NDS Class

Bear Meadow
Dulcimer Building Class
at NDS

Preparing to apply finish--NDS Class

The Dulcimer Building Class at the Northeastern Dulcimer Symposium is an opportunity to take the Bear Meadow Introductory Class while enjoying the company of a small convivial group of students of the dulcimer and other instruments, in the gorgeous deep woods and lakes of New York State's Adirondak region.

Every year, late in June, the Norteast Dulcimer Symposium meets at Blue Mountain Lake for a week of good music, good food, unique music instruction and practice, fun jaunts into the surrounding wildeness, and lots of good company with convivial fellow musicians. A few years ago we added this Dulcimer Building Class to the curriculum, and it was an instant success. It is a unique opportunity to build a dulcimer. The class is held in the facilities of the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, next to the Blue Mountain Lake Inn.

The NDS Dulcimer Building Class is a week-long, five meeting class which guides you through the building of a fine musical instrument. Although the class is a demanding one (we build a complete dulcimer in only five meetings!), musicians who are unfamiliar with hand tools often take the course as an opportunity to get acquainted with hand skills, as well as to provide themselves with a fine Appalachian dulcimer. With skillful guidance and their own determination, they invariably do beautifully.

The student is introduced to each skill necessary to complete the task of making an NDS Special Edition of the Student's Teardrop. This Appalachian dulcimer is a fine instrument that sits in the collections of some of the foremost players of the instrument

But the completion of this dulcimer is but the surface. The student acquires a solid understanding of some of the fundamental arts of lutherie. In this course you will:

Learn to judge and choose tonewoods for their contribution to the voice of the finished instrument.
Learn the use of the primary tools of woodworking and lutherie to create a fine musical instrument.
Learn how to apply a fine, attractive finish of high quality.
Create an accurate fretboard which will allow an incredibly low action.
Learn how to accurately set action, intonation and compensation.
Install and dress wooden pegs to exacting standards

Enrollment in the NDS Dulcimer Building Class is through the Northeastern Dulcimer Symposium. For more information, please go to the NDS website, or e-mail the Director.

Dwain Wilder

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Bear Meadow Dulcimer Building Class at NDS

Bear Meadow
Dulcimer Building Class
at NDS