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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…
Dulcified & Amplified
by Linda Ratcliff
Your success in learning to play the dulcimer is not something new.
It merely amplifies what was already inside you.
- Linda Ratcliff
Dulcified & Amplified
You’ve been playing your dulcimer for a while now, and you’ve learned how to play several tunes. Your friends have told you that you sound pretty good. So you decided to play at the local nursing home. Afterwards, you thought the mini concert went very well until the seniors gathered around. They thanked you for coming, bu…
Top 10 Tips for Jam Sessions
by Linda Ratcliff
Relax and enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll realize they were the big things. - Kurt Vonnegut
Top Ten Tips for Jam Sessions
i.e. Jam Etiquette
Going to jam sessions can be intimidating. And yet, they can also be the most fun and rewarding music experiences of your dulcimer life. So how can you move past your fears and inhibitions, and just have a great time?
- First of all, tell yourself it’s ok to make mistakes. This is not a performance. You’re just there to…
More Backing Tracks for Premium Members!
by Steve Eulberg
We continue to add to the Backing Tracks Library on DulcimerCrossing.com. We now have over 250 special tracks in this collection. 
This library is sortable by all of the categories at the top of the list and all of the blue text are links to support using each track. Not familiar with Backing Tracks and how to use them? Here is an introduction I filmed:
All Premium Members have access to all the Backing Tracks all the time! Sign up today!
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…
Map Out Your Practice like a Workout
by Linda Ratcliff
Map out your practice session out like a workout. When athletes are getting ready to go for a run, they usually warm up first with some stretches to loosen their muscles. Then they walk for 3-5 minutes, gradually working up to a brisk walk, then jogging, and finally breaking out into a full-steam-ahead run. As they end their run and the workout, most athletes cool down by walking briskly at first and then slower, and finally ending with a few more stretches.
For musicians, a pret…
Map out your practice session out like a workout. When athletes are getting ready to go for a run, they usually warm up first with some stretches to loosen their muscles. Then they walk for 3-5 minutes, gradually working up to a brisk walk, then jogging, and finally breaking out into a full-steam-ahead run. As they end their run and the workout, most athletes cool down by walking briskly at first and then slower, and finally ending with a few more stretches.
For musicians, a pret…
Are You a Teacher?
by Linda Ratcliff
A good teacher is like a candle. It consumes itself to light the way for others. - Unknown
Are You a Teacher?
Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up soon on May 8, 2018. If you are a dulcimer student with an awesome teacher, you might want to start thinking of a way you could surprise your teacher on this occasion. Maybe you could learn a new tune - all on your own. Or maybe you could give your teacher a handmade gift certificate for a dinner out with you; the gift of time i…
Free Lesson: Jam Session Strategy
by Steve Eulberg My mother was right. Boredom is a choice. If I am bored in a Jam Session because the other players are playing the tune too fast, or too slow, or too many times (is that even POSSible?) do you know whose job it is to fix that? MINE.
In this free lesson, Steve offers a suggestion about what do to participate, support the other players AND keep yourself awake and interested in a jam session. Try it and let us know how it goes for you!
Hug Someone with your Dulcimer
by Linda Ratcliff
One day, someone is going to hug you so tight that all your broken pieces will stick back together. - Author Unknown Hug Someone with Your Dulcimer
I used to be an awkward hugger. Oh yeah ... it looked like a hug from the outside, but there was nothing real about it. There were just a few forced pats on your back, a bit of nervous smiling, and I might have been rolling my eyes behind your back.
But then I joined a church that was big on hugging, and I got a LOT of practice. …
But then I joined a church that was big on hugging, and I got a LOT of practice. …
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