Blog
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 …
Enhanced Audio Playback Feature
We are excited to announce the enhancement of the Playback feature for all the mp3 files in DulcimerCrossing: in the Backing Tracks Library and in the Lessons in the Courses.
There has always been the ability to increase the speed of the track, and if you click through the 1x symbol on the playback track it will scroll to faster speeds,
until it scrolls to .5x (or half speed) which was the ONLY slower speed available. Our request to enhance this feature has been honored and implemented!
T…
Something To Add To ...
Charles Stanley, Pastor Emeritus of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, likes to tell this story about the man who taught him to fish. When he got his first catch, he was embarrassed that it was so small, and he just wanted to throw it back. But the man he was with, a deacon at his first church, said, “Don’t. It helps if you have something to add to.” (Maybe back in those days, the law didn't require that you throw back fish under a certain size.)
I’ve discovered there’s wisdom having something …
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…
Vi Wickam wins at Weiser
Vi Wickam, our fiddling instructor, wins at Weiser!
by Steve Eulberg
The National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest and Festival has been held annually (except for Covid) since 1953 in Weiser, Idaho.
I have been hearing about this event for years, since meeting a returning fiddler on the GreenRide commute back from the Denver airport when I was returning from Kentucky Music Week which is held annually at the same time.
Vi has been attending, competing, judging and teaching workshops at this f…
Are You Doing It Backwards?
Our granddaughter sent us this photo of our first great grandbaby. Isn’t he a cutie? BUT, he’s holding his popsicle upside-down. Backwards. What’s up with that? I guess he’s still got a few things to learn. But so do we!
Have you ever felt like you are doing it all backwards? For example, have you ever done your dusting AFTER you vacuumed? What about folks who attempt the more difficult ski slopes before they’ve learned to stay upright on the beginner slopes? They’re getting a bit ahead of t…
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