Please note that there will no longer be a spring session in Asheville, NC due to unavailability of the Perelandra venue. Also the fall 2020 session will likely be the last time Chord Camp will be offered.
Please check back in the spring 2020 for announcements about fall session location and dates
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If you have any questions about any of the information here (or not here) please email Jon Weinberg.
Updated: 11/8/2019 -
visits to this page.
"I've been playing hammered dulcimer for over 30 years. Even so, Jon's Chord Camp was just what I needed. His methodology is concise, clear and practical and the course is meticulously prepared. Personally, it transformed my intuitive but often haphazard chord-searching into an immediately useable paradigm. Very freeing! We met at his home. He and his wife are awesome hosts and the week was pure fun! Do it!!" - Barb, Massachusetts |
"Thanks, Jon for making your experience and abilities available in such an organized and transparent way. Thanks, too, for bringing together a fine group of players who were all committed and determined to learn and that are interesting individuals outside of the music" - Keith, Maine |
"I want you to know that I learned A LOT from you, and I think you are a genius! Your system of figuring out chords/arpeggios for arrangements has been very simple to put into practice. I have a systematic approach now when I want to embellish a basic tune. Thank you!" - Debbie, Minnesota |
"Over the years I have been to many workshops. Each one learning something. But Jon´s chord camp was the one to put everything together and help me get over the edge. Love his simple chord charts and hammer patterns. Now I have the confidence I need to tackle any song. It was a pleasure being in his class. Thanks Jon " - Marvin, Missouri |
"His teaching methods create a master/apprentice relationship with his students. This allows everyone to have ownership into the process/content of the camp. The end result is that the student is not only taught what the tools are, but how each tool could/should be used in various situations. This class is mentally taxing, but very rewarding. The students attending this workshop all left with a new skillset and a motivation to continue applying the lessons learned during this excellent course. I give it my strong recommendation and thank Jon for creating this course that fills an important void" - Richard, Texas | "What a grand week of learning in a most relaxed, supportive atmosphere. I am now seeing patterns all over my dulcimer and am ready to tackle doing my own arrangements. It is just two weeks after Chord Camp and I already feel my playing has improved. Thank you Jon for sharing your love of the dulcimer with us" - Ginny, New York |
"Invaluable! Jump starts my playing ability. Instead of learning just a few specific pieces, Chord Camp teaches a whole chord system of playing the dulcimer. It helps everything make sense. Chord charts are brilliant! Will probably affect everything I do on the dulcimer from now on!" - Jane, Maryland |
"Your class, Jon, made a huge impression on me and will make a huge impact on my playing. You've given me the tools, now I can have more confidence as I play" - Dottie, North Carolina |
"My playing has gotten much better since I've been throwing chords into the mix in the right way. A few comments from critics tell the story.
My wife says: Your playing is more comfortable and confident now. They have the right rhythms and inflections." - Bill, California |
"Thanks, Jon! I really got a lot of great instruction from your camp that I can't wait to start incorporating into my playing. Everything was so well organized from the lodging to the instructional material to the dinners. It was a great week, and I enjoyed being with the entire group." - Jeri, New Mexico |
"I think you have given us the keys to the castle or the Kingdom. Thanks for all you efforts in helping us become musicians." - Kathy, Cape Cod Massachusetts |
"In the last few years I've been to quite a few HD festivals and I've taken quite a few classes and workshops where we learn new songs and the chords that go with them. But this is the first time I can remember leaving a workshop and really understanding two crucial things: one - how the chords in a song fit and support the melody line, and two - how and where to play those chords on my Hammer Dulcimer! Your method of Chords In A Box was well presented, easy to learn, and best of all, fun to play. I feel like I've really moved up to the next level in my playing - thank you!" - Barrett, New Jersey |
"It was a wonderful camp. It was exactly what you said it would be and just what I wanted to learn. The lessons, the music, the hospitality, the food, the companionship all made for a great week, and I'm very glad I came!!!" - Joyce, Connecticut |
What is Chord Camp? | Camp Objectives | Cost |
Where is Chord Camp? | Schedule | How to Enroll |
Jon Weinberg | Workshop Sessions | Other Activities |
Prerequisites | Meals and Lodging | Spouses/Traveling Companions |
Jon makes no assumption that you know anything about chords. At Chord Camp the emphasis is on practical application, not theory - you will learn what makes a chord, how to easily play them on the dulcimer, how to use them to back up other instruments (and choral groups), and how to incorporate chords to make solo arrangements of your favorite tunes. We will practice these things together and you will be given some personal exercise assignments to work on, so that you will leave with more than just an intellectual understanding: you will take home tunes and arrangements you have worked on, can modify, and can add to your own repertoire, all of which demonstrate the techniques we'll cover.
Many other HD chording workshops focus on every which way to play the same chord on a dulcimer and then leave you to your own devices to figure out how that can be useful, or how it fits within common chord progressions. At Chord Camp you'll learn which chords commonly appear together, and how to play triad patterns for these progressions that are easy-to-play and easy-to-remember. Then you'll learn how these chord patterns and playing variations can be applied to most anything you might want to do on the dulcimer, making your musical life more varied and pleasurable and your dulcimer toolkit more robust.
Most dulcimer players learn to play by playing melodies without much attention to chords. We will focus on the chords and work our way back to the melodies for a more holistic approach to both ensemble accompaniment and solo arranging. For many dulcimer players this way of thinking and playing can be a real eye-opener.
To foster accelerated learning and to provide personal attention class size is limited to only 10 attendees.
Once a session is filled we will maintain a waiting list should anyone need to cancel.
Depending upon the number of attendees daily workshops are held either at Jon's house or a nearby meeting space.
Lodging is at a local B&B or hotel near Jon's house..
He is a frequent teacher and performer at dulcimer festivals in the northeast US including the Cranberry Dulcimer Gathering, the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival, the Pocono Dulcimer Festival in Pennsylvania, and beyond the northeast including the ODPC Funfest in Evart, MI. For many years Jon was the hammered dulcimer coordinator of the CCCAE Spring Dulcimer festival in Cambridge, Mass.
Jon plays dulcimer at weddings, church services, and other celebratory events, and performs concerts at coffeehouses, town events, restaurants, and at residential assisted living and nursing home facilities. He has accompanied the New England Children's Choir at the New England Conservatory of Music and at Boston Symphony Hall, performed at Boston Revels RiverSing, is a featured speaker and performer on the hammered dulcimer at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and is a frequent performer at NEFFA (the New England Folk Festival).
As a member of multiple contra dance bands over the years Jon developed a system of dulcimer chords and a backup playing style that he teaches both to private students and at dulcimer festival workshops. He is currently an active member of the New England band Wild Card.
Jon teaches private hammered dulcimer lessons at his home in Marlborough, Mass. and online via Skype. In 2013 he released his first CD "About Time".
Typical Workshop days (Monday through Friday):
7:30-8:30AM | Breakfast at the hotel | |
8:30AM | Travel to the workshop site | You can drive yourself or carpool with others for the drive from and to the hotel |
9:00-12:00PM | Morning workshop | |
12:00-1:00PM | Lunch break | |
1:00-4:00PM | Afternoon workshop | May be a little longer if we break mid-afternoon for an off-site activity |
4:00PM | Free/down time before dinner | To practice, jam, explore, take a rest back at the hotel... |
5:00ish | Cocktails/wine/schmoozing before dinner (optional) | Bring your favorite local brew or a bottle of wine and/or cheese and crackers to share. In New England we'll gather at Jon's house down the street from the hotel. |
6:00ish | Dinner | Most dinners we will go out to local restaurants. On Thursday before the New England concert we'll bring in Chinese or pizza |
After dinner | Free time | to socialize, jam, practice, retire to your room, etc. We may have a movie night one evening, jam, or some other activity |
Monday's foundational workshop may run a little longer, after which we'll go directly to dinner (nearby).
Thursday evening (tenative) - Jon Weinberg (and friends) in concert - open to the public - attendees (and a traveling companion) are admitted for free and each Chord Camper is invited to perform a piece if they would like.
Friday - have breakfast and check out of the hotel. Our final day of workshops and lunch will end with a mid-afternoon wrap up followed by everyone helping to straighten out the "classroom" space. Afterwards you can depart or join us for a final "cocktail hour" and group dinner.
Friday late afternoon and evening you are welcome to stay and work with Jon and others on any pieces you've been working on and want some help and/or feedback, or anything else you have questions about. In previous years, at the request of attendees Jon has given demos on using Band-in-a-Box, and has explained and demonstrated the dulcimer pickups he uses and options.
You are encouraged to bring a piece you've been working on but maybe don't feel quite satisfied with, with which you can apply the ideas and techniques you will learn during the week. If you want more ideas and feedback there will be a session where Jon (and other attendees) can work with you to help you develop your arrangement.
Attendees are invited to perform a piece at the Thursday evening concert, either one you've played beforehand or (for the fearless) one you learned and arranged during the camp sessions.
Lunches: salad and sandwich fixings will be provided for everyone to make their own lunch (included in your registration fee). For a change of pace we may go out for lunch one day.
Dinners: For offsite restaurant dinners figure an average of $45 a dinner (including tax, tip, and maybe a drink), or $200-220 for the 4-5 restaurant dinners, a pizza dinner, and maybe a visit or two to local ice cream stands.
For the fall New England session these are restaurants we like and have eaten at during past Chord Camps:
If you have any dietary preferences or restrictions please indicate this on your registration form.
This estimate is based on the following:
Registration fee (see below) | $400 |
Lodging (5 nights, single or double room,breakfasts included) | $500(est.) |
Dinners | $200 |
Total |
$1100 |
Notes:
Note: Please be aware that TShirts are ordered 6-8 weeks before the beginning of each Chord Camp. People who enroll after that time may not receive one, or at least one in their preferred size (I often order a few extras).
Before June 1 | Fully refundable |
Before September 1 | 50% refundable, or 100% refundable only if the session is full and your place can be taken by a new enrollment |
On or after September 1 | Sorry, no refund |
Note that they will receive free admission to the Thursday evening New England concert.