Joe Collins
(704) 484-8414
Dulcimer
Competition Awards
1st
place – National Mountain Dulcimer Championships - 2007
3rd place –
National Mountain Dulcimer Championships – 2003, 2004, 2006
1st place Mtn.
Dulcimer Duet (w/
1st place Mtn.
Dulcimer - Mid-Eastern Regional Championship – 2005 & 2002
1st place Vocal
- Coshocton Dulcimer Days – 2005 & 2002
1st place Mtn.
Dulcimer – Kentucky State Championship – 2003
1st place
Dulcimer Duet (w/
2nd place Mtn.
Dulcimer Duet (w/ Alan Darveux) - Coshocton Dulcimer Days - 2002
1st place Folk
Singing - Bryson City Fiddlers' Convention - 2001
2nd place Mtn.
Dulcimer - Bryson City Fiddlers' Convention - 2001
2nd place Mtn.
Dulcimer - Mid-Eastern Regional Championship - 2001
3rd place Mtn.
Dulcimer - Mid-Eastern Regional Championship - 2000
4th place Mtn.
Dulcimer - Southern Regional Championship - 2000
2nd
place Ensemble (w/ M. Shull) - Southern Regional Championship – 2000 & 1999
2nd
place Dulcimer - Georgia State Championship – 2002, 2001, 2000, 1998
1st
place Dulcimer - Brevard Old-Time Music Competition – 1998
Performance Repertoire
Joe
does a wide range of music including unique arrangements of traditional hymns,
Celtic, original compositions, and anything that he thinks sounds “cool” that
usually isn’t played on the dulcimer. A
folk singer who has a passion for writing and performing humorous pieces, he
enjoys being accompanied by the laughter of an audience.
Festivals
and Other Teaching Experience
Chattanooga
Dulcimer Festival
Dulcimer
Building and Playing Class at Cleveland Community College in Shelby, NC
Dulcimer
Chautauqua on the
Dulcimer
Days in
Dulcimer
Retreat of the
Dulcimores
Festival in
Florida
Dulcimer Tour with clinics in Fort Myers, Sarasota, Bradenton, and Orlando
GitterPicker
String Factory in Twinsburg, OH
Harmony
Harvest in
Heritage
Dulcimer Camp in
Hills
of
Mid-winter
Dulcimer Festival in
North
Georgia Foothills Dulcimer Association Fall Festival in
North
Mississippi Fall Dulcimer Festival in
Spring
Thing (NGFDA) in Winder, GA
Summer
Dulcimer Workshop in
Summer
Solstice in
Waterbound
Dulcimer Festival in
Yellowbanks
Dulcimer Festival in Owensboro, KY
Discography
Hymns
for the Hearth
(1994) – folk arrangements of traditional hymns
The
Dancing of Time
(1999) – a mixture of Celtic, hymns, and original pieces
For the Fun of It (2003) – a
collection of funny and feel good songs w/ vocals
Looking Ahead (2008) –
mixture of traditional, original, popular songs by artists like James Taylor
and Carole King, and more. The CD
demonstrates how much versatility and rich chordal possibilities there are with
what used to be considered a simple, Appalachian instrument.
Included
on Great Players of the Mountain Dulcimer (2001) – a collection of
players from all over the country.
Tablature
Books
1998 –
Simple Tunes for the Mountain Dulcimer (out of print)
1999
– Christmas with the Mountain Dulcimer (out of print)
2000
– Simply Celtic
2002
– Simply Hymns (a collection of hymns in three versions: DAD, DGD, and DAA)
2003
– Around the World with the Mountain Dulcimer
2005
– Christmas with the Mountain Dulcimer: Revised & Expanded Edition
2006
– Dulcimer Basics
2008
– Sacred Hymns of the Old Church (to be released later in 2008)
Other
Publications
“Hot
Licks and Cool Sounds: A Mountain Dulcimer Workshop on Ornamentation.” Studio, 50:4 (November-December,
2005), pp. 21-22.
“Teaching
the Dulcimer: Knowing Where Your Student Needs to Begin” Dulcimer Players
News, 28: 2 (May-July, 2002), pp. 36-37.
“Choosing
the Right Tuning for Your Students” Dulcimer Players News, 28:3
(August-October, 2002), pp. 39-41
“Winning
at Winfield” Dulcimer Players News, 34:3 (Summer, 2008)
Website
Mtn.
Dulcimer Workshops
Present titles
taught by Joe Collins. (He is willing to develop others.) Each workshop is reinforced with songs that
illustrate the topic, but the primary goal is to get students to apply the
content to songs that they enjoy playing (unless it is a repertoire-building
workshop). The depth that these
workshops explore depends on the time allotted, of course. Most can range from 1 hour to 3 or 4 hours.
Being “Chordial”
in DAA
(Intermediate) –a workshop for understanding chord structures in the DAA
tuning. This is a workshop for those DAA
players who want go into full chording while staying in the DAA tuning. Covers the basic chords in the key of D and
how to play them anywhere on the neck of the dulcimer. Also includes some exercises on finding the
right chord to play when given only the melody note and a chord symbol.
Capoes, Tunings,
and the Diversified Dulcimer (novice and up) – workshop on how to
use capoes and tunings to play in a wide variety of keys. With a little bit of this knowledge, playing
in jams with other instruments in other keys becomes much simpler, and one’s
dulcimer becomes a much more diversified instrument.
Caring
for and Tuning Your Mountain Dulcimer (Beginner &
up) - A crash course on things you need to know to keep your instrument in good
playing condition. Topics will include changing strings, caring for the
finish, storing your dulcimer properly, tuning the dulcimer with and without
technological assistance - i.e. an electronic tuner.
Creating Your
Own Tablature
(novice and up) – the basics in how to take regular sheet music and turn it
into dulcimer tablature. Deals with
transposition from one key to another, melody lines, and chords. Trains participants in how to use several tools
for their own adventures in “tabbing.”
(Requires a minimum of 2 hours – 3 would be preferable.)
Crossing Over to
the Fun Side!
(Novice and up) – This workshop gently guides players to leave the security of
playing the melody on one string to exploring the world of cross-picking. In addition to some work with scales and
familiar songs, it also gives students the tools needed to begin their own
cross-picked arrangements.
Developing Good
Practice Habits
(Beginners and up). This workshop covers
basic principles of good practice, offering advice and useful exercises to get
the most out of one’s practice time.
Most of the material here is also covered in the workshop entitled
“Playing with Grace, Humor, and Smiles.”
This workshop, however, has a greater focus on practice habits while
“Playing with Grace, Humor, and Smiles” focuses more on preparing for
performance. Because of the overlap, one
should choose one or the other of these workshops instead of both.
Dulcimer
Duets: the Marriage of Standard and Baritone (Novice &
up) – a workshop that focuses on using two differently pitched dulcimers to
make beautiful music together. One does
not need a baritone dulcimer to attend.
Finger-Pickin’
Good
(Novice and up) – a workshop covering the basics of finger-picking on the
mountain dulcimer. Materials available
for both DAd and DAA players.
Focusing
on Basic Chords
(advanced beginner and up) – a workshop on playing in DAd out of major
chords. Includes exercises and songs to
improve one’s ability to change chords efficiently.
Getting
Jiggy with It
(Intermediate to advanced) – basic dulcimer techniques and strumming rhythms
for playing Celtic jigs.
Getting
Started on the Mountain Dulcimer (Beginner) – a workshop for rank
beginners. The goals are to make
students familiar with their dulcimers, successful at playing a song or two,
and knowledgeable about tablature and other resources for helping them to
continue to learn.
Hot Licks and
Cool Sounds
(novice and up) – a workshop on how to do those cool things that make people
say, “Wow! How did he/she do that?”
Covers ornamentation techniques like hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides,
grace notes, trills, bends, harmonics, and muting. Gives simple songs in which these techniques
can be applied and practiced.
Making
Arrangements
(Novice and up) – This workshop takes a simple tune and progressively takes
students through several different ways to play that tune – in different
octaves and keys, all in the same tuning.
It also shares some basic ways to make transitions between keys. The purpose is to help students learn skills
that will enable them to make their own arrangements of tunes they love to
play.
Making
Arrangements for Beginners (Beginners). This is a slower paced version of the
workshop described above. It doesn’t go
into key changes.
Making
Arrangements for Christmas (Novice and up) – a follow up workshop
on the “Making Arrangements” workshop.
Focuses on a few traditional Christmas tunes that I arranged on previous
recordings.
Playing
in DGd
(Advanced beginner & up). An
introduction to basic chord fingerings that can be used to play up and down the
neck efficiently and effectively in this Ionian tuning in the key of G.
Playing
in DGd and DAd
(Novice to intermediate) – a workshop to demonstrate the versatility that
playing in both of these tunings gives a player. Students will learn to apply everything
learned in one tuning to the other.
Playing Upside
Down!
(Intermediate and up) – a workshop on playing inverted chords in DAd. The workshop will focus on building
proficiency in playing out of inverted chords through skill-building exercises
and learning songs which emphasize the technique.
Playing Well with Others: The MD in an Ensemble.
This workshop will help participants play mountain dulcimers effectively in an
ensemble, whether it be an ensemble of several different instruments or an
ensemble of mountain dulcimers. We’ll share knowledge and work on skills
that will help players fit in and make unique contributions to a musical group.
Playing While
You Warble
(Beginner and up) – workshop on the basics of accompaniment. How to use the Mountain Dulcimer to accompany
either yourself or someone else’s voice.
Playing with
Grace, Humor, and Smiles (advanced beginner & up) – a
workshop on performing in front of others.
Covers basic principles that will help players, at whatever level, feel
more comfortable playing for others. No
intense work with the dulcimer.
Preparing for
Mountain Dulcimer Competitions (intermediate to advanced) – This
workshop will focus on little things that many champions have shared about
their song selection and arrangements, their practice habits, and their mental
preparation. If time and numbers allow,
we may also play competition pieces for one another and discuss possibilities
for improving chances of competing well with those pieces.
Repertoire
Workshops
(whatever level you designate) – In a repertoire workshop, I teach songs from a
particular genre. The level is
negotiable except where designated.
Titles for these types of workshops have included:
|
* Fun Songs
for Beginners |
* Slow Celtic
tunes |
|
* Hymns for
Beginners |
* Tunes from
Around the World |
|
* Christmas Is
a’Comin! |
* Traditional
Children’s Songs |
|
* Original
Songs by Joe Collins |
* Fast Celtic
tunes (intermediate to advanced only) |
|
* Civil War
Songs |
* Classic
Hymns for the Mountain Dulcimer |
|
* More Civil
War Songs |
* Dulcimers
are for Lovers – Great Love Songs |
|
* Celtic Harp
Tunes |
* More Slow
Celtic Tunes |
|
* Advanced
Hymns |
|
I’m
willing to develop other repertoire workshops to meet the needs of a particular
group.
Strings on a
Shoestring Budget
(geared toward music educators in schools)
Thought strings were out of reach for your school? Here are suggestions for building interest in
and starting a dulcimer program, even if constrained by a tight budget. Need the capability to do PowerPoint or use
an overhead projector.
The Mountain
Dulcimer: An American Roots Instrument. No playing in this workshop. This is a historical look at the instrument's
shrouded beginnings, near demise, and revival in American folk culture. Need the capability to do PowerPoint or use
an overhead projector.
Tuning and
Caring for Your Dulcimer (Beginner & up) A crash course on things
you need to know to keep your instrument in good playing condition.
Topics will include changing strings, caring for the finish, storing your
dulcimer properly, tuning the dulcimer with and without technological
assistance - i.e. an electronic tuner.
You’re
Always Pickin’ on Me! (Beginner and up) – a good workshop on basic
strumming and flat-picking skills for the mountain dulcimer.