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mountain dulcimer
Pigeonholes are for PIGEONS!
The first year I learned to play the dulcimer, I primarily focused on fiddle tunes, you know, the tunes we all have learned to play at jam sessions. They get your toe a-tapping and your hands a-strumming. Then I stretched my imagination to work up arrangements that I could play as solos in church, during Communion or the Offertory. And I learned to play backup at church on the dulcimer, basically playing the same chords as the rhythm guitar players. And that was IT. I was "pigeonholed" in wh…
Play EVERYwhere!
Play EVERYwhere! I saw this photo of my partner Steve Eulberg, recently sitting on the sidewalk playing on his dulcimer and singing with Erin Mae Lewis. I have also seen a photo of Steve playing on the beach. It seems he enjoys playing everywhere, for sure. And so should we!
Photos like these reminded me of the text from Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss. If we changed the words just a bit, we might say …
Say! I like to play my dulcimer
I do! I like to play, Gulliver!
I would play it in a b…
Returning to Jam: New Survival Tips
Returning to Jam!
Survival Tips from DJ Hamouris, our Baritone and Standard Mountain Dulcimer Instructor
by Deborah (DJ) Hamouris
After such a long social isolation, I was excited to join nightly jams at an in-person dulcimer camp this summer!
What I had *not* counted on was how much it would hurt to continuously strum for a couple of hours. Though I teach & play a lot, most of what I do is less strumming & more picking.
But my advancing arthritis in fingers & hands changed how I felt abo…
Can You Master Playing An Instrument?
My partner Steve is a man of many talents. In this video, Steve enjoyed some tickling of the keys at the Oak Street Plaza in Old Town Fort Collins, CO. I wonder how many instruments he really plays.
A few days after I saw Steve playing the piano on his FB post, I saw this t-shirt that says, “The piano is the easiest instrument to play at the start. And the hardest to master.” Well, my feeling is that I will never completely master playing any of my instruments, especially the keyboard. Fo…
Traveling with an Instrument?
Mike and I left July 1st for a 6-week trip to see friends and relatives. As you can see, at the back of the car there is a mini-fridge our granddaughter gave us, but Mike forgot to unplug it the night before we left. And so, we weren’t surprised to discover the car's battery was dead when we were ready to leave.
We have a portable battery charger for dilemmas like this, so we were back in business in no time. Then Mike asked if there was room to bring the charger along, in case we did that …
Stuck in a Rut?
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in a rut, musically? Do you ever felt like a hamster on the wheel, doing 300 miles a week but then finding out you’re still in the same place? Does the time you spend practicing feel similar to those days when you went to the gym, pedalling for hours on a stationary bicycle but getting nowhere?
Being “stuck” is something you might not even notice at first. These feelings can build slowly over time. Day after day, you might follow your same practice routines bu…
You Can STILL Do It
I have played musical instruments all my life. My grandmother was a concert pianist, and there was always an Everett piano in my childhood home. When my mother decided her hands were too shaky and she was too old to play any longer, she passed on her Everett piano to me. But that space in her home stood empty less than a month. She couldn’t stand it, had to have another piano, and continued to play even into her 90’s. So music is definitely in my blood!
Like many of you, I became interested in d…
Why Tune?
You picked up your dulcimer to run through a couple of tunes. There’s no one else listening. No one will care if your instrument is slightly out of tune. And you only have a few minutes to practice. Why bother to tune for that? This thought came to my mind a few weeks back. I had about 15 minutes of free time before I had to leave, and I wanted to start reviewing my patriotic repertoire – getting ready for impromptu performances for Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day. America the Beautiful, …
What About Busking?
I follow the adventures of a real-life, full-time, traveling busker, Lyle Rickards, on FB. Now “busker” is a term coined to refer to a street musician or performer, and Lyle fits this profile perfectly. He plays several different instruments, but I most often see him playing a harmonica and mountain dulcimer … both at the same time. Lyle is often broke and dealing with yet another difficulty, but he is dedicated to his lifestyle of busking and couldn’t imagine any other way of making a living. R…
Gotcher First Gig?
It’s only natural to daydream about your first gig … a small gathering of friends hoping to see you do well, spotlights , applause, a crowd of satisfied folks from the audience wanting to shake your hand and congratulate you after the event.
I hate to stick a pin in that daydream bubble, but first-time concerts don’t always run so smoothly. But, the good news is that, with just a little preparation, you can avoid many of the pitfalls that might spoil the dream for you. Don’t even think about st…
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