The Hunger of Music

Music can be something that gets into your soul and begs for a way of expression. It is a hunger of the soul which exists within the emotional, not the physical. You must accept that music may be a part of who you are and needs to be nurtured and not ignored. If it is ignored, you may find that you are not as happy as you could be.

How Strong Are Your Desires?

Additionally, you have to figure out how intense your musical desires are and how much they need to be fed. If overfed, you may burnout. If underfed, you’ll be unhappy.

As a personal illustration, at this point in my life I do not want to be a full-time musician. I would consider myself to be a part-time musician because there are other areas of my life that need attention. I am employed at a rescue mission, and I need to be responsible to my spiritual needs by working with the homeless. There are also other time consuming activities that I enjoy that would make it impractical for me to be a full-time musician. If I had to rely on music to be my primary source of income, I would view it as an indifferent discipline and not an enjoyable, gratifying venture. I want the creativity to flow when it happens and don’t want to force it for the necessity of my pocketbook.

Learning the Balance

The next step is to learn the balance for how much music is necessary in your life in comparison to other priorities, passions, and interests. This is a difficult question which takes time to figure out. No matter what the circumstances are, there will always be seasons of frustration that you will have to push through, as wells as periods of lack of musical expression that will need endurance. But, the balance is attainable if you’re intentional about your approach. I’m not a big fan of pre-tailored, systematic decision making since every situation is unique. But, I think there are good guidelines to follow.

1. Be A Leader

Don’t be a follower by simply relying on what your family or peers say you should do. While advice and counsel is helpful, this is your decision and you need to be the leader and make it for yourself. You and only you can discover what the truth is.

2. Get Your Feet Wet

You’re simply not going to know what you want until you try it. You’re not going to know if you will enjoy the life of a musician until you “get your feet wet”. Start basic, with things such as performances at retirement communities or teaching lessons to beginners. Progressively work your way up to a more committed schedule and see if you like it.

3. Count the Cost

Don’t pursue being a musician at the sacrifice of other things that are important or should be a top priority in your life( Example: God is #1, and family is #2).  If you have abandoned those desires or priorities, this may result in unconnected frustrations that you can easily mistake for not liking music!

4. You Enjoy Music for a Reason

God made you to enjoy music for a reason. He didn’t give you a gift or an appreciation for music to not benefit you or others in some way. If you don’t want to be a musician, don’t abandoned music completely. You don’t have to be a chef to enjoy cooking or good food! Always enjoy music and know that there are rewards for having it in your life.

5. Play Music for the Joy

If there has been one lesson that I’ve had to learn the hard way, it is that I should play music for the joy. If you’re playing music for any other reason than for the joy it brings into your life, than you’re not going to be happy as a musician. I’m not saying that you won’t be successful, but it will simply be a career choice that puts the groceries in the refrigerator.

Humbly look to see how your music can benefit others. Music is a powerful healing tool and resource which brings endurance, motivation, and encouragement to lives. Using it this ways should be your greatest, joyful satisfaction.

I improvise all the time. I clear my mind and just let the music flow with what feels right at that given time. But, I’m always paying close attention to what I’m communicating, when the song needs “breathing room”, and when change needs to happen.

With this approach, I can discover some passages and different licks that I really like. I then develop and memorize them. Sometimes, I may use just one passage from an improv to enhance an arrangement Or, I may be hopeful of what happened, and try to use it as a main theme to a new song.

One thing that is helpful when improvising is to record yourself. This gives another opportunity to analyze your playing, figure out the passages that worked, and remember what you actually played!

This video is an example of a blind improvise that I did during a practice session last night. I’ll use this video to analyze what I’ve done, decide what I liked and didn’t like, and probably use it to develop a new song one day.

Additionally, I didn’t get the 1st place trophy at Winfield in one attempt. It took three failures before I had one success. And, I almost didn’t compete in 2003, but the encouragement of those around me was the inspiration that I needed to give it one more shot.

But my playing pursuits have not ended with a trophy, and I feel like my playing still has a long way to improve. But the encouragement that I received early on was enough to give me the confidence to continue for a lifetime.

Be a person who gives encouragement The value of encouragement may prove to be priceless.

Some may be wondering why this is in the development tactics category, but I think it is a good fit here because it gives insight into my motives for playing the dulcimer, and motives are an important element to overall development.

I first heard it played at about 3 years of age on a recording by Russell Cook. I still remember my soul being moved by the beauty of the instrument, and at that time I promised my mom I wanted to learn how to play hammer dulcimer by the time I was 30 years old.

My interest with musical instruments initially resulted since Dad had two mountain dulcimers since I was an infant. I remember first having an interest with them at roughly 5 years old. When I was 7, Mom and Dad noticed that I maintained my interest in music and decided to get me started with piano lessons.

The piano and I never got along very well. My brain was always active and I wanted to kind of do my own thing without having to be structured with the technicalities of sheet music. Thankfully, my piano teacher recognized this as a potential strength and assisted with me learning how to play by ear. I remember always adding my own twists on the songs that I had to play by the music.

Because of my suffering relationship with the piano, when I was 9 my parents remembered my interest on the mountain dulcimer and decided that it might be a good idea to get me started on lessons. If I remember correctly they had run across a flyer for a mountain dulcimer teacher. One thing is for certain–she was my new teacher, Peggy Carter.

I took a few lessons on the mountain dulcimer, and things weren’t going too well with that either. During one of the final attempts to see if I would take to the mountain dulcimer, I noticed this strange “triangular instrument” in the corner of Peggy’s front room. I asked her what it was and she said it was a hammer dulcimer. Immediately, I remembered the promise that I had made to my mother when I was 3 years old to learn the hammer dulcimer. I went and picked up the hammers, started playing it, and showed a definite interest in it. Wisely, Peggy noticed my peeked appeal to the instrument, and decided that we should take that day’s lesson on the hammer dulcimer.

It didn’t take long for me to progress. I remember taking lessons weekly before I owned an instrument, and even made progress without my own to practice at home. Mom and dad bought me my first hammer dulcimer for Christmas of that year. Unfortunately, it was not yet completed on Christmas day, so Peggy loaned my parents 12/11 Hudson hammer dulcimer, which I unwrapped. Here is a picture of that Christmas Day. Soon, my Hudson 16/15 arrived. I continued regularly taking lessons from Peggy until I was about 14.

There is more about my pursuits that I would like to share, but I think I’ll save that for future posts. For now, this is available as a resource for those who ask me how I started playing.

Everybody has a Gift

Everybody has a gift and purpose in this world. Some may be greater or smaller when viewed through man’s eyes, but through God’s eyes all He asks for is obedience. I’ve learned that He equips us with the tools or resources in order for us to fulfill His plan for our lives. God works everything in, and we work out through obedience.

Allow me to give an illustration:
It is a sign of human strength and discipline when a weight lifter does what it takes to get his body into great shape. I’ve met my share of weight lifters who carry an egotistical approach and want their muscles looked at for the sole purpose of showing off so the world can see what they’ve done.

But, I’ve got one question for them–who gave you the muscles? God gave the muscles. Furthermore, God gave the ability in the human mind for discipline and goals. All that the weight lifter did was work out what God had already put in by being obedient to goals and desires.

In the same way, I want people to know that all I’ve done is work out the gift of music that God put in. He gave me gift, the right parents, and also Peggy Carter into my life to teach me the hammer dulcimer. My talents and gifts would be nothing without the work of God by his direct gift and use of other people’s investments in my life.

No matter what your purpose or place is yours in this world, know there is peace through humility, obedience, and a surrendered life to your Maker.

This raises the next obvious question. What is perfect practice? As I have stated in a previous post, all people are different. To this I will add that perfect practice will depend largely on your personality and character. You need to develop a good program as well as effective habits.

Practice Program

Here are some helpful questions for you to develop a productive practice program.

• On a 1 to 10 scale, what priority do you give to practicing? What priority should you give to keep that good ole’ conscience clear?
• Are you most productive in the mornings, afternoons, or evenings?
• What time of day will you have the least distractions and is it at the same time of day that you are the most productive?
• How much time can you commit to practicing? In order to achieve your goals, how much time should you commit to practicing?

Next, here are some helpful tips.

• Clear your mind before practicing.
• As with everything else in life, sleep is essential to quality production. With out enough sleep, you may not only find your practice to be less effective, but you will also find that your routine may soon be compromised for less involving activities, such as the TV or other mind-numbing event.
• Eliminate or reduce all possible distractions. Common distractions include: TV, cell phone (turn it to vibrate if it absolutely must be on), and spouses, children, or siblings who are inconsiderate. One thing that I love about my wife is that when it is time for me to practice, she does not cause me any distractions and only asks me questions that are absolutely essential. Thanks, Lizzi!
• If possible, be in a room with a door that is closed. I find the closed room to get me in the mindset that this is the time I have committed to just me and my dulcimer, with nothing else to think about. Also, the closed room can be mutually beneficial to others in your abode! Your practicing won’t annoy them as much and will allow you to practice without them asking you to hurry up and finish your practicing so they can start thinking strait again!

Habits

Next, we move on to effective habits.You can have the world’s best practice program, but if you do not develop quality habits, than your practice will not be as fruitful.

Part of your practice time should be committed to studying your instrument. Places, such as this blog, will assist in increasing your understanding.There are also great books available. But do not confine yourself to studying only the dulcimer. Be a student of music. Listen to it. Read it. Feel it. Live it.

Not only should you study your instrument, but you should know what your weaknesses are and constantly be seeking to improve them. Have a weak hand? Then find practice drills that strengthens it. Lack coordination? Do not surrender to that weakness. Make it better.

In order to develop more strengths, you should always, always, always be in contact with an accomplished player (preferably a teacher if possible) who can give you an honest assessment of your playing. One thing I have found is that my weaknesses often times exist because they are blind spots. Even today, I ask accomplished musicians to give me their honest opinion of my playing. I want to know what my weaknesses are so that I can improve.

Please do not get the impression that weaknesses are the only things that need practice. Strengths do as well! One thing I have always kept in mind is that there is always room for improvement, no matter how strong a certain area of my playing is. But, you should not practice your strengths only to improve them, you should practice them to make sure that you maintain them.

Drills. Yes, we hate them. But where would we be without them? Two things I have found that many dulcimer players can stand to improve on are scales and arpeggios. Play them. A lot. Play them until your dog bites you in the leg. Just make sure he does it in your leg and not your arm… you can keep on practicing without a leg but not as well without an arm. You get the picture. Don’t ever abandon drills in your practice habits.

Allow me to leave you with a motto that I have personally lived by. I wrote it, but I am sure there are similar variations on the market.

Practice correctly. Practice with purpose. Practice to fulfill your dreams.

You’re driving your car down the road when your cell phone rings. You quickly rummage to find your phone with the intent of answering it, not because you want to talk, but because you want to turn off that annoying ring tone that you paid $1.99 for.

After nearly driving your vehicle past the dead end into a group of trees, a friend (who isn’t very musical) says to you, “Turn your radio on! They’re playing that dulmier thing you do!” You think “Finally! The dulcimer has made it onto my biggest, local music station!”

Amidst the frustration of being on the wrong road, you tune into the station to realize that it wasn’t a dulcimer. It was a mandolin in the middle of a country song talking about the memories had with a pair of boots and pickup truck.

There are three really big points in this story. One–don’t pay $1.99 for a ring tone which you’ll end up hating. Two–know where you’re going. Three–shoot the guy who doesn’t know how the dulcimer is pronounced or what it sounds like. (OK, Mr. Lawyer, I didn’t mean that literally)

Alright, so where does this whole tuning thing fit in? In order for things to be in tune, there must be a standard by which you tune to. In this particular case, I will mostly discuss the subjective standard–yourself. You must learn to be in tune to what your personal tastes and goals are with your dulcimer. A desperate individual just exclaimed, “But what if my dulcimer is a democrat?” (For my un-humored audience, please substitute in the word republican to make the joke funny.)

One of the beauties of human beings is that we’re not all alike. We’re different. We have different strengths, weaknesses, preferences, methods, etc. All of these play an enormous factor into your relationship with your instrument.

Now, on to elaborating my three really big points…

1. Don’t pay $1.99 for a ring tone which you’ll end up hating.

One of the most important things of being a musician is to find the instrument(s) that you’re happy with. Plenty of quality articles have been written about choosing the right dulcimer, so that is not the overall motive of this article. There are black and white rights and wrongs with choosing dulcimers. But, much of choosing the right dulcimer is being in tune to what your personal preferences are. This can take time! I’ve owned many instruments. Some, I decided I liked. Others, I didn’t. To summarize, if you’re not happy with the instrument that you’ve purchased, odds are that you’ll end up seeking to “turn it off” rather than to play it.

2. Know where you’re going

It is crucial to make an intentional effort to know where you’re going. This includes your motives, habits, and development progress. Too often, I’ve seen musicians who found themselves at a dead end because little attention was given to where they were headed as a musician.

Something that I ask all my students is, “How good do you want to get and why?”
These two questions answer a lot of questions and are extremely revealing to being in tune to your personal goals and motives. If you’re honest with yourself, you may discover that some are healthy and others are not!

Once your goals are set, write your plan. This can include how often to take lessons, when, what, and how often to practice, attending festivals, your budget, distance learning, etc. The glue is steadfastness. Never quit and never procrastinate. Stay with your goal and one day you’ll be satisfied with the results.

The next step is to reward yourself with milestones. Stair-step your milestones. Example: if I were to have a goal of running 10 miles non-stop, I would personally set milestone markers at 2 mile intervals. My first goal would be to run 2 miles, then 4, then 6, etc. If I set my sights on the 10 miles to begin with, the road would seem too long, unattainable, and I might quit. However, if I set milestone markers, I know exactly where I’m at, that I am making progress, and also have satisfaction of achieving personal milestones.

This ties into music as well. You may have a long-term goal of playing in a successful band. But in order to get there, set different milestones along the way. It could start as simple as playing a scale 2x in a row without mistakes, followed by knowing how to play a scale in 3rds, learning the chromatic scale, completing your first arrangement or compositions, etc.

I’m not saying that everybody has to be the next Yo-Yo Ma, but what I am saying is that you need to be in tune to your motives and development progress or else you may find your days as a musician coming to screeching halt.

3. Shoot the guy who doesn’t know how the dulcimer is pronounced or what it sounds like.

Once again, this is meant comically. However, I think that it proves a good point. We should only listen to those who know what they’re talking about. If possible, find a quality teacher who has credentials. If that isn’t possible, look into taking Internet lessons or attending festivals to learn from teachers who know what they’re talking about. Also, listen to quality music by established players. This doesn’t just have to be dulcimer music. It could be any type of music. But the key is that if you listen to those who are accomplished, you will make yourself better. Input=Output.