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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…
Sandouri (Greek Hammered Dulcimer)
Thanks to Jim Frye for finding this rare treasure!
Panayiotis Sousamlis (Karkougous) was the Santouri player for the soundtrack of the early 1960s movie Zorba the Greek
Nikos Theodosakis found this video with commentary of him playing.
Santuri from Nikos Theodosakis on Vimeo.
"Found footage of Panayiotis Sousamlis (Karkougous) playing the santuri, that I recorded in 1982 in his shop in the village of Agiasos, Lesbos.
With some thoughts.
It was that scene in the movie Zorba the Greek that…
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…
What Can I Learn from a Concert?
It is an interesting phenomenon.
Public performance is how many of us "discover" dulcimers, or the style of music that catches our fancy. Sometimes this sows the seeds of "I've gotta learn how to do this for myself!" or "I've got to get an instrument" or "I've got to get a teacher" and "I've got to share this music, this instrument, what I've learned, with other people."
Yes I hear this observation from many people who host and organize dulcimer festivals:
"We are so surprised at the number …
Are You Stuck?
If you live in one of the northern states, this time of year getting stuck in the snow is a real concern. If you’re retired, you just stay home when there’s a fresh snowfall that the city hasn’t yet cleared. But if you have a job, you have to get out in it anyway. And sometimes you get stuck.
The same can happen with your music. Let me ask you a few questions.
- Are you satisfied with the pace of your progress?
- Do you have a clear understanding of what you should be practicing next?
- Do you h…
Harder Than You Thought?
Have you ever looked at the tab for a new tune and thought, “Now that doesn’t look so hard.” Then when you started trying to work through the piece, you discovered it was harder than you thought.
Yep, that’s happened to me too. I think I’m quite nimble with my hammers, and they get all tangled up trying to strike the right strings at times when I’m learning a new piece.
Then should I do? Do I just wad up the paper with my tabs or sheet music and throw it in the trash? OR, should I stick with it…
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