Blog
Musical Etiquette
Some of us play professionally with others in a band. But most of us only have an opportunity to play along with our friends occasionally … perhaps at a jam session, at the nursing home, or on a friend’s front porch. Whatever the scenario, it is important to follow proper musical etiquette in order to enjoy a satisfying experience with other musicians and your audience. 
Musical etiquette is the practice of following the unwritten ground rules that help musicians get along and work effectively t…
It's Just Practice
Person: How do you perform so well?
Musician: Practice
Person: It must be an innate gift.
Musician: It’s practice.
Person: I can never understand how some people get all the talent. It’s a total mystery.
Musician: It’s just practice.
It doesn’t matter what you want to learn. The difference in performance or results are the direct result of practice. When you were learning to cook, was your first batch of cookies the best you ever made? Did you burn food on the campfire or BBQ pit at the be…
Our Teacher's Introductory Videos
Here are some DulcimerCrossing Updates
1. Our Teachers' Introductory videos have been added to the Our Teachers page!
2. We've also added a link to Our Teachers Page in the Menu of the Members' Page when sorting Courses By Teacher.
We are constantly working to make the site serve you as you continue to grow and develop your musical skills. And your suggestions are both helpful and welcome!
3-Chord Songs
Have you ever gone to a jam session and gotten left behind holding your pick in confusion? If you’re just starting out to learn to play the dulcimer, it can be frustrating when everything that sounds so good seems so complex. You just want to play along with the others, but everyone else is WAY ahead of you. Well, there’s a solution for that. Just play chords until the melodies start to sink in and sound familiar.
You may have noticed that many of the songs we play at jam sessions sound simil…
Play It by Ear
Have you ever gone to a jam session with a new dulcimer club or at a festival, and the tunes they play are different from the ones you play with your group back home? I have, but that didn’t stop me from playing along because I can play by ear. Oh, I don’t play by ear as well as a professional musician does for sure, but well enough to strum along or hammer the chords, and even pick out the melody if they keep on playing enough verses.
Playing by ear is a highly-prized musical skill, and has …
Anchor Like a Pro!
My husband and I lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands for 7 years, and occasionally we were blessed with the opportunity to spend a night or two on a friend’s sailboat. We would sail to the British Virgin Islands, drop anchor near Tortola, and fire up the BBQ grill so we could eat while enjoying the sunset.
Now imagine the captain had forgotten where he was supposed to set the anchor. What if he hung the anchor at the bow? That wouldn’t work; the sailboat would surely float back to the U.S. islan…
How Do You Eat an Elephant?
Eating an elephant can be daunting and overwhelming. So can setting and achieving lifetime goals. How can you accomplish something as big as eating an elephant? By doing it the SMART way, of course … eating it one bite at a time.
Everything in life that seems daunting, overwhelming, and even impossible can be accomplished gradually by taking on just a little at a time. If you can learn how to break down large goals in to smaller more manageable goals, you will be well on your way to reaching yo…
Don't Stress. Distress!
“You know how people pay more money to buy furniture that's been roughed up a little? What do they call it? Things that have been distressed. That's because something that's seen a little wear is just more interesting than something brand-new that hasn't ever had a scuff on it.” (Joe Hill)
I read this quote the other day, and it resonated in my heart because I sell mobile homes as part of my employment, and I have found there are folks who even like their kitchen cabinets to have that distres…
Pushups for a Year
Around New Year’s day, I read an article written by a guy who had done pushups every day for a year. The first week of January, he did only one pushup a day, every day for a week. Then for the 2nd week of January, he did 2 pushups a day. He continued increasing by one pushup every week for a year, and then wrote about his experience and what he had learned.
Of course, my mind went to dulcimer practice. But practicing 1 minute a day for the 1st week, then 2 minutes, then 3 wouldn't work. And …
Categories
- News (10)
- Events (4)
- News (6)
- Events (4)
- subscriber news (236)
- mountain dulcimer (123)
- hammered dulcimer (126)
- 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 (27)
- 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 (7)
- 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 (2)
- accountability (2)
- encouragement (1)
- prodding (1)