This giant book features over 100 of America's favorite folk songs, expertly arranged for the Appalachian dulcimer. Children's songs, work songs, old Anglo-American ballads, songs of strife and freedom, love songs and much, much more are all gathered here in arrangements suitable for the beginning and intermediate player. The songs come from all over - old books and sheet music, transcriptions from field recordings, but mostly from the singing of countless folks in kitchens and festival hallways, street corners and concert stages. Songs include "Poor Wayfaring Stranger," "Tenting Tonight," "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down," "Oh, Death," "Careless Love," and many, many more. Tunings used include D-A-D and D-A-A, as well as C-G-C and C-G-G and several modal tunings. All are playable on any three- or four-stringed dulcimer. Some use a 6 1/2 fret. Includes information on reading music and TAB, notes on transposing, and a useful index of songs by tuning. In standard notation and TAB, with guitar chords. Mark Nelson is considered one of the nation's premier mountain dulcimer players. Winner of the 1979 National Mountain Dulcimer Championships in Winfield Kansas, he is equally at home playing soulful Celtic airs or lightning-fast fiddle tunes on numerous members of the dulcimer family, including the Swedish hummel, Appalachian dulcimer and Hungarian cittera. In addition, he is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and composer who has recorded with musicians as diverse as Irish fiddle master Kevin Burke, steel pan virtuoso Andy Narel, and jazz vibraphonist Fred Raulston. With a recording and touring career that encompasses some twenty years, ten recordings, three videos and numerous books, Mark remains active in both the dulcimer and new acoustic music worlds. He has performed at festivals, colleges, workshops, and concerts across the United States and Canada. Recent projects include a children's book and CD for Mel Bay Publications called You Can Teach Yourself to Make Music with Homemade Musical Instruments and Mel Bay's Complete Book of Celtic Music for Appalachian Dulcimer. His brand new CD has been released on the Wizmak label; Entitled Autumn, it is an evocative recording of original solos on dulcimer, hummel, guitar, MIDI guitar and acoustic and MIDI dulcimer. This fall marks the release of Mark's latest Mel Bay book and CD: Scottish Airs and Ballads for Appalachian Dulcimer. Mark lives in Southern Oregon's beautiful Applegate Valley, where he spends his time maintaining a small digital recording studio, playing, and composing. Most of the time, he hangs out in the hammock and amuses the dogs, but last July 4th he marched in Ashland Oregon's Independence Day Parade, playing his electric dulcimer through a battery powered amplifier. Author: by Mark Nelson Format: Book SkillLevel: Beginning NumberofPages: 232 PublicationDate: 06_23_2004