Dear Dulcimer Friend, - Squarespace · Dennis Murphy’s Polka 34 Dona Nobis Pacem 35 ... God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen 46 ... I spent Christmas week of 2001 with my parents at their

The Early Years

By Stephen Seifert

Stephen Seifert (1996 - 2002)

The Early Years

Copyright 2005 Stephen Seifert

The Early Years

©2005 STEPHEN SEIFERT No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by

any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of Stephen Seifert.

http://www.stephenseifert.com [email protected]

Stephen Seifert By

Cover drawing by

Grace Poteet.

Stephen Seifert (1996 - 2002)


2

Contents

Tune List 3 Introduction 4 How To Use This Book 4 Strumming 5 Some Notes That Aren’t In The Tab 6 Tunings 7


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Are You Getting’ There Rabbit 9 Arkansas Traveler – High D 10 Arkansas Traveler – Low 11 Arkansas Traveler – Low G 12 Barlow Knife –High 13 Barlow Knife – Low 14 Beach Spring 15 Beautiful Dreamer 16 Black Eyed Suzie – High 18 Black Eyed Suzie – Low 19 Bonaparte's Retreat 20 Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine 22 Banle Du Verlage 24 Chinese Breakdown – High 26 Chinese Breakdown – Low 28 Cluck Old Hen 29 Come All Ye Fair & Tender Ladies 30 Cripple Creek – High 31 Cripple Creek – Low 32 Cuttin’ at the Point 33 Dennis Murphy’s Polka 34 Dona Nobis Pacem 35 Elk River Blues 36 Exercise #4227 37 Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss 38 Foggy Dew 39 For The Beauty Of The Earth 40 Fortune – High 42 Fortune – Low 44 God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen 46 Great Is Thy Faithfulness 48 Grey Cat On A Tennessee Farm 50 Ground Hog 51 Happy Land 52 Hosses In The Canebrake 53 How Great Thou Art 54 Ida Red – Low 55

I B

I/A I/A I I I

I/A I/A I/A I

I/A I I

I/A I I B I

I/A I/A I

I/A I/A I I I

I/A I/A I I B B B

I/A I/A B

CD1—01 CD1—02 CD1—03 CD1—04 CD1—05 CD1—06 CD1—07 CD1—08 CD1—09 CD1—10 CD1—11 CD1—12 CD1—13 CD1—14 CD1—15 CD1—16 CD1—17 CD1—18 CD1—19 CD1—20 CD1—21 CD1—22 CD1—23 CD1—24 CD1—25 CD1—26 CD1—27 CD1—28 CD1—29 CD1—30 CD1—31 CD1—32 CD1—33 CD1—34 CD1—35 CD1—36 CD1—37

Ida Red – Low G 56 John Brown’s Dream 57 Lonesome John 58 Lord Thomas 59 My Pretty Quadrille 60 Napper – High 61 Napper – Low 62 No Place Like Home 63 Oh, How I Love Jesus 64 Oh, My Little Dutch Girl 65 Old Jack Gillie 66 Old Joe Clark 67 Rock The Cradle Joe 68 Rosin The Beau – High 70 Rosin The Beau – Low 72 Run Johnny Run – High D 74 Sail Away Ladies 75 Scotland the Brave – High 76 Scotland the Brave – Low 78 Shenandoah 79 Shootin’ Creek 80 Sourwood Mountain – High 81 Sourwood Mountain—In G 82 Sourwood Mountain – Low 83 Sweet Hour Of Prayer 84 Ten Yards Of Calico 86 The Cuckoo 88 The Girl I Left Behind Me 89 Walk Along John 90 Waterbound 91 West Fork Gals – High 92 West Fork Gals – Low 93 Westfalia Waltz 94 Whiskey 110 Proof 96 Whiskey Before Breakfast 97 Wonderful Words Of Life 98

I I/A I/A I I I

I/A I I I I B I I I B I I

I/A I I B I I I

I/A I

I/A I/A I I I

I/A I/A I I

CD1—38 CD2— 01 CD2— 02 CD2— 03 CD2— 04 CD2— 05 CD2— 06 CD2— 07 CD2— 08 CD2— 09 CD2— 10 CD2— 11 CD2— 12 CD2— 13 CD2— 14 CD2— 15 CD2— 16 CD2— 17 CD2— 18 CD2— 19 CD2— 20 CD2— 21 CD2— 22 CD2— 23 CD2— 24 CD2— 25 CD2— 26 CD2— 27 CD2— 28 CD2— 29 CD2— 30 CD2— 31 CD2— 32 CD2— 33 CD2— 34 CD2— 35

Tune List


4

Introduction Before I was married, I spent Christmas week of 2001 with my parents at their home in Northern Kentucky. I brought a computer with Tabledit and a thick folder filled with most of the hand-written originals of my workshop handouts since 1996. My parents gave me the idea of entering all the tabs into the computer and making a book. I spent 6 to 10 hours a day for 5 days entering the music. I went back to school and totally forgot about the project. Finally, just after Christmas of 2004, I came across these tabs in the far reaches of my computer. I spent about a week editing and working on layout. I also spent a couple of days recording each of the 74 tunes for the 2 CDs that are in the back of the book. The Early Years - Stephen Seifert (1996-2002) includes some of my favorite tunes and arrangements. The tunes are labeled Beginner, Intermediate, and Intermediate/Advanced. Thank you to all those who have attended my workshops and concerts over the years. Your support and encouragement is priceless.

How To Use This Book Besides the correction of some mistakes, the arrangements in this book are exact copies of the original hand-written tabs. I used to write a lot of tunes in 2/4 with sixteenth-notes as the smallest note value. (Ex.1) For basic strumming, the right hand goes out on every eighth-note and alternates out-in for every sixteenth-note pair. (For all of these examples, in-strummers should do the reverse)

DAD 4 4 5 4 1 2 3 3 4 3 4

Ex. 1

DAD

1

4 4 5 4 1 2

2

3 3 4 3 4

Ex. 2

Karen Mueller, an awesome autoharp and mountain dulcimer player and instructor, suggested I switch to using eighth-notes as the smallest note value. I immediately saw her point. It’s easier to read and interpret. I’ve been doing it that way ever since. In this context, sixteenth-notes are used for grace notes and other fancy flourishes. In Ex. 2, the right hand goes out on every quarter-note and alternates out-in for every eighth-note pair.


5

Ex. 1 and Ex. 2 are two ways of writing the same music. There is no indication of tempo. At the university level, we decided between 2/4 and 4/4 by the beat or feel of the music. I no longer take that into consideration. Generally, I write fiddle tunes in 4/4 with eighth notes as the smallest note value. I write waltzes in 3/4 with eighth-notes as the smallest note value. The eighth-notes can be played straight or with a swing. I write jigs in 6/8. While playing, the middle of each group of three eighth notes can be shifted forward in time for what is known as “lilt.”

Strumming At the most basic level, when I play tunes written in 4/4, my right hand alternates with the eighth-notes of each beat whether I’m strumming the strings or strumming the air. A very small number of tabs in this book are written this way:

DAD

1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2

0 0 0 0

3

0 0

4

0

DAD

1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2

0 0 0 0

3

0 0

4

0

In the same way, when I play tunes written in 2/4, my right hand alternates with the sixteenth-notes of each beat whether I’m strumming the strings or strumming the air. Most of the fiddle tunes in this book are written this way:

DAD

1

0 0 0 0 0 0

2

0 0 0

3

0 0

4

0.

For waltzes, my right hand alternates with the eighth-notes of each beat whether I’m strumming the strings or strumming the air:


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DAD

1

000

000

2

000 0

0

3 0 00

000

DAD

1

0 0 0 0 0 0

2

0 0 0 0

3

0. 0.

For jigs in 6/8 where the eighth-notes are grouped in three’s, my right hand alternates like this:

DAD

1

0 0 0 0 0 0

2

0 0 0 0

3

0. 0.

For non-jigs in 6/8 where the eighth-notes are grouped in three’s, my right hand sometimes alternates like this:

I recommend that players learn this alternating style of strumming as a foundation. Players who have learned to alternate strum generally have a better sense of rhythm and find it easier to add and take away strums and notes. While all of these suggestions for strumming leave room for exceptions, exceptions should be explored only when it enhances the music or makes the music more fun to play. (For a thorough treatment of alternate strumming with variety in 4/4, please refer to my DVD Lesson #1)

Some Notes That Aren’t In The Tab

1 2 3

Look at the first measure in the example above. The first note is a 0 on the melody string. When using a pick, I either hit this note by itself, I hit it along with the open middle string, or I hit it along with the open middle and bass strings (as in the example). A similar technique can be used to deal with the first note in measure 2 and the first note in measure 3. I do this to fill out the sound and give it some punch. The tabs in this book notate the essentials and leave the filler notes up to you. If you’re finger picking the example above, use brushes or pinches to get the extra strings.


7

DGD 7

1

10. 7

2

8. 5

3

7. 5

4

4. 7

DGD 7

1

10 10 10 7

2

8 8 8 8 8 5

3

7 7 7 7 5

4

4 4 4 4 7

Some of the arrangements in this book cry out for filler strums. Let’s take a look at Sail Away Ladies. The above example is taken from this book. It’s pretty boring as is. First, make sure you can alternate your right hand to the beat of the music whether you are hitting the strings or hitting the air. Then, for filler strums, let some of your air strums make contact with the strings (see the example below). Your right hand will be alternating the same in both examples. What makes the difference is whether you’re hitting the strings or hitting the air.

Here’s a few more things you’ll hear on the accompanying CDs: 1) Vibrato. (While your fretting finger is firmly planted, shake your left hand left and right.) 2) Slides to and off of notes. 3) Mutes (Creating silent spaces in the music by lightly touching open strings with the left or right hand. Fretted

strings are muted by releasing the pressure of a fretted note without removing your hand from the string.) 4) I sometime become an in-strummer temporarily for a beat or more for musical effect. 5) Hammer-ons and pull-offs. (I use these very rarely on these CDs, just a few times. While I’m doing them, I

alternate air strums with my right hand to maintain good timing.) I’ve used the arrangements in this book in the context of workshops around the country. I sometimes teach these tunes to the class by ear before handing them out. The rest of the class time is spent exploring all the cool things you can do with the notes on the paper. If you’d like to know more about the techniques and ideas I teach in my classes, please visit www.stephenseifert.com. You can also call us toll-free at (866)397-6408. Our local number is (615)673-9152.

Tunings!!! Most of these tunes are in DAD. A small number of tunes are in DGD and DAC. The tunings are shown at the beginning of the first line of each arrangement.


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Branle Du Verlage

Arrangement © 1998 David Schnaufer and Stephen Seifert

DAD

1

3

3

2 4 4 4 4 3

2

3

3

2 4 4 4 4 3

3

3

3

2 4 4 4 4 3

4

2 1 0

T A B

5

0 1

3

3

2 0 1 2

6

3 2 1 0

7

0 2

3

3

1 1 2 3

8

6 5 4

T A B

9

0 1

3

3

2 0 1 2

10

3 2 1 0

11

3

3

2 4 4 4 4 3

12

2 1 0

INT.


25 Copyright 2005 Stephen Seifert

34

Dennis Murphy's Polka -Low

Arrangement © 1997 Stephen Seifert

DAD

1

2 3 2 1 0.1

2

00 2

03 3 1

1. 0

4

2 1 1 0

T A B

5

2 3 2 1 0.1

6

00 2

07 3 1

1. 2

8

1 0 0

1.

9

1 0 01

2.

T A B

10

02 2 2 1 2

11

03 3 3 2 3

12

02 2 2 1 2

13

1 2 1 01 0

T A B

14

02 2 2 1 2

15

03 3 3 3 4

16

5 4 32

17

1 0 01

1.

18

1 0 0

2.

INT. / ADV.


35

Dona Nobis Pacem -Palestrina

Arrangement © 1998 Stephen Seifert

DAD

1

00

2

2

10

3

3

2 1 0

4

02

5

5 4 3 2 1

T A B

6

4. 3 2

7

2 1 02

8

0.

9

4.

10

4.

11

4 3 2

T A B

12

2 1

13

5 5

14

4 4

15

4 3 2 1

16

0.

17

0.

18

2.

T A B

19

0. 1 2 3

20

40

21

3 3

22

2 2

23

21 4

024

0.

INT.


Documents

Dear Dulcimer Friend, - Squarespace · Dennis Murphy’s Polka 34 Dona Nobis Pacem 35 ... God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen 46 ... I spent Christmas week of 2001 with my parents at their