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hammered dulcimer

Breakin' Up Christmas

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Breakin' Up Christmas is an Old Time Fiddle tune in the key of A that was played on the Twelfth Night of the Christmas as an energetic completion of the celebration of the season, leading into Epiphany.

We are excited to have (2) Different Courses by Steve Eulberg teaching this tune on DulcimerCrossing:

Hammered Dulcimer

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Mountain Dulcimer

BreakingUpXmasMD

       Baritone Mountain Dulcimer AEa tuning (and Standard Mountain Dulcimer in DAd tuning with Capo, and Standard in DAA and EAA Tunings)

       Gala…

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DulcimerCrossing Teachers at the QuaranTUNE 6 in February

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Registration for the 6th QuaranTUNE Dulcimer festival (Feb 306, 2022) opened last night. DulcimerCrossing is pleased to be a festival sponsor, once again, and even more pleased that several of our instructors are teaching workshops there:

Aubrey Atwater (Mountain Dulcimer)

Carmen Amrein *NEW (Hammered Dulcimer)

Elaine & Larry Conger (Bass and Standard Mountain Dulcimer)

Matthew Dickerson (Hammered Dulcimer)

Steve Eulberg (Mountain and Hammered Dulcimer)

Deborah DJ Hamouris (Standard and Ba…

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4 Things 2 Practice

Do you know the most important question that you can ask as a dulcimer student? I believe it is, “What should I be practicing?” That’s right! How you answer this question will determine your progress and enjoyment in making music. So I am sharing a solid plan on what to practice on your dulcimer (or any instrument, really) every day to become a well-rounded musician. This plan centers around 4 practice pillars:

  1. Technique
  2. Tunes
  3. Memorization
  4. Playing by Ear

If you’re looking for a practice…

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Slow But Steady in 2022



Sometimes, my motivation level feels kind of like a roller coaster ride. Because of my busy schedule and work obligations, I feel a constant pressure to stay busy. I keep thinking I should be doing something, anything, to be productive all the time. Some days it’s not a problem. I’m “up” and feel like I can conquer the world and learn 100 new tunes in one sitting. I enjoy getting things done and scratching items off my to-do list.

Other days, I don’t even want to pick up my hammers, and my ba…

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Joy, Joy, Joy



Christmas is that time of the year when we welcome joy and good cheer into our homes, when we sing carols, wear our holiday clothes and celebrate with our friends and relatives. And finally here it is, Christmas time again, and I’m sure you have probably finished your shopping, hung the outdoor lights, and decorated the Christmas tree.

For myself, this is the time of year when I am constantly playing Christmas music. I have written many of my own arrangements, but you’ll also catch me orderin…

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Be an Encourager



We all go through rough patches at different times in life. And times have been tough for all of us during 2021, because of COVID restrictions and even losing friends and relatives to the virus. I was thinking about how, when a family member or a close friend is going through a tough time, it’s not always easy to know what to say or how to support them.

Then I started thinking about my friends in the dulcimer community. Some of them are going through a tough time musically. They have gotten d…

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So Very Thankful

There is a question everyone is asking these days. We’re checking our cupboards and cabinets and asking ourselves, “Do we have enough ____ ?” We all have memories of going to the store in 2020 and seeing the toilet paper row empty. My daughter lived in Switzerland at that time, in an apartment that straddled two grocery stores. I would text her a photo of an empty row at Walmart, and she would text back a photo showing the same situation in the stores below where she lived.

And now it seems t…

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NGFDA hosts DulcimerCrossing Teachers at their Fall Festival in November!

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DulcimerCrossing.com is honored to be a sponsor for NGFDA Fall Festival which happens online Nov. 18-20 this year.

We have a long history of providing sponsorship and scholarship support to festivals across the country because we know that there is no substitute for in-person learning.

We are also excited that several of our teachers are providing workshops for this festival!

Erin Mae Lewis

Butch Ross

Nina Zanetti

Karen Mueller

DJ Hamouris

Larry and Elaine Conger

Aubrey Atwater, and

ou…

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