Dulcimer Project: week 6

I have been staying pretty diligent in my playing. However, my ability has seemed to have plateaued.  Of course one of the issues with learning anything is the progression. I am reading Sudo’s “Zen Guitar” and he mentions this. According to Sudo we tend to forecast or anticipate the end goal when we should be focusing on the moment. The holistic and organic nature of creation should be the goal for the moment, as in finding one’s own sound.

What I about to describe is somewhat difficult to anyone that may not play a string instrument or have attempted to learn. However, I will do my best to translate.

When I first started playing the notes on the page, each note represented a finger movement. That is to say, when I saw a note I cognitively transmitted this information to my finger and my finger pressed down on that note: fantastic right? Check that one off the list. However, it further attempts to play in an advanced fashion has proven to be difficult. Why? Because you can have three or four fingers resting on the same string as long as it fits within the framework of the sequence of notes.

That is to say, if I am playing a 24232 sequence, my finger never has to leave the second fret, I can then manipulate the remaining chords without taking my finger off the fret itself. This may seem logical and simple for most persons. However, I thought it was a significant breakthrough. You see, as before, I would tend to shuffle and lift my finger off the chord EVERY time I saw a chord. This made it very difficult to maneuver from one chord to the next.

So I told a friend who plays guitar that I was working on this project and starting laughing and said that I will have many more breakthroughs like this in the forthcoming months. This is exciting news. He said that it was part of the natural process and that I should just enjoy what I am doing, solidified both Sudo and my current mental state.

Some people may ask me why I hadn’t told him before. The answer would be “criticism” or the fear that someone may criticize the work that I am doing. It is the internal voice, that cruel bastard that tells you that it is not good enough, fast enough, or even that it may be impossible. This fear of being judged is a tremendous hurdle when it comes to the journey of creativity. In addition, it is the perfectionist in me that tells me I shouldn’t let anyone know until I have made significant strides in mastering the dulcimer.

This practice has been a crutch for most of my adult life. Indeed, this habit was started when I began to draw and paint. You see, creating this world where I was in complete control gave me the ability of empowerment when I didn’t have any. It allowed me to see the world and its possibilities without the external judgment. The judgment itself was one that I was trying to escape. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that I would be guarded and unable to relinquish my work or even discuss it prior to its completion.

This is something that I am working on, but seems almost impossible to accomplish. See , even here I am using defeatist language in support of not achieving my goal . I could certainly take this internal thought out of the context of the blog. However, I think it is necessary to keep it more of a free flow and not rely on self-editing to conflict with the process itself.

This is it for now. I am moving forward and will catch up with all of you later. Thank you for your time and have a wonderful and productive-or not productive day.

 

Video 1:  http://youtu.be/fCPxj5XQeNg

Video 2: 100% http://youtu.be/CnHQLehyHLs

100%

I have yet to find an alternative to uploading the video. However, I have now enlisted the library in supplying me with a camera that I am hoping will be sufficient.

I have been absent and have missed three days of practice due to a family member passing and have just recently picked it back up. I have some good news and that is that I have progressed to several different songs.

ò          The songs located below involve melody, plucking and strumming.

ò          Simple Gifts (Shaker tune)

ò          This Old Man

ò          Michael Row your Boat Ashore

ò          OH, Susana

ò          When the saints go marching in (one of my favorites)

ò          Little Liza Jane ( Extremely difficult)

I have reached goal five of my First lessons book by Joyce Och’s called “First Lessons in Dulcimer”. That stated, there are only five lessons, and I still have several songs to go. This is not to assumed that I can play them by memory or that I play all of them well. There are some very tricky finger movements.

I am still not adept at reading music in a way that allows me to translate the sheet music for the dulcimer itself. I have been reading the book by Chet Hines called, “how to make and play the dulcimer”. However, his translation only gives me numbers which I assume are suggesting frets.

My worry is that the “learning to play” may have made it to simple and therefore has made me complacent on the remainder of the process. I have noted that in my progression earlier.

However, before we get back into the learned part of the blournal. I wanted to reflect on some observations that I have noticed since playing an instrument. As I had mentioned earlier, there was a passing of a family member, and as I was writing this, it became apparent just how influential music is both implicitly and explicitly.

There are not many times during the day where I do not hear sound. So I began to think, what is music? According to the Webster’s online dictionary, Music is a recognized, “vocal or instrumental sound” which combined in such a way as to produce harmony and to evoke an emotion or expression. Whereby, anything can be a sound. An unsound (silence) can be music. This flings the door wide open to the interpretation to the world in which I live.

 It, music that is, can no longer obtain a space within my social cognition that remains in the background. In addition, as I have been reading the historical context of the Dulcimer, as best it can be delivered with accuracy; it is also dialectical in its very nature. It is as if it is a living and breathing thing that changes through necessity of the evolutionary process. It just so happens that it is largely dependent on our adaptation of creativity and the means in which to manipulate the object. 

This may seem obvious to most, yet is completely new to my most complete knowledge. One might compare it to a simple phrase such as,” grass is green” and this may suffice. Yet, it is not green through its entire living process and undergoes an infinite amount of change right before our very eyes, and yet if we are not particularity cognoscente of this fact, it remains unnoticed.

It’s a HUMPH, moment or a Well -SHIT, I never thought of it that way.

Enough of that, I can tell you that my favorite song to play as of now is “down in the valley”, in specific when I make a transition in chords that feels fluid and crisp. I do not know how to describe it. It registers within my auditory and cognitive perception as of being played correctly. This reinforces me to play it more often and with confirmed announced strumming. Making me self-assured that this is the area I have accomplished.

It is funny and also mentioned in the book, Zen Guitar” by Sudo, where he discusses the players ability to play with enthusiasm; like you mean it. I do notice that I do not strum in an aggressive manner and I do not know if this is because I live in an apartment and do not want to be to loud or is it self-esteem in my playing of the instrument itself? Furthermore, it may also be the type or style of music I like to listen to.

 I tend to migrate to the singer song writer for their honesty and moody melody. But it is also the texture of the sound itself. It is soft but course, muted but loud, it is a contradiction of what I generally think of as right; yet is so. This sound is similar to that one chord that if played right, brings us to an emotional threshold. You know the one that note in a song, its pitch and tone that touches something inside you. For me it can only be achieved through the cello. A more apt description may be the saying that goes something like this.

Music achieves what the human language cannot; it transcends our human experience into something that is metaphysical or ethereal. For a moment it allows us to escape from where we are to where we would like to be, and then it is gone. We both love it and hate it for what it is capable of. That is its capacity to be what and who it wants to be at any time, reaching beyond external control into a thing, purpose, and being that it is truly meant to be.

 

Jouranl two - I have reached lesson three

February 8^th -9^th, 2014

Dulcimer Journal entry 2

Hello everyone, I have not posted every day, but I do keep a written journal of my activities. As most of you may know, my handwriting is to be desired and one may need a specialist to decrypt most of what I am trying to convey. Therefore, I will translate everything into this journey.

I have been practicing about an hour or more per-day. I tend to stay away from the CD that accompanied the lesson plan until I think I may have the sound of the song completely wrong. However, thus far I have learned to discipline myself to in completing lesson plans one, two, and three each day. I figure that if I start with the basic it will act as a good warm up and muscle memory.

The songs that I have typically played are:

Melody only:

1. Boil them cabbage
2. Hot Cross Buns
3. Go Tell Aunt Rhody

Strumming and using multiple chords:

1. Boil Them Cabbage
2. Hot Cross Buns
3. Go Tell Aunt Rhody
4. Merrily We Roll Along
5. London Bridge

Strumming and plucking:

1. Frere Jacque
2. Skip to My Lou
3. Down in the Valley
4. Three Jolly Fisherman

 

 I am currently stuck on “Polly Wolly Doodle” and “Simple Gifts” They are progressively fun to play, but there are a lot of missteps.   In addition, I have attempted to play “Kum Ba Ya” which is surprisingly simple and difficult. It calls for G and F chords that make you use two fingers and stretch the forefinger. Now given the limited space and my Vienna sausage fingers has proven to be an ever increasing challenge.

One may have noticed that most of the songs are children’s songs. However, It allows me to see a gradual progression and they are familiar enough to be fun when you hit the right note.  It is even better when you think you have actually played it correctly. There is a complex chord change (for me) in “Down In the Valley” where you pluck and maneuver down the scale and then have to stretch your fingers from the D to the an A . I can remember when I though I nailed it. How exciting.

I will stay the course. It is interesting that since I have been playing, even for such a short time, that I hear music differently. I can sometimes visualize myself playing the same chords. My only concern now is , am I developing bad habits in the location of my fingers and the technique. I know that it varies from person to person. However, it is still of a concern.

I do plan to update the page as frequent as I can and I will also be including an historical narrative concerning the Dulcimer. It is a fascinating instrument with a very long history dating back to biblical times. This is not to be confused with the Appalachian dulcimer.

The dulcimer I am currently playing is an Appalachian style dulcimer that was made in Romania. At this point I can also address the one concern I had when I first picked up the instrument: it no longer sounds like a ukulele.

That is it for now. Have a wonderful day and stay tuned.

P.S. I am working with the tech department to see alternatives to uploading video. As of now my phone, camera, and video camera record in a format that consumes an abundance of memory that is disrupting my uploads:  Wish me luck.  Anyone with advice on this matter please do not hesitate to let me know.

Personal Journal

The Dulcimer Project

January 27^th, 2014

I had received my dulcimer on this day and immediately opened the new instrument. My initial reaction was one of mystification. What a simplistically extravagant instrument, the lines are something to appreciate. It is odd that this instrument is somehow labeled as a “common people’s “instrument, because of its elegant stature. However, this was one of the reasons I felt a pulling attraction.

This and the fact that I predominately listen to blues, folk, Cajun, and old R&B. which has no relation to what they consider music these days.  I am speaking of old Motown.

I must have spent a good hour just holding the instrument and studying its design and weight. Unfortunately, the night was getting late and it was time to place her away (Name still unknown).

January 29^th, 2014

It has been two days since I had first received the dulcimer. I have stared at it for some time and have even strummed my first note. I have to say, my initial reaction to the sound reminded me of a ukulele. This was not what I had expected, and was a little freaked out. However, after researching and learning how to hold the instrument correctly; this concern was soon lost.

I have found out that I may need a noter. Which is a tool used to slide up or down the neck of the dulcimer to create a certain sound. Therefore, I have placed and order. Along with this purchase I have decided to buy a bag (case) for the instrument as well. It has been advised by my teacher to keep it confined as to the dry climate in the apartment.

January 30^th, 2014.

I have taken my first lesson in the dulcimer, learning to tune my instrument. This was not as difficult as I had, had a tuner already; which came with a guitar I had taken in trade for some work I had done. The back story for that can happen later.

In addition, I have attempted to learn my first scale.  As seen here by the imprints. Generally they are a hint of black.

From February 1-6^th, 2014.

 I have gone through steps 1 & 2 of the “First lessons in Dulcimer” by: Joyce Ochs.

Working my way through the melody and scales, I have progressed into using two and three fingers. In addition, I have moved from strumming to plucking.  I have tried numerous times to upload 3 videos from my phone. However, it has not worked out so well. I have then migrated to a portable video camera called a flip, and that too is an issue. I will continue to seek alternate avenues concerning technology. It would help if I owned a computer.

I can say this. Thus far I have noticed that after playing, my attention to music has increased and my appreciation for chord structures is abounding. As I am listening, I find myself visualizing the chords that they are playing. I am more interested in the slide piece, which fascinates me to no end.

In addition, I have picked up several books from the library, e.g., “New Dimensions in Music, Looking at Music” a teacher’s guide, which is assisting me in reading music from a fundamental basis. Furthermore, I have found a book on how to play and make a dulcimer, which should be fascinating.

Welcome everyone to my dulcimer blog

 

The intended purpose of this blog is to share in my journey of discovery, with regards to learning to play the dulcimer. Along the way I will be discussing my journey as well as sharing in my successes and failures of this creative process and will invite any constructive criticism.