Blog

Larry & Elaine Conger Live

Plan to join Larry and Elaine Conger on Sunday evening, December 17, for a concert of holiday favorites from their home in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This concert will be streamed live on ConcertWindow.com.

Screen Shot 2022-04-16 at 3.26.58 PM

December 17, 2017 7:00 EST | 6:00 CST | 5: 00 MST | 4:00 PST
As always, if you have any questions, always feel free to ask Steve or myself.
Happy dulcimering, Linda
IMG_2986
These photos are from the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering's Faculty Concert, June 2017 where Larry and Elaine were headli…

Read more…

Marie's Story

by Linda Ratcliff

How the musical score of Marie's life was forever changed ...




One of our followers, Marie, shared her personal musical journey with us, and told how playing the dulcimer has impacted her life. I was touched by her story, and got her permission to share it with all of you.  From Marie ... "I just read your story about how you grew up learning music. You are so very fortunate. I always had it in me too, but I was not allowed to play music until I married my sweet husband, Bill. H…

Read more…

Find Somewhere Quiet

by Linda Ratcliff

It is in that quiet place at our center that we hear the whispers of our soul. - Sue Krebs




Find somewhere quiet. This almost seems too obvious to really need to say. But it's important.  Many of you probably have a special room, or your own corner of the living room for practicing your dulcimer. When you have a designated quiet place to practice, you will be less likely to cave in to distractions.

In addition, going to your special practice area helps prepare you mentally for gett…

Read more…

Trust Your Practice

by Steve Eulberg While at Camp Kiya at Tehachapi Mountain Park, Steve records the following tip for Habits for Your Healthy Music Habitat.

This is part of a weekly email video benefit that all of our Premium Members at DulcimerCrossing receive.  Subscribe and you can receive it, too!

Read more…

Advent Musical Devotions

by Steve Eulberg

HarkCoverIn the busyness of the season before Christmas and holiday celebrations, we can get so lost in the preparations that we lose our focus and feel like the joy of the occasion is lost, and we feel like we've been run over by the holiday.

Once again, I am offering Advent Musical Devotions delivered to your email box to help you take a few moments to breathe and recenter.

twasmooncov

A new feature this year is being able to choose whether you'd like

to receive these musical offerings Weekly or Daily…

Read more…

Does My Dog Love My Dulcimer Music?

by Linda Ratcliff

Where there are dogs and music, people have a good time.




I've always wondered if my hammered dulcimer music hurts my dog's ears. When I was in college and practiced piano for hours at a time, my dad would escape to the garage in desperation and hammer nails for a while, and my dog would eventually start to howl.

Today, when I'm practicing on my hammered dulcimer, I play some pretty high tones. But Keyla always sits in the chair right next to me and stays with me the whole time. Do…

Read more…

You Need New Input!

by Linda Ratcliff

You don't have to wait for inspiration to hit.  It's easier to be inspired when you're hanging out with other musicians and playing along with them. - Linda Ratcliff




We go to Nashville a couple of times a year, and one of our favorite things to do in Nashville is to visit the Bluebird Cafe.  We've stood outside under their blue canopy in the rain for as long as two hours, waiting without a reservation, hoping to get inside.
Over 70,000 people visit the Bluebird annually, man…

Read more…

Live Event! Karen Alley

Karen Alley, 2014 National Hammered Dulcimer Champion, has been on the faculty of the Colorado Dulcimer Festival for years and shared one of her Habits for a Healthy Music Habitat with premium subscribers of DulcimerCrossing.com. This Sunday, December 3rd, she will play a live, interactive ConcertWindow Show for DulcimerCrossing Subscribers! [If you are not familiar with ConcertWindow, this is an internet platform that allows performers and watcher/listeners to connect with each other from the c…

Read more…

My Musical Journey

by Linda Ratcliff

You can tell a lot about my moods from my music. So instead of asking how I'm doing, ask what songs I've been practicing lately.




Music has always been an integral part of my life. My grandmother was a concert pianist, and traveled all over Europe giving concerts. She was even invited to play for kings and queens at their castles. And so I was told, from an early age, that music was in my blood, and I was going to be a musician too when I grew up.

Until I was 12 years old, I was …

Read more…

How to Practice Smarter, Not Longer

Seek to accomplish more in less time - and have fun doing it. - Linda Ratcliff




We’ve all heard the saying, “Work smarter, not harder.” Actually, I’ve been trying to do that all my life - succeeding and making good money with some ideas and losing money in others. But I have never given up. I keep on trying to think up new ways to work smarter.
Work smarter, not harder!
Could we apply this mantra to our music. Most of us don’t need to practice harder - we are already practicing hard enough. But are we making any progres…

Read more…

Categories