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Learn More from Mistakes
by Linda Ratcliff
I Learn More from My Mistakes Than Successes. Do You?
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. - John Powell
I Learn More from My Mistakes Than Successes. Do You?
I love to play through a tune perfectly, time after time, but lets get real - in my world, that simply doesn't happen. I fail to play a tune perfectly more often than I succeed. But mistakes can be good. In every mistake, there is the potential for growth. They can help me, if I will just take time to do the work. For example ...
Mistakes help me…
Mistakes help me…
Learn Something New
by Linda Ratcliff
You will learn something new everyday if you pay attention. - Ray LeBlond
Learn Something New
Sometimes the process of learning a new tune is sabotaged before you even begin. You allow a spirit of doom to hang over your head, because you think the piece is too difficult. You might say ...
- Part B seems complicated, and I'm looking for something easier to learn.
- This piece is in an odd tuning (like D-G-d), and it's a nightmare to retune.
- This tune has hammer-ons and hammer…
Training Your Auto-Pilot
by Linda Ratcliff
Don't practice until you get it right! Practice until your auto-pilot takes over and you can't get it wrong. - Linda Ratcliff
Training Your Auto-Pilot
There is something we all have in common.
Once we were ALL beginners. And do you remember when you went to a jam session for the very first time? You might have purchased a brand new dulcimer, or maybe you were given a hand-me-down that you cleaned up and polished. Maybe you had a teacher that guided you through some basics and…
Once we were ALL beginners. And do you remember when you went to a jam session for the very first time? You might have purchased a brand new dulcimer, or maybe you were given a hand-me-down that you cleaned up and polished. Maybe you had a teacher that guided you through some basics and…
Are You Listening?
by Linda Ratcliff
Listening = Learning.
Are You Listening?
Listening to music is one of the most important parts of being a musician.
Listening to dulcimer music can keep us motivated day to day - between jam sessions, festival, or lessons. Without that boost, practicing can become a chore - easily left for another day, and then another, and then another ... until we begin to completely lose interest.
Now you don't have to set aside a special time of day to listen to your dulcimer music, the w…
Listening to dulcimer music can keep us motivated day to day - between jam sessions, festival, or lessons. Without that boost, practicing can become a chore - easily left for another day, and then another, and then another ... until we begin to completely lose interest.
Now you don't have to set aside a special time of day to listen to your dulcimer music, the w…
DulcimerCrossing at Summer Festivals
by Steve Eulberg
You can find DulcimerCrossing Faculty teaching at several Dulcimer Festivals this summer!
Erin Mae Lewis (Mountain) will be teaching at Kentucky Music Week (June 24-29) in Bardstown, Kentucky and at Camp Kiya (July 22-26) in Tehachapi, California.
Don Pedi & Steve Eulberg (Mountain) will be teaching at Dulcimer U (July 22-27) at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
Don Pedi (Mountain) will be teaching at the Swannanoa Old-Time Week (July 15-21) Swannanoa, North …
You can find DulcimerCrossing Faculty teaching at several Dulcimer Festivals this summer!
Erin Mae Lewis (Mountain) will be teaching at Kentucky Music Week (June 24-29) in Bardstown, Kentucky and at Camp Kiya (July 22-26) in Tehachapi, California.
Don Pedi & Steve Eulberg (Mountain) will be teaching at Dulcimer U (July 22-27) at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
Don Pedi (Mountain) will be teaching at the Swannanoa Old-Time Week (July 15-21) Swannanoa, North …
New Mountain Dulcimer Instructor
by Steve Eulberg We are pleased to welcome Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering Director and Freight and Salvage Dulcimer Teacher, Deborah (DJ) Hamouris, to our roster of instructors at DulcimerCrossing. Deborah introduces herself here:
Deborah joins our faculty of 15 respected and gifted instructors of mountain and hammered dulcimer and fiddle. We are filming and editing his lessons and they will be available for all subscribers on dulcimercrossing.com. Subscribe and you'll have unlimited acces…
New Hammered Dulcimer Teacher
by Steve Eulberg We are pleased to welcome 2012 National Hammered Dulcimer Champion, Matthew Dickerson, to our roster of instructors at DulcimerCrossing. Matthew introduces himself here:
Matthew joins our faculty of 15 respected and gifted instructors of mountain and hammered dulcimer and fiddle. We are filming and editing his lessons and they will be available for all subscribers on dulcimercrossing.com. Subscribe and you'll have unlimited access to all of his lessons, and those of all…
Make a Goal
by Linda Ratcliff
Make a Goal List in Your Journal ... Every Week
Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines. - Unknown
Make a Goal List in Your Journal ... Every Week
My husband and I recently moved in with my daughter and her family about 4 weeks ago (there are now 7 of us at the dinner table), and she donated her formal dining room for me to set up as my music room. I LOVE it. I have all my instruments set up within easy reach. And as soon as everyone is out of the house, I usually pick up my hammers and practice for a while.
But I…
New Lessons for MD & HD Players
by Linda Ratcliff
I am still learning. - Michelangelo at age 87
New Lessons for MD & HD Players
We have two new lessons at Dulcimer Crossing to offer our hammered dulcimer and mountain dulcimer players.
Peek-A-Boo Waltz for HD, taught by Steve Eulberg
The Peek-A-Boo Waltz is a tune that traveled with the pioneers taking the westward trails going through Kansas City toward the new world. In this video, Steve demonstrates the embellished version of the melody.
Asika Thali for MD, taught by Neal …
How Long Does it Take?
by Linda Ratcliff
How Long Does It Take?
Playing your dulcimer with confidence is evidence of time well spent.
- Linda Ratcliff
How Long Does It Take?
How long does it take to learn to play the dulcimer if you have no musical experience? Well, I'd like to give you a definite answer like ... "By three months, you should be able to jam with the best." And that is true for many people.
But there are others who still aren't able to play "Boil Dem Cabbage" without their tabs after six months. It's totally an individu…
But there are others who still aren't able to play "Boil Dem Cabbage" without their tabs after six months. It's totally an individu…
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