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hammered dulcimer

Quantity vs. Quality

by Steve Eulberg

Which is more important in art:

Quantity or Quality?

Very often in the artistic world some believe we have settled this classic debate by choosing the benefits of quality over the benefits of quantity.

ok_signWe want to have qualities of timbre and phrasing in music, quality of graceful movement in dance, qualities of taste and smell in cooking, qualities of joy and cleverness in humor, qualities of color, depth and placement in visual art.

So, choosing the end goal of this discussion as…

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Sweet Harmonies

honeyimageby Steve Eulberg We play dulcimers, whose name incorporates the Latin word for "sweet" (dulce).  So when I talk about sweet harmonies, in a broad sense, they are the beautiful tunes that we play on our lovely instruments. However, in a more specific way, there are harmonies that reflect the intervals between notes that, at least to Western ears, trained to expect Western harmonies, that are "sweet." The space between two notes that are played simultaneously, or one after the other, is called an …

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New Log-In Procedure & FAQs

At DulcimerCrossing we are always trying to improve and reduce confusion that is the friction that can slow down the process of learning music. We have a new log-in procedure that will direct subscribers to choose their level of membership: Basic or Premium with a single log-in button for both. \

In addition, this video is the first of several from our brand new FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions Page) to help our subscribers answer their questions faster so they can spend more time playing dulcim…

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What is Your Method of Exercise?

swimmingimageby Steve Eulberg

I remember the question from the cardiologist I visited on my 33rd birthday.

I was there because my heart was skipping beats periodically and heart disease runs in my family.

After the stress test failed to produce any abnormalities they concluded that the source of this anomaly may be just day-to-day stress, rather than being physical activity-induced.

So their strategy was to be certain that I was building a strong physical system that could withstand the mental, social and emotio…

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Don't Marry Your Tablature

by Linda Ratcliff

At jam sessions, I have noticed the tendency for a group to play the same tune through several times, verse after verse after verse.  Now, many of you have set up your music stands with your notebook of tablature right in front of you.  And I’ve seen you reading your tabs for that tune, over and over and over.  Now there’s nothing wrong with that … except … I think it stifles creativity.

My system is to learn the basics of a tune, and then put the sheet music or tablature away.  …

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New Video Explains DulcimerCrossing

We are excited to unveil a new 30 second explanation of what DulcimerCrossing is all about!  Watch below:

Click here to join today! Spread the news!  Like this video using the heart icon. Share this video with your friends using the little paper airplane icon.  

[note: this is an historical video, our website looks differently today.]

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Backing Tracks Library

Here is a view of the new Backing Tracks Library which is a resource at DulcimerCrossing.com for Premium Members. Backing tracks are a way to play along with a "band" while not having to worry about any egos (yours or theirs!) or other people who are going to get knocked off track when you make an error.  (You'll notice I didn't say "if"!) Steve uses these to get comfortable making and recovering from the errors and slips that inevitably come when playing music.  And sometimes, these "happy acci…

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Scenes from the 28th CWA Congress

In many parts of the Europe, the hammered version of the dulcimer is known as a Cimbalom.

The Cimbalom World Association (CWA) held its 28th Congress in the UK, sponsored by the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club.  This gathering brings players of hammered dulcimers, yangqin, cimbalom, hackbrett, salterio and santurs together for what one can imagine is an amazing musical time!

CWA2015ParticPhoto

The 2017 CWA Gathering will be held in the Slovak Republic (formerly Slovakia, part of Czechoslavakia).

Here are concert highlights fro…

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DulcimerCrossing Live Event Concert Window Highlight

We are starting a NEW thing in 2016!  [NOTE:  this is an historical post.  The Live Events are still happening as Live Workshops and are archived on our Live Events page. 4.16.22]

LIVE EVENTS from our Instructors and other Mentors. Last night our co-founder, Steve Eulberg, offered the Inaugural DulcimerCrossing Live Event using the ConcertWindow.com Platform. Below is a Highlight Video from that show. We will be offering these Live Events on a Quarterly Basis for our Basic Membership level.

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Dampers on Hammered Dulcimer

Steve Eulberg introduces the tool of dampers, how they work and how they can be used on the hammered dulcimer in this new lesson set. Changing the timbre of the tone is the thing he likes because it broadens the sonic palette for playing the sweet music!

Subscribe to DulcimerCrossing.com to see the rest of the lesson!    

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