What Do Practicing and Pizza Have in Common?

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. The next layer was the pizza sauce that he made from scratch. Then he started adding the toppings, one by one. Finally he topped all that with plenty of shredded cheese and slid it into the oven. Mmmmm – it was SO good.

Likewise, when you are practicing, there are plenty of elements that you need to layer up … elements such as:

• Melody Line
• Rhythm
• Fingering
• Articulation
• Chords
• Dynamics
• Expression/Character

Each layer adds depth, richness, and nuance to your music, like the layers of a pizza. And when you layer all these layers up the right way, you’ll find that you can learn to play a tune not only accurately but also in a way that connects with your audience..

So, when you are practicing, be sure to pay attention to each layer. They are ALL important!

Happy dulcimering,
Linda