From a church musician in Kentucky:

"When my (dulcimer) club President handed my your order form, she knew I was searching for music to fill the long Advent service season at my very small, very quiet Church...(which) has less than 80 members. We have a small organ but no organist and canned music is getting old. My husband...and our children began playing dulcimers...it was a way to introduce and stay in touch with my Appalachian roots.... Before your book arrived I had already begun to transpose from LUTHERAN WORSHIP but you saved me a lot of hassle....Would you consider another DFW volume, perhaps oriented to Lent? ... thank you for providing this wonderful Advent resource.

From a pastor in Missouri:

"This music book is wonderful! Great concept and loads of information. As a dulcimer player I welcome such resources. And what better season to play the soft tones of the dulcimer than in Advent, a season of quiet anticipation..... I especially like the chording offered on each piece....Thanks for this wonderful resource."

From the preface by Esther Kreek:

"The use of the dulcimer in worship services takes us back to a simpler, unhurried time. In our society we tend to think that music needs to be played louder and faster. The sweet song fo the dulcimer tells us to relax, take a deep breath and listen for that still, small voice. DULCIMER-FRIENDLY WORSHIP, VOL. I fills a great need for those musicians who share their music with a dulcimer. Of the dulcimer books now available, this is the only one specifically written for the church seasons. Steven has included a wide variety of tunes, modes and options for playing: high or low octave, chord accompaniment and chordal melodies... I look forward to the next volume."

From a pastor in Kansas: (who now desires to get his unstrung dulcimer back into service)

"Wow! This tells you everything and it is interesting to read."

From a new dulcimer player in Missouri:

"Good Preface and playing tips! Good tuning explanation in your appendix! Reading did help me understand a bit more abou the dulcimer in addition to giving me some text and tune history."

by Susan Trump, Dulcimer player and teacher:

"Dulcimer-Friendly Worship, Vol. 1 by Steven Eulberg is a treasure for dulcimer players who wish to play familiar and new advent hymns. Steven has presented much more than a collection of sixteen hymns. He has done extensive research on the text and tunes and has included very interesting historical background for each. In addition to offering several different melodies for many of the hymns, he has provided multi-leveled arrangements, thus allowing dulcimer players the option of playing the melody, or chordal accompaniments. Even the accompaniments range in difficulty from easy to more challenging arrangments. He has presented an assortment of tunings including Ionian (DAA), Aeolian (DAC), and Dorian (DAG).

Steven has chosen a nice variety of hymns, ranging from modern to older style hymns. He has even shared an original entitled, "Stir Up Your Power, O Lord," which is beautifully arranged and is sure to become a favorite. His harmonizations are very pretty, and fit the style of each particular hymn. He has done some very innovative and creative harmony for "The King Shall Come" by providing arrangements in Aeolian and Dorian tunings which can be played together.

His scholarly approach to the background and classification of this collection is truly impressive. The appendices will be very useful to church musicians, choir directors and those wishing to locate collections which contain the original hymns and settings.

The words I would use to describe Dulcimer-Friendly Worship, Volume 1 are "versatile" and "complete." This book contains some beautiful dulcimer music which is well presented and will be enjoyed by individual players, dulcimer "choirs," and congregations and/or community groups who have the privilege of hearing the living music which Steven has shared with us. I will look forward to the next volume in the series."

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