Blog
The Value of Journaling
Throughout high school and college, I filled scrapbooks with souvenirs from the fun times I had. It held pictures, tickets, programs, and mementoes from my adventures. It was a treasure trove showing not only my exploits, but also the milestones in my life as I grew into adulthood. My scrapbooks served as tangible reminders of my favorite experiences and the joy I derived from them.
I don’t do scrapbooks any more. But I believe in journaling. It’s a fantastic way of documenting progress and r…
Why Don't I Practice More???
Weren't you totally excited the day you brought home your first dulcimer? I imagine you practiced 'til your fingertips were sore, or your arms felt like they were falling off from wielding those two hammers. But then, as days or weeks went by, the time you invested in practicing decreased ... maybe even stopped altogether. You found excuses to push practice time to the back burner. I wonder why this has happened to so many of us.
Well, I have some thoughts about this (of course). Let's …
How to Memorize
As I’ve gotten older, I’m finding it more difficult to memorize music. And I need to memorize the music, because my eyes don’t work like they used to … and it slows me down when I'm trying to read the music. So I began to search online for techniques that would help me memorize music more quickly and easily. Here are some suggestions I found.
- Stop telling yourself you can’t memorize music. Our brains are an incredible machine that have the equivalent of 2.5 million gigabytes of digital me…
WHY Are We Doing This?
I have spent all of my entire life encouraging people to take up learning an instrument. When I was an elementary teacher, I also had several piano students that I taught in my garage after school. I told parents that learning to play an instrument also helps with memory, cognition, motor skill, and attention span.
When my own children got to junior high and high school, they played in the band. I found high school students in band stayed busy and out of trouble. They understood teamwork, they…
Two New Dulcimer Events Planned for 2024!
Mark Your Calendar for 2 Live Zoom day-long Workshops in early 2024.
by Steve Eulberg
Blues on Mountain Dulcimer, all day, Saturday, January 6, 2024
featuring: Bing Futch, Molly McCormack, Deborah DJ Hamouris, Steve Eulberg and more.
4 Equidistant Dulcimer Day, all day, Saturday, March 2, 2024
featuring: Stephen Seifert, Heidi Muller, Neal Hellman, Hunter Walker and more.
More details to follow.
Starve Your Distractions
by Linda Ratcliff
Why do some people advance quickly in their dulcimer skills, while others just get stuck? The difference may NOT be in the quantity of time that they practice. The difference just might be a deviation from focus and consistency.
For example, I have been retired for 3 weeks now. I had told myself for the last year, as we prepared for the move and this next season of our lives, that when I didn’t have to go to work anymore I was going to practice every single day. Has that ha…
3 Steps to More Fun on Dulcimer
by Steve Eulberg
I remind my students all the time that we don’t WORK music, we PLAY music. So here are 3 Steps to take to have more Fun:
1. Play What You Know
Humans are musical creatures—we are built for this! We are also playful creatures. Therefore, we are full of music which has been the soundtrack of our lives. All of us were born with the possibilities to use all the tools around us, and all of use learned everything we learned, at least for the first 5 years or so — by EAR and by PLAY…
It's Not WHAT You Practice!
It's not WHAT you practice that makes you better ... it's HOW you practice! This statement holds a profound truth when it comes to learning to play your dulcimer. Simply going through the motions of practice without a deliberate and thoughtful approach will yield limited progress.
Practicing with intention and focus is what sets apart exceptional musicians from the rest. It's not enough to mindlessly repeat scales, chords, or tunes without a clear purpose. Instead, effective practice involves…
I Told You So!
I've been playing with a new-to-me app called ChatGPT. Just for fun, I asked the app for advice on learning to play a new instrument. Within 10 seconds, the app typed everything I've already been telling you. Week after week after week. Here's the advice ... verbatim.
QUOTE from Chat GPT::
Learning a new instrument can be an exciting and rewarding journey. Here are some practice tips to help you make progress and enjoy the learning process:
- Set specific goals: Clearly define what yo…
Connect to Get Motivated
Do you know what is the most common excuse people give for not following their dreams, for not reaching their goals. You may have already guessed it. They say, “I’m too busy,” followed by, “I just don’t have enough time.” Sounds familiar, right? If you’re like me, you’re a list-maker. But I don’t usually write “practice dulcimer” on my to-do list. It’s more like an after-thought. Mentally I’m saying something like, “If I have time after I finish this list, I’ll pick up my hammers and practice t…
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