CTO ... my go-to video when the string pops ... Thanks, Dan Landrum!

It's Murphy's Law* in action. And it happened to me this week.

Check This Out ... I'm getting ready to play a gig. Moving along, right on schedule. Plenty of time to tune. POW! A string breaks. What to do??

• Check your instrument's tuning / string size chart (you have that in a handy place, right?)
• Dig through the musical accessories drawer, hoping you have the correct size string on hand (make note to self to replenish the supply)
• Pull up Dan Landrum's youtube video demonstration on replacing a hammered dulcimer string
• Replace the string with confidence
• Be thankful it happened while at home, not in the middle of performance :-)

Dan's video is my go-to instructional resource whenever a string must be changed / replaced. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I broke a string, but when I had a full teaching schedule, I was frequently called upon to assist students replace their broken / missing strings. It can be an intimidating task, but actually, not that difficult.

The first thing I always do is refresh my string-changing memories by watching Dan's video. In it, he offers detailed instruction to give you confidence to do exactly the right thing AND he offers emotional support / encouragement to give you the courage to do it!

Check it out! Truly, there's never a good time for a string to break, but we can prepare ourselves for the moment when Murphy's Law strikes again!

* Murphy's Law - an adage that refers to the general truth that "anything that can go wrong will go wrong".