Blog
mountain dulcimer
The Positive Impact of Reflection
Some of you meet with a dulcimer teacher face to face every week or perhaps monthly. Others of you have a subscription to an online dulcimer video-teaching program, like the one we offer at Dulcimer Crossing. Many of us gather at jam sessions, travel to workshops, and attend virtual festivals online. And you may think that’s enough. You have what you need to progress.
Well, it’s true you have the advantage over people who don’t participate in any of the activities above. But I think there’s one…
Mindset Matters
According to psychologists, there are two types of mindsets … the fixed mindset and the growth mindset.
People with the fixed mindset believe that the level they are at in their musical development is exactly where they are going stay. Such people hold themselves back from learning new things and actually stop trying. They believe their skills and abilities are unchangeable, unable to be improved upon, and there’s no need to try.
On the other hand, people with a growth mindset think they c…
Find a Music Mentor
FIND A MUSIC MENTOR
by Linda Ratcliff
I would love for every person who wants to learn to play the dulcimer to have a private teacher … someone they meet with every week or at least twice a month. But that just isn’t possible for many (most?) of us. But here’s another option. Find a music mentor.
So you might be saying, “What on earth is a music mentor?” Well, here are some basics.
- A musician who lives or plays near where you live
- Someone whose skills and techniques you admire
- A person w…
Is EGO Holding You Back?
When I think about “ego,” I imagine a person who is arrogant, and thinks he/she is better than the rest of us. We tend to think of a person with a big ego is someone who feels superior to us in some way. However, in my case (and maybe in yours as well), my ego tells me I’m inadequate, that I’m not good enough, and I’ll never be good enough. And that kind of attitude can hold a person back, keep them from where they want to go in their musical journey.
Here’s a few ways the negative side of ego …
How to Fix "I CAN'T"
I think I’ve told you before, I get pretty nervous when I perform. Now I did OK at the craft mall and the Butterfly Palace in Branson where I played 6 to 8 hours a day. While I was playing, people were walking around, and only a few sat down and really focused their undivided attention on what I was doing. But put me in front of a crowd to do a solo and my hammers start shaking.
This goes back to my childhood. My grandmother was a concert pianist who even played for Queen Elizabeth. My mother e…
Mountain Born: The Jean Ritchie Story
Thanks to Deborah DJ Hamouris for sharing this video in The Dulcimer Community—mastering the art of dulcimer.
By Russ Farmer.
I built my first mountain dulcimer in Columbus, Ohio in 1980 and took it with me to work at a church camp in Michigan (1982); then to Chicago where I worked at a church in the shadow of Wrigley Field on Addison Street (1982-83); then to the inner city Westside of Denver on Colfax Avenue (1983-84). When I returned to my seminary graduate school the fall of 1984 I had …
4 Equidistant String Dulcimer Resources
We've discovered that every time we host a day-long event that we end up uncovering and sharing a great many resources.
Here is what we want to share with everyone from the 4 Equidistant Dulcimer Day 2024:
Youtube Playlist 4 Equidistant
We had a breakout room during the midday lunch/conversation/sharing time which included people who wanted to explore the DPN Archives with Stephen Seifert.
Click here to see some of what they found:
Another breakout room li…
Seniors Rock!
My husband and I are back in the Rio Grande Valley for about six weeks, to enjoy the warmer weather and touch base with old friends. Our second night back, we had the opportunity to attend a concert given by a group of about 50 seniors (55 and older) who are winter Texans (snowbirds), and play together every winter.
The concert was amazing. I had gone expecting the group to sound like a high school band, with lots of potential but needing more time playing together. I didn’t think a band that w…
Loose Change
Did you know that the total amount of loose change scooped up by TSA officials at airports in 2019, before the pandemic, was an impressive $926,030.44. Unclaimed money is deposited into a special account where it can be tracked easily and Section 44945 of title 49, United States Code, grants the TSA budget authority to spend it. On September 30, 2019, the TSA had $3,618,696 available from loose change alone! (I could use some of that!)
I like loose change, and I’m not too proud to pick up coins…
Deadlines Work
Nothing motivates me more than a deadline. If there is an upcoming performance, I get to work. When I was taking piano lessons, over the last couple of days before my next lesson … I’d get to work for real. When I am preparing to go to a jam session or workshop, I tune my instruments and … yep, start limbering up the fingers.
It’s just a true fact of life, deadlines motivate musicians to practice. So how can we make deadlines work FOR us instead of AGAINST us?
- Break down your musical proj…
Categories
- News (10)
- Events (4)
- News (6)
- Events (4)
- subscriber news (236)
- mountain dulcimer (128)
- hammered dulcimer (131)
- uncategorized (6)
- lessons (190)
- mountain dulcimer (199)
- hammered dulcimer (155)
- history (22)
- music theory (40)
- octave (1)
- plagal cadence (1)
- dulci-bro (73)
- fingerpicking (3)
- fingerstyle mountain dulcimer (4)
- nina zanetti (4)
- aeolian (2)
- dorian (4)
- ionian (3)
- lydian (1)
- mixolydian (3)
- modes (2)
- traditional (2)
- tuning (4)
- music education (2)
- NSME (1)
- standards (1)
- drone (3)
- folk alliance (1)
- jonah brody (1)
- koto (1)
- chromatic mountain dulcimer (8)
- sam lee (1)
- scottish folk song (1)
- linda ratcliff (5)
- practice (29)
- chromatic mountain dulcimer (66)
- dulcimercrossing.com (2)
- erin rogers (7)
- building (8)
- black mountain (1)
- jerry read smith (1)
- Joshua Messick (1)
- song of the wood (1)
- don pedi (5)
- fiddle whamdiddle (9)
- miss mcleod (2)
- steve eulberg (30)
- vi wickam (9)
- buying (1)
- choosing (1)
- purchasing (1)
- orphan girl (1)
- copyright (1)
- amplification (2)
- contact pickup (1)
- eulberg (4)
- microphone (2)
- pickup (2)
- berkeley (1)
- colorado (2)
- festivals (4)
- kentucky (1)
- scholarship (1)
- western carolina (1)
- noter (2)
- clubfooted jib (1)
- dgd (2)
- dgd tuning (1)
- special event (31)
- david massengill (2)
- reverse ionian (1)
- chuck boody (1)
- concertina (1)
- deedee tibbits (1)
- dulcimer (7)
- evart (1)
- evart funfest (1)
- linda foley (1)
- michigan (1)
- original dulcimer players club (1)
- fingerstyle (11)
- gebhard woods (1)
- technique (1)
- harmonics (1)
- dan delancey (2)
- june apple (1)
- linda thomas (3)
- modal (1)
- expression (1)
- playing expressively (1)
- dulcimer pledge (1)
- christmas (2)
- nativity (1)
- DAC (2)
- minor more (1)
- mississippi sawyer (1)
- holiday (5)
- joy to the world (1)
- jingle bells (1)
- reverse ionion (1)
- hand independence (1)
- hand separation (1)
- lullabye of muffe (1)
- tina gugeler (1)
- absolute beginner mountain dulcimer (1)
- beginner (2)
- mountain (3)
- string-side up (1)
- absolute beginner hammered dulcimer (1)
- blog (2)
- dulcimercrossing. (1)
- topics (1)
- blues (4)
- resonator (4)
- dulcimer orchestra (2)
- kitty puss (1)
- mike clemmer (1)
- noter style (2)
- jam survival (7)
- butch ross (3)
- looping (1)
- intro (4)
- neal hellman (4)
- erin mae lewis (9)
- rehearsal (3)
- italian (1)
- lauda (1)
- irish (1)
- slipjig (1)
- rhythm (2)
- robert force (2)
- tuner (1)
- exercises (1)
- scales (1)
- devotions (3)
- hark advent (1)
- the glad sound! (1)
- chords (3)
- chromatic (4)
- erin (1)
- theory (7)
- advent (5)
- preparation (4)
- stir up (1)
- appalachia (4)
- hillbilly (1)
- mountains (1)
- traditional music (1)
- dampers (1)
- hearts of the dulcimer (3)
- patricia delich (2)
- wayne jiang (2)
- appalachian (1)
- John Jacob Niles (1)
- Live Events (28)
- Premium Level Membership (2)
- habits from the muse (1)
- progress (6)
- support (2)
- Anna Muckova (1)
- cimbalom (1)
- CWA (1)
- Czech Republic (1)
- Magdalena Muckova (1)
- nonsuch (1)
- Slovak Republic (1)
- podcast (1)
- aubrey atwater (2)
- jean ritchie (2)
- log-in (1)
- update (1)
- lucky (1)
- performance (9)
- preparing (1)
- study (1)
- dulcimers (1)
- wendy songe (2)
- bluegrass (2)
- growth (1)
- resolutions (2)
- risks (1)
- capo (1)
- snark (1)
- fiddle (61)
- criticism (2)
- judy klinkhammer (1)
- miles davis (2)
- wrong note (1)
- live and let live (1)
- style (1)
- barlow knife (1)
- old school old-time (2)
- marie kirby (1)
- bass mountain dulcimer (1)
- elaine conger (1)
- larry conger (1)
- practice smarter (8)
- musical journey (1)
- piano (1)
- calm (1)
- dog (1)
- su la li (1)
- bluebird cafe (1)
- inspiration (3)
- new input (2)
- trust (1)
- practice space (2)
- quite (1)
- how to practice (8)
- you are what you practice (1)
- workshop (5)
- rich chords (2)
- kaitlin pabo-eulberg (1)
- hooked on dulcimers (1)
- humor (1)
- blue water thinking (1)
- creativity (2)
- environment (2)
- original tunes (1)
- 1+ fret (1)
- chopin (1)
- classical (1)
- assessment (1)
- skill levels (1)
- waltz (1)
- caledonian club (1)
- ensemble (1)
- group (1)
- dulci-tune (1)
- tuning game (1)
- love (2)
- workout (1)
- learning (8)
- teacher (6)
- self-taught (1)
- how long (1)
- jam sessions (6)
- learn to play (1)
- strategies (2)
- fariña (1)
- mimi (1)
- pete seeger (2)
- rainbow quest (2)
- goals (1)
- planning (1)
- backing tracks (6)
- matthew dickerson (2)
- concert (1)
- erin mae (2)
- guitar (5)
- deborah hamouris (3)
- dj (2)
- freight and salvage (1)
- classic (1)
- licks (1)
- rock (1)
- berkeley dulcimer orchestra (1)
- premiere (1)
- banjo (1)
- frank proffitt (1)
- frank warner (1)
- tom dooley (1)
- baker (1)
- binding (1)
- blue lion (1)
- bob (1)
- gluing (1)
- janita (1)
- live (1)
- tips (1)
- spouse (1)
- amplified (1)
- DI box (1)
- digital interface (1)
- sound reinforcement (1)
- 2nd Set Concert (2)
- contest (1)
- flash mountain dulcimer brigade (2)
- JimJim & the FatBoys (1)
- Pecan Grove (1)
- walnut valley festival (2)
- winfield (1)
- wvfest (1)
- thinking (1)
- case (1)
- cross-legged (1)
- grip (1)
- safe dulcimer (1)
- sit (1)
- slip (1)
- stand (1)
- stool (1)
- strap (1)
- learn (3)
- mistakes (1)
- successes (2)
- herbie hancock (1)
- improvising (1)
- jazz (2)
- lois hornbostel (2)
- wrong chord (1)
- atlantic (1)
- barbara allen (1)
- frank profitt (1)
- scots-irish (1)
- chord wizard (1)
- diatonic (2)
- equi-distant (3)
- tom strothers (1)
- tool (2)
- busker (1)
- tsimbaly (1)
- ukraine (1)
- ukrainian (1)
- calendar (1)
- schedule (1)
- baritone (1)
- concert window (3)
- katie moritz (1)
- faq (1)
- frequently asked questions (1)
- logged in (1)
- navigation (1)
- old time (1)
- patreon (1)
- shape-note (1)
- special (1)
- carrell (1)
- geoff reeve-black (1)
- malvern (1)
- presnell (1)
- articulations (1)
- chicken reel (1)
- conger (1)
- soldier's joy (1)
- basic level membership (1)
- caring for your instrument (1)
- winter weather (1)
- god rest ye (1)
- rhythmic displacement (1)
- builder (1)
- tam kearney (1)
- toronto (1)
- don neuhauser (1)
- slide (1)
- ashley ernst (1)
- dan and angie landrum (1)
- dpn (1)
- dulcimer players news (1)
- dulcimersessions.com (1)
- maddie macneil (1)
- arkansas traveler (1)
- Mark Alan Wade (2)
- 3d playing (1)
- playing across the strings (2)
- chord symbols (1)
- understanding chords (3)
- dulcimer club (1)
- class (1)
- habits (1)
- skills (1)
- jimmy driftwood (1)
- failures (1)
- hours (1)
- youtube (1)
- arranging (1)
- bill robinson (1)
- cold winter night (1)
- karen mueller (3)
- jig (1)
- DAd tuning (1)
- hyfrydol (1)
- hymn (1)
- 2020 (1)
- premium (1)
- gounod (1)
- hitchcock (1)
- dan evans (1)
- spotted pony (2)
- steveeulberg (1)
- nylon-string (1)
- stephens lutherie (1)
- musical devotions (1)
- award (1)
- fernando sor (1)
- hammered (1)
- understanding (1)
- lent (1)
- leap forward (1)
- power of music (2)
- sharing (1)
- persistence (5)
- Practice (4)
- routine (1)
- tour (1)
- new website (1)
- arrranging (1)
- celtic (1)
- single jig (1)
- mountain dulcimer (3)
- busking (1)
- audio (1)
- playback (1)
- protection (1)
- adaptations (1)
- dulcimer acquisition syndrome (1)
- dulcimer acquisition disease (1)
- contests (1)
- lessons (1)
- identify (1)
- apps (1)
- motivation (1)
- hands (1)
- In Memoriam (1)
- guitar (1)
- archive (1)
- concerts (1)
- mountain dulcimer (2)
- hammered dulcimer (1)
- lessons (1)
- workshops (1)
- self-assessment (1)
- learn (1)
- greek (1)
- mindset (3)
- accountability (2)
- encouragement (1)
- prodding (1)