CTO ... Andy Young Making a Special Appearance in Black Mountain, NC

Chicago-based hammered dulcimer phenomenon, Andy Young, will be teaching and performing at Jerry Read Smith's beautiful studio, Perelandra , in Black Mountain, NC, just east of Asheville next weekend, May 17/18. I've been hearing rave reviews and would dearly love to be in attendance, but life is conspiring against it. I hope some of you will be able to go and tell me all about it!

Check This Out ... CONCERT Friday night and hammered dulcimer WORKSHOPS all day Saturday. Click HERE to see all the details, including how to secure your seat. Reservations are required.

Take advantage of this rare event.  Here's what you're in for:

"Andy Young’s virtuosic hammered dulcimer takes the spirited Gypsy Swing of Django Reinhardt in an exciting new direction. Never before have you heard the dulcimer played like this, transporting you at once to Jazz Age Paris and the Gypsy encampments of the dulcimer’s ancestry. Andy’s performances infuse traditional Irish, Quebecois, and Gypsy Jazz melodies with humor and insight to provide a deep understanding of the role of music in our multicultural and interpersonal world."  ~ Gebhard Woods Dulcimer & Traditional Music Festival

"I strongly recommend seeing Andy play if you're not familiar with him. He's one of my favorites and I'm wearing out his latest CD." ~ Randy Marchany of No Strings Attached 

Ted Yoder Visits the Triangle

I met a new-to-me hammered dulcimer player the other night.  Ted Yoder, of Indiana, performed a house concert in Durham on Sunday evening.  He presented an informal program of original and familiar tunes, including such crowd-pleasers as Chocolate Skies (the title track of his new cd), Bach's Cello Suite, Carol of the Bells, and Eleanor Rigby. Now that's diversity!

On top of that, he accompanied himself on a few vocal pieces.  I'm not talking about striking little chords here and there in between phrases.  He was playing full out arpeggiated chords throughout the entire song!  A member of the audience asked if singing and playing at the same time is difficult.  He said no, that his experience singing with the piano helped. Impressive!  I would have given a different answer to that question.

Ted's background in piano is evident in his varied repertoire and his use of interesting chord progressions.  He plays with the deftness of a drummer ... hand separation, stick control, rhythmic variety ... but denies having previous percussion experience.  I consider Ted to be a member of the "new generation" of hammered dulcimer players.  His percussive style breaks away from the more traditional manner of play.  Yet, with that full wall of sound he has enough control of the dynamic range to allow the melody to stand out.

I'm inspired to incorporate some of this type of play into my own practice ... better hammer control and better execution of complex rhythms seem like good goals.  And I have to admit - I do have damper lust!

Click here for more info:  Ted Yoder's Music

PS  It was great seeing some of my students and dulcimer buddies at the concert, too!  I'm curious ...  Are you ready to "yoderize" some of your arrangements?