The Learning Curve: Hammered Dulcimer Style
By: Jennifer Ranger
Daily Practice is the Key
"Am I ever going to really learn to play this
thing?!" Most everybody experiences low points in their practicing
where
they start to wonder. You know how it goes: you practice the same
song over and over, day after day, concentrating on the difficult
licks again and again, but can't see any great progress. Especially
with hammered dulcimer...trying soooo hard to be accurate and yet
expressive...oh brother, this is for the birds. You start to sincerely
hope that your neighbors can't hear you!
Then one day you play that song perfectly - just once. You discount
it as a fluke, but a couple of days later it happens again - twice.
Hmmmm. In-between times, of course, you kinda slaughter it, but
you begin to see a pattern forming. The following day you notice
a real jump in ability as you play that pesky song, and now you're
starting to see the fruit of your labor! Practice may not make perfect
right away, but it really does work!
Older Students Worry More!
I find that older adults actually get discouraged
faster than children in learning the hammered dulcimer. Sometimes
because of discouraging musical experiences from youth, or sometimes
just the worry that their age is what's making progress slower than
they think it should be. Anyway, often the only drawback to being
an older student is their own personal worries about it. Kids know
all things are possible, and that really helps with the learning
process, besides being just plain true!
Patience, Practice and Time
Consistent practice, combined with a good dose of
patience with yourself, is the absolute only way to go from point
A to point B. Even if you are so dedicated that you practice every
single day for an hour or two, there are still many things that
only time can give you. After a few years of putting in lots of
daily practice a player begins to really appreciate how hard an
excellent player has worked to be good at what he or she does.
So the next time the practicing blues start to take hold of you,
just stop and think about how much progress you've already made.
Practice really works, so whatever you do, don't stop. You're no
different than the next guy, so keep on hammering!
Jennifer Ranger
Kattywompus String Band
Monrovia, CA
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