Hammered Dulcimer instructor, workshops teacher Ruth Smith

The Swannanoa Gathering, Swannanoa, NC
The Dulcimer Jamboree, Ozark Folk Center, Mountain View, AR
Kentucky Music Week Winter Weekend, Bardstown, KY
Cranberry Dulcimer and Autoharp Gathering, Rensselaerville, NY
The Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival, Winston-Salem, NC
Wood-n-Strings Dulcimer Shop and Pickin' Porch, Townsend, TN
The Smoky Mountain Dulcimer Retreat, Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club, TN
The Suwannee Dulcimer Retreat, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, FL
The Ola Belle Reed Music Festival, Lansing, NC
and others

Workshop topics include the following, and may be configured for different length sessions and customized for various skill levels (New Player, New Player/Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate, Intermediate/Advanced):

From Heart to Hands
Learn to play with greater expressiveness. We'll study specific arranging tools and exercises to help accentuate the beauty in melody lines and emphasize the underlying theme of the music. Repertoire will be drawn from expressive, lyrical music. (a slow air, waltz, or lament)
Learn A Tune
Learn a new tune - chosen for skill level.

Dulcimer Layout
New players and beginners will examine the basic layout of the instrument, including clues to help navigate around the dulcimer.
"Where do I begin?" Basics
You get to ask questions about what you want to know as a new player. Nothing is "too basic" or "too dumb!"
Hammers and Tuning
Hammers – How to Choose and Use
Tuning Basics and Hints (Things I wish someone had told me!)
Simple Arranging
Start developing your bag of tricks for arranging a tune.
Intermediate Arranging
Taking your arranging skills to the next level. These workshops teach explore how to take a new tune (or one that you already know) and develop a more elaborate arrangement based on chord notes, fill/run notes, counter-melodies, and dulcimer "tricks".
Arranging Christmas Music
The hammered dulcimer is the perfect instrument for Christmas music. Learn various arrangements of well-known and not-so-well-known tunes for the season. Appropriate arrangements are chosen for each specific skill level being taught.

Name that tune
Technique exercises don’t have to be dull. Have fun and be productive as we discover musical phrases used in many common tunes and, before you know it, you’ve learned a new tune!
Practice Tips and Techniques
A grab bag of ideas and exercises to help improve skills and make practice time more valuable .
Using Written Music (even if you can’t read it) to learn a tune
So much helpful information can easily be learned about a tune from sheet music, even if you haven’t yet learned how to read the notes. Geared for non-music-readers or those wanting to brush up on their reading skills.
Wedding Ceremony Songs
Discuss the basic musical elements of the ceremony, examine sample songs, and learn a good wedding favorite.
Weddings – Business Aspects (discussion)
Everything from the first contact with the couple to thank you notes at the end. Includes building your business, internet use, customer contact, ceremony elements and song choices, contracts, fees, getting the information you need, sound systems, etiquette, preparation, event day details, and more.