Spring Augusta Week
Intermediate
Hammered Dulcimer
Christie Burns
Hello, Class!
What an honor it is to
be invited to teach at Augusta this year! I'm looking forward
to working with all of you, making
new
friends, and swapping some musical ideas as we go.
In my
teaching, I try to keep my students moving their hammers
as much as possible.
When I'm teaching a tune by ear, I use a lot of repetition
to get everyone on the same page-- so if you have super
fast ears and can pick up on a melody very easily, please be
patient
with the rest of the class. There will be extra challenges
issued to anyone who makes it look too easy! And for anyone
who might fear learning by ear, worry not! I've had students
just like that come up to me after class and say that the
ear training was well worth it, and made it easier for
them to
remember the tune.
When I perform, I sometimes
receive compliments on my rhythm, energy, and my "dancing"--
although the dancing is really just the by-product of the rhythm
and energy. One of my favorite things
about the music I play on the hammered dulcimer is taking
a tune, such as a traditional old-time tune, and letting my imagination
run wild with it. I love taking fast tunes and slowing them
way
down so I can explore all the small details of rhythm and
melodic movement. And in dressing up a tune with all the things
my imagination
can muster, I generally stick to the rule that "less
is more." My style of playing is
not terribly complex but imaginative and grounded in solid
rhythm, accented in a way that keeps
tunes moving
and feeling light. Isn't it strange to describe music with
words? You'll see what I'm talking about when we start working
together.
I'd like to point out some of my personal approaches to the
instrument, in case that might help my students become more
lively and interested/interesting
players.
I do play a lot of old-time Appalachian music, but I also
have a love for Irish, Swedish, and African music. I'll be
bringing
a diverse set of tunes for us to work on, and these tunes
will be the practice field for the concepts I'm trying to
convey.
To illustrate a specific point, I might bring up a common
melody for
us to try, so we can focus on the technique issue, rather
than worry about playing a fresh new tune correctly. At the
end
of our time together, you will have logged several more playing
hours,
and hopefully will feel fired up to apply what you've learned
to the tunes you already know. When I enter a classroom,
all my experience
comes with me-- the teachers who have guided me, the musicians
I've stumbled upon in my travels around Europe and America,
the
observations I've made while hammerin' away in countless
jam sessions. I'm so excited to be able to share some of
this with
you, and to
take in what each of you have to share, too!
See you in April,
Christie
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