method of gripping the hammers i.e. the way in which the hammers are actually held in each hand and manoeuvred within each hand during performance.
Smith has presented seminars about his inventions, the Fluid Piano and the Fluid Dulcimer at music conservatories and universities in China, South Korea, USA, UK, Turkey, Poland, Czech republic and Belgium: https://www.dulcimer.co.uk/the-fluid-piano
Geoff Smith's Hammered Dulcimer lessons:
Searching for Lambs
Searching for Lambs (sung by Mrs Sweet on August 16th 1907 at Somerton and transcribed by Cecil Sharp) is very rare: a traditional English folk song characterised by the use of an irregular time signature. It is in 5/4, apart from one bar of 3/4. Searching for Lambs utilises a G minor hexatonic scale and the transcription of Mrs Sweet’s rendition can be found in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at https://www.vwml.org/
This first lesson also provides material from a long term perspective. I have provided three versions of Searching for Lambs for three different levels: version 1 (beginner), version 2 (intermediate) and version 3 (advanced). All three include the exact melody as sung by Mrs Sweet and they can be played on a standard diatonic hammered dulcimer. I have also included the exact words as sung by Mrs Sweet which are usually changed or omitted by musicians who record Searching for Lambs. Furthermore, I have included three pause signs in each version. The pauses are aimed at helping your practice by breaking the song down into 4 sections (4 melodic lines) that can be worked on separately and then gradually combined. As your performance gradually improves you can work towards eventually removing the pauses and potentially increasing the tempo.
Sticking guide and note position guide
As you will see in the music notation below, I have included the sticking guide (left right etc in blue) and also a guide to the position of each note (in red) on the diatonic dulcimer in relation to the right side of the treble bridge, the left side of the treble bridge and the bass. (B = Bass position i.e. the notes on the bass bridge. Rt = right treble position i.e. notes on the right side of the treble bridge. Lt = left treble position i.e. notes on the left side of the treble bridge).
Version 1 (beginner)
Version 1 should be practiced at a tempo of 70. The hammering for version 1 is single stroke alternation. The only variation is in the third line (after the second pause) which begins with a left stroke and not a right stroke. The alternation then continues to the end.
In due course, version 1 should also be practiced using the right hand hammer only.
This will help prepare you to eventually try the intermediate version.
Version 2 (intermediate)
Version 2 should be practiced at a tempo of 70. It has been split into two staves in order to help visual clarity and understanding. The bottom stave contains the melody which is played by the right hand. The top stave incorporates a high D drone which is played by the left hand and alternates with the melody. The D drone should be played more quietly than the melody so that it does not obscure, or distract from, the melody. Playing the D drone with this sensitivity will make its presence dynamic and effective: also practice varying the volume of the drone D and try to make it sound like an echo that is fading in and out. The use of the alternating D drone in version 2 will help you to prepare for the eventual challenge of version 3.
Version 3 (advanced)
Version 3 should be practiced at a tempo of 70. It has also been split into two staves. In version 3 the bottom stave contains the melody which is also played by the right hand (as in version 2). However, for the top stave I have composed a counter melodic accompaniment which as well as complementing the melody also enhances the harmonic interactions between the intervals of the minor hexatonic scale: this counter melody is played by the left hand. Therefore the hammering for version 3 is also predominantly alternate single strokes (Notes: (i) the only exception regarding the separation of left & right between the two staves is the moment in bar 8 of the top stave when the right hammer forms a ‘Flam’ in combination with the left hammer i.e. where the ‘A’ grace note is played just before the ‘B flat’ (ii) the final melody note ‘G’ in the bottom stave is played an octave lower than in version 1). Version 3 is challenging but very rewarding. It is particularly productive for developing hand independence, coordination, maneuverability and dynamics. Don’t forget to practice the four melodic lines separately and then gradually combine them.
I hope you enjoy Searching for Lambs.
ⓟ&ⓒ G.M.Smith
