Neal Hellman - Biography and Workshop Information
For promotional photos of Neal, click here. Neal Hellman, nationally acclaimed performer and teacher of the mountain dulcimer, has been active in performing, writing, teaching, and recording acoustic music for the past 25 years throughout the United States, Europe and New Zealand. Neal’s latest recording, Emma’s Waltz, is a colorful dance through traditional and contemporary acoustic music styles. Featuring seventeen different musicians playing compositions from Ireland, Scotland, Finland, America and France. Neal's other recordings include: Autumn In the Valley, Dream of the Manatee (with Joe Weed) and Oktober County , all on the Gourd Music label. Dirty Linen wrote of Oktober County “the material is first-rate and the musicianship is flawless;” and the Santa Cruz Sentinel said Dream of the Manatee is “just plain beautiful music. The San Jose Mercury wrote “Autumn In the Valley is well-played and impeccable engineered." |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An original composition, written by Neal and performed by Jay Unger and Molly Mason, is featured on the Ken Burns production "The Story of Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton" which was boradcasted on PBS nationwide in the fall of 1999. Neal has placed a number of other tracks on the films of Ken Burns including "Horatio's Ride", "National Parks: America's Best Idea" and the upcoming "Dust Bowl" (2012).
He is the author of many books on the Appalachian dulcimer, including Celtic Songs & Slow Airs for Mountain Dulcimer, The Dulcimer Chord Book, |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hear all of Neal's recordings on Apple iTunes
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Click to hear a clip of Durango. |
Click to hear a clip of Bianco Fiore. |
Click to hear a clip of Canarios. |
Click to hear a clip of Emma's Waltz. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listen to some of Neal's music on Soundcloud: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Workshops Offered by Neal Hellman - Click here to see some of Neal's dulcimer arrangemets. 1) Swedish & Finnish Music on the Dulcimer: (Intermediate-Advanced). 2) Music of the World for Mountain Dulcimer:(Intermediate). Featuring arrangements from Neal's latest book of arrangements (2012). 3) Celtic Ballads For The Dulcimer: (Intermediate). Though its not a traditional Irish instrument the Mt. Dulcimer lends itself perfectly to Irish music. In this workshop the student will learn how to utilize the dulcimer in a classic Irish ballad such as A Stór Mo Chroí and Ye Banks & Braes. Playing the melody of each composition will be illustrated as well. Utilizing chords to both back up the voice as well as to add tone coloring and texture will also be emphasized. 4) Shaker Music for the Dulcimer: (Intermediate) The American Shakers made music an integral part of their daily lives and worship, from lively dance tunes and marches to reverent hymns. Selections include pieces as played on dulcimer from the albums Simple Gifts and Tree of Life: Love is Little, Tree of Life, Back Manner Tunes, I Will Walk With My Children, etc. The wonderful thing about Shaker music is that it has roots both in Europe (Celtic, English, Scottish) and Appalachia. The technique involved in arranging and playing these compositions will be covered as well as the repertoire. 6) Three Polka's: (Intermediate-Advanced) •How to utilizing hammers slides and pull offs in an arrangement. • How to create a medley of tunes. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7) Italian & Early Music For The Dulcimer: (Intermediate) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Update: August, 2011 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||