The version I bought had both a CD and a DVD included with the book, and a different cover (but same ISBN, so I assume the contents are the same).

As someone totally new to playing the dulcimer (which I made myself), I found this to be a pretty good introduction. It starts off easy, but challenging enough, and then progresses through different types of tunings and playing techniques. The songs range from nursery rhyme songs to folk songs from North America and Western Europe ... that is, where the dulcimer (or instruments similar to it) have been in use for a long time. Each song is actually a practice session, with notes and hints. Each song is played on the CD, which makes it a handy reference to hear how it is supposed to be played.

The DVD is pretty good, too. At first I found Ms. Mcneil's lecturing style a bit slow and methodical, but as I started playing along and getting flustered, her calming voice helped me to settle down.

This is not an expensive book to get, and is well worth the money. ( )