Check This Out ... At American University's Kogod School of Business, students develop their public speaking skills in front of nonjudgmental "audience dogs." Hey! This would work for practicing musical performance skills, too!
Watch the video.
Read the article.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Monday, September 12, 2016
Monday's Muse
[A good teacher is] someone who not only has more knowledge but who also shows concern for the student's entire development. ~ Dalai Lama
Friday, September 9, 2016
CTO ... Black Mountain Music Festival
Did you know? There's a week-long dulcimer event happening in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina this fall, featuring workshops and jamming for hammer and mountain dulcimers.
Check This Out ... The Black Mountain Music Festival will be held at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC October 23 - 28. Lots of great instructors! Beautiful setting. Make plans now!
Check This Out ... The Black Mountain Music Festival will be held at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC October 23 - 28. Lots of great instructors! Beautiful setting. Make plans now!
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Just like Simone Biles ...
I was really quite thankful for the summer Olympic Games this year. It provided welcome respite from the political circus otherwise known as Election 2016.
Wow. Impressive performances from such a wide variety of athletes. We could learn something from these super-humans! Right now I'm thinking about Simone Biles, remembering her strength, grace, coordination, confidence, determination, discipline, passion.
And what about that signature move? The Biles. Two laid-out back flips with a half twist before landing. That extra half twist means she can't see the floor until the very last moment. That's called a "blind landing". That's what I'm thinking about at the dulcimer today.
There are times when one must reach way outside the box to grab a note ... or play a 2-note chord in a stretched-out vertical position that causes one of your own body parts to get in the way of the visual path ... or play some other awkward combination of notes that requires a "blind landing". Sometimes it happens in the midst of a bunch of other tricky notes or a challenging rhythm. Human eyeballs are simply not made to look in two different directions at the same time. What's a person to do?
Sometimes a player can create enough time / space to catch a quick glimpse by dropping a note on either side of the challenging note. Sometimes not ...
The "easy" ones are the notes located at the extreme ends of the bridges, i.e. the very last course of strings at the top or bottom of the instrument. Simply aim high (or low). There's nothing above (or below) to get in the way of your success!
Years ago, I was interested to see Malcolm Dalglish demonstrate his version of a "shank shot." (Unlike shank shots in golf, it can be a GOOD thing at the dulcimer!) This works when striking one of the lowest courses of strings along the very bottom edge of the instrument. Again, just aim low and don't worry about hitting the string solidly with the head of the hammer. Strike with the hammer shank! Try it. What do you think?
Not an option? The weird note well embedded among many other strings? Well, you're going to have to decide where to look. And that note you've decided not to look at? That's where muscle memory comes in real handy! Just play that part a few thousand times ...
Before you know it, you'll be sticking those blind landings, just like Simone Biles!
Wow. Impressive performances from such a wide variety of athletes. We could learn something from these super-humans! Right now I'm thinking about Simone Biles, remembering her strength, grace, coordination, confidence, determination, discipline, passion.
And what about that signature move? The Biles. Two laid-out back flips with a half twist before landing. That extra half twist means she can't see the floor until the very last moment. That's called a "blind landing". That's what I'm thinking about at the dulcimer today.
There are times when one must reach way outside the box to grab a note ... or play a 2-note chord in a stretched-out vertical position that causes one of your own body parts to get in the way of the visual path ... or play some other awkward combination of notes that requires a "blind landing". Sometimes it happens in the midst of a bunch of other tricky notes or a challenging rhythm. Human eyeballs are simply not made to look in two different directions at the same time. What's a person to do?
Sometimes a player can create enough time / space to catch a quick glimpse by dropping a note on either side of the challenging note. Sometimes not ...
The "easy" ones are the notes located at the extreme ends of the bridges, i.e. the very last course of strings at the top or bottom of the instrument. Simply aim high (or low). There's nothing above (or below) to get in the way of your success!
Years ago, I was interested to see Malcolm Dalglish demonstrate his version of a "shank shot." (Unlike shank shots in golf, it can be a GOOD thing at the dulcimer!) This works when striking one of the lowest courses of strings along the very bottom edge of the instrument. Again, just aim low and don't worry about hitting the string solidly with the head of the hammer. Strike with the hammer shank! Try it. What do you think?
Not an option? The weird note well embedded among many other strings? Well, you're going to have to decide where to look. And that note you've decided not to look at? That's where muscle memory comes in real handy! Just play that part a few thousand times ...
Before you know it, you'll be sticking those blind landings, just like Simone Biles!
Monday, September 5, 2016
Monday's Muse
I've never missed a gig yet. Music makes people happy, and that's why I go on doing it -- I like to see everybody smile. ~ Buddy Guy
Friday, September 2, 2016
CTO ... Ted Yoder Takes the Internet by Storm
In case you missed it, Ted Yoder's August 24 "Live from the Orchard" performance of the Tears for Fears song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" went viral last week. I'm talking 60 million views as of today!
CheckThis Out ... The Huffington Post wrote a nice article. The internet is a-buzz over a talented musician and his hammered dulcimer. How cool is that?! Congrats to Ted! and if you did miss it, check it out. Come for the dulcimer. Stay for the raccoon. You'll see what I mean.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
See you in September
Oh, wait. It is September? Already??
It's been a fun-filled summer ... full of travel, family, gardening. Alas, the dulcimer playing has suffered. In fact, my instrument went into its case at the end of May and did not come out for two whole months! I know. Unbelievable.
And yet, I know that I'm not alone in neglecting my practice over the summer. Lessons resume mid-month. As I reconnect with students, many are singing the same old refrain, "Well ... I haven't played much."
Well ... to everything there is a time and a season. I'm glad to report that at my house, it's definitely dulcimer season once again. I've been hitting it pretty hard the last several weeks, working to get my chops and my repertoire back into shape. It helps that the pressure is on. Betsy and I have a gig scheduled next week! Great motivation. I recommend it.
And don't worry. No matter how long it's been since you picked up your hammers, it's never too late to begin again.
It's been a fun-filled summer ... full of travel, family, gardening. Alas, the dulcimer playing has suffered. In fact, my instrument went into its case at the end of May and did not come out for two whole months! I know. Unbelievable.
And yet, I know that I'm not alone in neglecting my practice over the summer. Lessons resume mid-month. As I reconnect with students, many are singing the same old refrain, "Well ... I haven't played much."
Well ... to everything there is a time and a season. I'm glad to report that at my house, it's definitely dulcimer season once again. I've been hitting it pretty hard the last several weeks, working to get my chops and my repertoire back into shape. It helps that the pressure is on. Betsy and I have a gig scheduled next week! Great motivation. I recommend it.
And don't worry. No matter how long it's been since you picked up your hammers, it's never too late to begin again.
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