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Chromatic Mountain Dulcimer Resources

ChromaticDulcimerDay2024

This is the summer of CHROMATIC DULCIMER RESOURCES!

Erin Mae has pulled together Newly Published resources for learning and playing Chromatic Mountain Dulcimers, together with some that have been available for awhile.

Which ones to you already know about and use?

BOOKS

Method for Chromatic Mountain Dulcimer Book by Bing Futch: https://folkcraft.com/.../bing-futch-method-for-chromatic...

Chromatic Mountain Dulcimer Chord Encyclopedia by Erin Mae Musichttps://www.erinmaemusic.com/store

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It’s Good for the Whole Family

Over Memorial weekend, my husband and I went to a 3-day bluegrass festival at Salmon Lake in Grapeland, TX. What I noticed was that many of the performing groups were all family members. Then we left there to go to Larry Bruce Gardens for a Sunday buffet after church. While everyone was enjoying the delicious meal, there was live music being played for us. And everyone on the stage was a family member.

I was overjoyed to get to see Margaret Wright again, who has been our friend for at least 3…

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You Need a Dulcimer Community

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Many of you (including myself) are shy about sharing your musical progress with others. Often we feel intimidated, believing we are not good enough … yet. And the season of having the confidence to say we ARE good enough to play with others never seems to arrive.

But I believe music is meant to be shared at every stage of your learning process. Following are the top ten advantages of hanging out with other dulcimerists – whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced, seasoned player.

  • Inspi…

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Tag, You're It!

I heard a sermon this morning about the power of encouragement. It was based on the scripture where Jesus gave Simon his new name – Peter (Matthew 16:16-18). Now the name Peter means “rock,” so Jesus basically renamed Peter ... “Rocky.” What an encouraging moment that must have been for Peter. Can you imagine how his chest might have puffed up when the disciples yelled, “Hey, Rocky, can you help me with this?” Or, “Uh, Rocky, I need a word of advice.” I bet, after those affirming words from Je…

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What Do Practicing and Pizza Have in Common?

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You always wondered before, but now you know for sure. I must have lost my mind. Surely there’s no way practicing the dulcimer and pizza have anything in common. BUT, there really is something very important that they both have in common.

LAYERS

My son had a pizza restaurant called Nickel Town Pizza for 15 years, on the same property as our Wooden Nickel Restaurant, so I am quite familiar with the way he built the pizza. First he started with the dough, and that in itself was quite a process.…

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Step By Step

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Back in “the day”, I could run up and down stairs with no problem. I actually took the photo below, before racing up those stairs as fast as I could – excited to see the view from the top. But today, climbing stairs is more challenging for me. I use the excuse of my age (I’m closing in on 79), but that’s just an excuse really. If I worked harder at keeping myself physically fit, I could do it easily as I have no real physical limitations or mobility issues.

stairs

I wonder if I do the same with my…

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Are You Wearing the Right Shoes?

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Mike and I are campers. We lived full-time in an RV for almost 10 years, and today we still go camping for 4-6 weeks at a time. Each time we set up at a new campground, our dog wants to go for a walk to explore. (We like to say she wants to read the newspaper and get the scoop on all the other campers’ dogs.) I always want to go along on the exploration tour, but in hot weather, I’m often wearing sandals or flip flops.

Sometimes I get in a hurry because I’m afraid Mike and Peachie will leave w…

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You Need to Have an Itinerary

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Mike and I spent 6 months on the road with our little travel trailer in 2009. We had no particular destination in mind … we just went wherever the wind took us. We liked to tell people that our itinerary was to have NO itinerary. The main thing we did was travel to follow bluegrass festivals, and we toggled between Tennessee and Kentucky for at least 3 months.

Now that philosophy was fine for a “time out” from our real life. (We were between jobs as opening managers for newly constructed self-…

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Don't Ride the Brakes

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Have you ever been in the car with someone who constantly rides the brakes? The vehicle jerks forward and then abruptly slows down over and over, creating a bumpy ride. Instead of driving at a steady speed that would result in a smoother journey, the driver continues to speed up then tap on the brakes compulsively. Before you know it, your stomach begins to churn along with the lurching, prompting you to casually open a window for some fresh air to prevent any unwanted consequences.

What the …

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Mind Mapping

RodinThinker

There’s a new (to me) buzzword … mind map. A musical mind map is a diagram that represents the aspects of a tune you are learning. It can include the structure (Parts A & B), chords, melody line, lyrics, history of the tune, and the composer by using colors, symbols, pictures and words.

Simply put, a mind map is a flow chart that can help you learn a tune. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been finding it more difficult to see my music … neither my reading glasses nor my driving glasses help. Rather t…

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