Would you like to become a legendary dulcimer builder? Me neither. How about, would you like to have some fun, learn a bunch of stuff they didn’t teach you in school, discover new levels of patience and humility, and at the end of the week go home with a beautiful, accurately fretted, smooth playing, sweet sounding classic hourglass shaped Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer handcrafted by you? If so, read on.

The Spring Augusta Week Mountain Dulcimer Construction class is open to people with any level of woodworking expertise although a working knowledge of common power and hand tools is helpful. Class size is limited to six to assure adequate individual attention and occupies both morning and afternoon time slots. 

Participants will learn wood joinery and finishing, fretting (metal not mental) and dulcimer set-up techniques. Some of the pieces are preassembled to eliminate the use of dangerous power tools and some “watching the glue dry” time. However there is still plenty of work left to be done and all preassembly operations will be discussed in detail.

In addition to tuition for the week, there is a $130 fee covering all the materials required to make your dulcimer. An assortment of native Appalachian hardwoods will be available to choose from including but not limited to cherry, walnut, sassafras, butternut and cedar. The completed dulcimer will have 4 strings and chrome Grover Mini 14:1 tuners. Fancy woods and gold and black chrome tuners will be available as extra cost options.

In addition to the building materials, I bring all the necessary specialized tools required to complete first rate instrument. Things for students to bring from home: an expendable towel for a work table cover, pencil & paper for taking notes and tracing patterns (optional), and a smile. Some folks use this course to jump start a building career, others like the idea of making music on an instrument they’ve built with their own hands, and some are enrolled by a loved one as a form Spousal Dulcimer Day Care. Whatever the reason, this year’s Spring Mountain Dulcimer Construction Class will provide students with an enjoyable as well as a productive a week.

Registrations are only taken through Augusta Heritage Center, but questions of a more detailed nature can be directed to John Huron at 423-764-3332, e-mail jjh@noteworthyjohn.com or through his web site, http://noteworthyjohn.com.