Mary Lynn Michal

Class Description:

Old Time music relies primarily on learning by ear instead of reading written music, accenting beats two and four vs one and three, shifting accents, and swinging 8th notes instead of playing them straight. When I first started playing fiddle tunes on the hammered dulcimer, these concepts were extremely challenging for me. I hope that my struggle and the things I learned will make it easier for you to learn to make your fiddle tunes groove.

An important component of playing old time music is an understanding of how hammered dulcimer players need to be able to match what the fiddlers are doing in terms of swing and accents. I have spent the last five years learning to play the fiddle to help me feel the bowings which are crucial to creating that old time sound.

An important step toward becoming a hammered dulcimer player who is welcomed in jams is to learn to participate even when you might not know the tune. My go to strategy in an Old Time or Bluegrass jam is the compact pattern which helps you hear chords and provide rhythmic support for the tune. We will also discuss how to read the chord progression notation and learn to add notes from the chords to enhance our melodies, using intervals, valley rolls, drones, two note chords, and more.

Written music will be provided.

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Bio:
Mary Lynn Michal has a gift for teaching with a unique approach which combines her experience as a professional symphonic french horn player, her degrees in music education and ten years of mastering the hammered dulcimer. Having made the switch from the highly structured classical music world to a completely different style of traditional music gives Mary Lynn access to a broad range of teaching strategies.

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Students are drawn to Mary Lynn for her passion for teaching, her belief in her students, and her unique style of individualizing instruction which allows students to reach their potential which is often beyond their wildest dreams.

Mary Lynn teaches classes online through her website. Her signature classes Mastering Theory and Sharpen Your Skills have attracted more than 350 hammered dulcimer players from around the world. She teaches nearly 100 private students as well as weekend group retreats at her studio, Sassafras Ridge, in Middletown MD.

Performances and teaching appearances include The Sandbridge Hammered Dulcimer Retreats (VA), The QuaranTUNE Dulcimer Festivals, The Evart FunFest (MI), The National Cathedral (DC), The Black Mountain Music Festival, (NC)  Kentucky Music Week, Common Ground on the Hill (MD), Dulcimer Jamboree in Mountain View (AR), North Georgia Foothills Dulcimer Association, The Poconos Dulcimer Festival (PA) and in Chicago, Watkins Glen, NY, Texas, online and elsewhere.

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