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What is Drone Style?

by Steve Eulberg

Once we have learned the melody of a tune we can begin adding notes in order "fill out" the sound of the tune.  The easiest way to do this is to play "drone style".  This is actually the traditional way to play the old mountain dulcimers which did not have frets that extended all the way across the fretboard, but only were present under the melody strings.

Md DrawingAngle

On the mountain dulcimer, the player plays the melody on the string(s) which are required for the melody and simply strums all…

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What is Melody-Only Style?

by Steve Eulberg

When we are playing the melody of a tune, without adding any chords, bass notes, harmony notes or drones, this is playing our dulcimers like they are melody-only instruments like flutes, trumpets, clarinets or trombones.  This way of playing focuses on the melody and doesn't have the distraction of other notes.

HD Drawing

 

On the hammered dulcimer, the player is playing only the melody of the tune.

 

Md DrawingAngle

On the mountain dulcimer, the player is playing on the string(s) which are required for the me…

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Teaching the Old-Time Tunes...for fiddle!

Part 2 of the Update OSOTFWcoverCDbabyNow you already KNOW that DulcimerCrossing teaches lessons for both kinds of dulcimer, but did you know that the tunes on the Old School Old-Time FiddleWhamdiddle CD are being taught for fiddle players on Vi Wickman and Matthew Hartz's MyTalentForge.com? If you don't play fiddle, please pass this on to your friends who do!

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Fiddle Whamdiddle CD Old School Old-Time

OSOTFWcoverCDbaby

Psst...Here is part 1 of the update I promised you.

Vi and I recorded and released a recording of some of our favorite Old-Time tunes in December. Old School Old-Time is what we call it...and we even got to do our photo shoot in the oldest one-room schoolhouse in Larimer County, Colorado--the Upper Box Elder School!

We had a foot-stomping, hootin and hollerin' good time at Avogadro's Number in Fort Collins as a CD Release party, and now we're getting the word out about the CD.

Some people like it b…

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Fiddle-Tune-A-Day

IMG_5561Late in 2011, my fiddling pardner, Vi Wickam, committed to filming a Fiddle-Tune-A-Day throughout the year of 2012.  366 days...(it was a leap year!).  That's a lot of fiddle tunes!  You can see the entire collection on his Youtube Channel (which can be overwhelming)--OR, you can sign up on his email list to get one emailed to you once a day--for a whole year!

He played some old chestnuts, he solicited suggestions from people, he paged through Coleman's, he chose some he'd written, he found new e…

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Introduction to New Fingerstyle Lessons

Nina Zanetti, the 2008 National Dulcimer Champion, has provided us with a very clear and inspiring lessons on how to get started playing Fingerstyle Mountain Dulcimer.

Here is the Introduction to her Lesson Series on DulcimerCrossing.com:

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Don't Miss the Bus! Back to School Special

SAVE! You don't need new school clothes if you are choosing our homeschool method of dulcimer learning at www.dulcimercrossing.com! And with our Back to School Special (Aug 24-Sept 2), you can save even more AND build your dulcimer skills! 

Bridging the Gap between

what you know

and where you want

Your Music to go!

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Give the Gift of Dulcimer Lessons!

by Steve Eulberg

Finding just the right gift for someone who plays dulcimers can be difficult because the preferred instruments and accessories are so personal.  My father-in-law once said that about camera lenses when I asked to have one as a gift; and he was right!  They can't be picked off of the rack—they have to be tailored to each individual.

So here is the perfect gift: support and challenge that nurtures each individual's growing skill-set and helps them play the music they want to play, i…

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String-Side Up/Absolute Beginner Lesson Series

by Steve Eulberg Congratulations!  You've got a dulcimer and now you're ready to play it.  And we've got a brand-new series of lessons to help you successfully meet that goal.  

This String-Side Up/Absolute Beginner Hammered Dulcimer and String-Side Up/Absolute Beginner Mountain Dulcimer lessons on www.dulcimercrossing.com is designed to take you from square one in a step-by-step fashion, through sequential lessons designed to answer your questions, demonstrate and encourage best practices and …

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