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mountain dulcimer
How to Fix It
I want to encourage you to learn a new tune regularly – at least once a month. But if you’re at home, practicing on your own, how do you know if you got it right, and how do you correct errors?
Most of you will be able hear when something doesn’t sound right in your music. Personally, I find a recording of the new tune I am learning (usually on YouTube) and listen to it several times before beginning to learn just the melody. But if I’m not sure that I nailed it, I record myself and listen back…
DulcimerCrossing as a Way to Invest in Yourself
by Steve Eulberg
Investing in your own musical growth and development only takes your decisions:
1. To try it
2. To try it again
3. To learn how to remember what you've tried
4. To discover what you DON'T get or don't (yet) understand
5. To search for the answers to decision #4.
6. To connect with others who may be a step ahead of you on the path
7. To connect with others who are well-traveled guides on this path.
ALL of us who teach at DulcimerCrossing have faced and made these…
Can You Make Progress Without Playing?
All too often, our busy lives prevent us from picking up our dulcimer or our hammers, and spending time in practice. I look on practice time as a gift to myself, a reward for being a good girl and getting everything done that needs to be done. But sometimes I get so busy doing the things I ought to do, time runs out before I even get close to playing my instruments.
First of all, if we were face-to-face, you’d probably tell me I need to re-order my priorities. And I know you’d be right. But e…
The Domino Effect
The domino effect occurs when you make a change to one behavior that activates a chain reaction and cause a shift in related behaviors as well. For example, I bet your momma told you that if you made your bed in the morning, the rest of your day would go well. And it did, didn't it?
A good example of the domino effect can be seen in the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak of the virus in China and the resulting rapid global spread of the disease led to widespread panic and a decrease in global tr…
What to Do When You Want to Give Up
Remember learning to ride a bike? How many times did you fall off before you got the hang of it? And even after you learned, there were probably occasional mishaps – but I bet you got back on and tried again.
Pursuing diet and fitness goals is a lot like that. From time to time you'll fail. I have. Many times. It takes time to shop for the right food and then cook it, and more time to exercise, and often I can’t (won’t?) make the time. I have a sugar addiction, so I crave sweets all the time. M…
Get a Handle on It!
Are there still some licks and tricks you still can’t play on your dulcimer? You feel like you just can’t get a handle on them? Yet? Well, I have found that, if you want to get a handle on a new technique, you have to handle the dulcimer and (oh yes, I’m going to say it) practice.
- Get a handle on … the basic chords. We play most music in the Key of D, so you need to know the D chord, the G chord, and the A or A7 chord. If we’re playing in G, you need to know the G chord, the C chord, and …
Live Events at DulcimerCrossing
Live Events at DulcimerCrossing
by Steve Eulberg
Live Events Schedule
While the main focus of DulcimerCrossing has been to provide filmed video lessons that are accessible according to YOUR schedule, we also recognize the limitation of learning when we aren't able to ask questions of the instructor. To address this, we have created and curate several regular Live Events at DulcimerCrossing.
Wednesday LiveStream
Each Wednesday at 9 am MDT we host a 30 minute Livestream on our Facebook P…
Are You Doing It Backwards?
Our granddaughter sent us this photo of our first great grandbaby. Isn’t he a cutie? BUT, he’s holding his popsicle upside-down. Backwards. What’s up with that? I guess he’s still got a few things to learn. But so do we!
Have you ever felt like you are doing it all backwards? For example, have you ever done your dusting AFTER you vacuumed? What about folks who attempt the more difficult ski slopes before they’ve learned to stay upright on the beginner slopes? They’re getting a bit ahead of t…
Never Give Up
When we lived in Branson, MO, my husband and I went to see Mickey Gilley’s show several times at the Mickey Gilley Theatre, and we also saw him share his music in informal settings. We met Mickey personally and had a great admiration for him because we loved his songs. But we held him in high esteem even more because he had a “never give up” attitude. He loved to tell the story of how it took him 17 years to have a No. 1 hit. He learned to play that Louisiana rhythm and blues style on the pian…
New Feature: Sample Lessons
NEW FEATURE: Sample Lessons
We've added a new feature on our DulcimerCrossing.com website: Sample Lessons by several of our instructors for each of the instruments for which we teach Courses.
Mountain Dulcimer:
These are sample mountain dulcimer lessons from DulcimerCrossing's curriculum, one from each level we teach:
Absolute Beginning-Level 1-Steve Eulberg
Beyond Beginning-Level 2-Butch Ross
Intermediate-Level 3-Neal Hellman
Advanced-Level 4-Nina Zanetti
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