<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Mon, 07 Oct 2024 05:02:15 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>mountain dulcimer</category><category>chords</category><category>music theory</category><category>Federal Valley Resource Center</category><category>aeolian</category><category>bowed dulcimer</category><category>chromatic</category><category>dorian</category><category>folk song</category><category>hammered dulcimer</category><category>improvisation</category><category>tunings</category><title>J C Rockwell DulciBlog</title><description>Instrumental Music on acoustic and electric mountain dulcimers for healing, relaxation, and daydreaming by Jerry Rockwell. Ideas and resources for learning how to improvise. Photo by Judith Giddings</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>39</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><language>en-us</language><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Instrumental Music on acoustic and electric mountain dulcimers for healing, relaxation, and daydreaming by Jerry Rockwell. Ideas and resources for learning how to improvise. Photo by Judith Giddings</itunes:subtitle><itunes:owner><itunes:email>noreply@blogger.com</itunes:email></itunes:owner><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-9014164593300074565</guid><pubDate>Sat, 30 Aug 2014 22:03:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-08-30T18:03:49.325-04:00</atom:updated><title>We Finally Have Real, Physical CDs Now!</title><description>Yes..... with a real bar-code and shrinkwrapped and everything!!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/ninemed.html" target="_blank"&gt;Nine Meditations for Dulcimer&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thanks!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jerry</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/08/we-finally-have-real-physical-cds-now.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-3561356084838401582</guid><pubDate>Fri, 02 May 2014 20:28:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-05-02T16:28:27.736-04:00</atom:updated><title>Sounds From The Circle VI is here!</title><description>This has got to be one of the best compilations of New Age and Ambient Music ever! 40 different artists with some outstanding tracks. I'm really stoked that my "Tapping at the Edge of Paradise" is included on this year's collection, and Suzanne Doucet and Beth Ann Hilton deserve a ton of thanks for their monumental work on this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a press release that has lots of detail about the project:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/SFTC/06/prweb11810409.htm" target="_blank"&gt;Global Music Soundscapes: The Time is Right for a Three-Hour Musical Mosaic titled Sounds from the Circle VI &lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/05/sounds-from-circle-vi-is-here.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-795356884898500408</guid><pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2014 13:39:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-04-03T09:39:49.352-04:00</atom:updated><title>Myristica's New Album!</title><description>Myristica (Mei-Ling Grey) is one of my favorite musicians these days. I can't stop listening to her incredible "Shores of Buttermere" track from the compilation album Butterflies &amp;amp; Lullabies! Now she's got a new one that is absolutely gorgeous! &lt;i&gt;Waiting for Yesterday&lt;/i&gt;, the title track, is a stunning piece as is &lt;i&gt;Forever sunset (ambient mix)&lt;/i&gt;.....these are mesmerizing, beautiful, and intelligent compositions! Highly recommended!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://myristica.bandcamp.com/album/waiting-for-yesterday"&gt;http://myristica.bandcamp.com/album/waiting-for-yesterday&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/04/myristicas-new-album.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-4282258967999068555</guid><pubDate>Thu, 13 Mar 2014 00:57:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-12T21:14:37.371-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">chords</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">mountain dulcimer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">music theory</category><title>Do You Need Music Theory?</title><description>This is a reprint from my web site. It comes from the old DulciTheory pages that are not linked right now, but I thought this was something that might help put some things in perspective if you are wondering about learning music theory.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
Do You Need Theory?&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h3&gt;
Many people have asked me over the years: "Do I need to learn music 
theory to improve my dulcimer playing?" or: "What do I need to know 
about theory to improve my music?" or: "How will theory help me get more
 music out of my dulcimer?"&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These are questions that will have different answers for each person. 
Depending on your individual goals as a dulcimer player, the first step 
might be to do an honest assessment of your own understanding of the 
basics of music. &lt;i&gt;(this is a very private, personal matter! I suggest you keep this entirely to yourself)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are many, many people who come to the dulcimer without any 
previous musical experience, except for some childhood piano lessons. If
 you fit in this very general category, the mountain dulcimer may be 
like a breath of fresh air for you: it is an instrument that welcomes 
you right in, and it is relatively easy to get some kind of music going 
immediately. You don't &lt;b&gt;need&lt;/b&gt; anything else at this point - simply enjoy the freedom of this instrument. Enjoy the &lt;b&gt;experience&lt;/b&gt; of listening and playing!
&lt;br /&gt;
If you play another plucked string instrument, like the guitar, 
mandolin, or uke, I would encourage you to approach the dulcimer &lt;b&gt;in relationship&lt;/b&gt;
 to these instruments.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I started out with the guitar, so when I met the 
dulcimer, I wondered how some of the music I was playing on the guitar 
might transfer over to the dulcimer. I'm &lt;b&gt;still&lt;/b&gt; going 
back and forth between the guitar and dulcimer more than forty years 
later! So this "cross-pollination" effect might also work for you if you
 get in the habit of thinking in relation between the instruments. If 
you are a guitar player, I'll venture a guess that most of my chord 
reference charts will make sense to you right off, because they are 
based on the same type of charts used in guitar books for years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you are a piano player (of any ability level, including very basic 
beginner), I would suggest that you learn the basics of music theory on 
the keyboard. This is one of the best ways of learning theory anyway, 
and I used the keyboard extensively in my theory book, especially in the
 first half. There are also some great keyboard-oriented theory web 
sites now. I really like Gary Ewer's web site:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.easymusictheory.com/" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.easymusictheory.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a category all their own are folks who have been playing the 
dulcimer for awhile, and who have already been working on their own 
arrangements, compositions, solos, or improvisations. If you fit 
somewhere in this group, there are many options available to help you 
understand your dulcimer better:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Consider getting a chromatically-fretted dulcimer just to explore 
chord-building and interval-building. When you switch to the 
mostly-diatonic normal dulcimer fretboard, you will be seeing and 
hearing everything with a refreshed vision - with new ideas for what's 
possible.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Consider taking up the ukulele. This is an inexpensive, 
easy-to-play 4-string instrument that you can have a lot of fun with. 
For learning theory, particularly for building and hearing different 
chords, you can't go wrong!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Get yourself some type of electronic keyboard/synth. These are 
getting cheaper all the time, and the sound is getting better too. These
 instruments are also a lot of fun. For learning theory, they are the &lt;b&gt;BEST!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Get yourself all three of the above instruments. You will be a better musician for it!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/03/do-you-need-music-theory.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-4929217876200927016</guid><pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2014 17:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-09T13:27:21.298-04:00</atom:updated><title>Descending Aeolian Mode: Drone, then with Chords </title><description>Here's another link to a recent article on my web site. It is part of a series of TABs for playing the descending versions of the three most important modes on the dulcimer (the dorian, the aeolian, and the mixolydian):&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/desc_aeolian_drone.html" target="_blank"&gt;Descending B Aeolian Mode in DAD Tuning&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This version uses as much of the drone-notes (B and F#) as possible in supporting the descending melody. There are also many ways of harmonizing the mode with chords: I like to restrict these to the basic triads of each mode, and maybe a substitute triad now and again. The main substitute triad for each of these modes is the subtonic VII (sometimes written bVII) to substitute for the minor V chord (sometimes written v):&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;E Dorian:&lt;/b&gt; Em - A - Bm (D)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;B Aeolian:&lt;/b&gt; Bm - Em - F#m (A)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;A Mixolydian:&lt;/b&gt; A - D - Em (G)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
...where the chord in parentheses is the VII or bVii subtonic.</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/03/descending-aeolian-mode-drone-then-with.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-6474258979320696498</guid><pubDate>Sat, 08 Mar 2014 17:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-08T12:50:59.272-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">aeolian</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">chords</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">dorian</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">folk song</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">improvisation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">mountain dulcimer</category><title>Different Improvisations Over the Same Reference Structure</title><description>I love to look at how many different ways there are to get through the same set of chords, or the same reference structure--especially over a span of time. One of my favorite reference structures is the one that goes (roughly) with "What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor" though my version is more of an Aeolian Chord progression, and the folk song is Dorian.&amp;nbsp; Most all of these are dulcimer duets, and the first one appeared on my 2008 album &lt;a href="http://jerryrockwell.bandcamp.com/album/too-dark-to-work-too-light-for-candles" target="_blank"&gt;Too dark to work...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="https://soundcloud.com/jerry-rockwell/the-haunted-skipper" target="_blank"&gt;The Haunted Skipper&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/03/different-improvisations-over-same.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-2859954703441558821</guid><pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2014 04:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-05T23:24:29.992-05:00</atom:updated><title>A Video Slideshow of Dulcimers from 2003 - 2009</title><description>&lt;iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_IiElJI0Eus" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-video-slideshow-of-dulcimers-from.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-4774989867388709566</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Mar 2014 17:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-04T12:46:29.057-05:00</atom:updated><title>DulciTheory on the Web</title><description>Today we will start linking to some articles on our &lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/" target="_blank"&gt;web site&lt;/a&gt;. The DulciTheory series was first part of an email newsletter published for a few years starting in 2000. The articles here are the last ones written and, probably some of the most popular:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jcrmusic.com/dulcitheory_sub/index.html" target="_blank"&gt;DulciTheory on the Web (numbers 15 through 23)&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/03/dulcitheory-on-web.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-3135069945119387481</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Feb 2014 04:20:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-21T23:20:27.989-05:00</atom:updated><title>Descending Mixolydian Mode in D</title><description>This week we have two pdf files of TAB. The tuning is DAD, and the mode is D Mixolydian, so it is very easy to support the descending mode with occasional open bass or middle strings. I usually like to do this with fingerpicking, but you can play it with a flatpick if you like:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jcrmusic.com/pdf/desc_mix_drone_1.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;Descending D Mixolydian with open string accompaniment&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jcrmusic.com/pdf/desc_mix_drone_2.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;More Descending D Mixolydian with open string accompaniment&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Enjoy! </description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/02/descending-mixolydian-mode-in-d.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-1636237207525749548</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Feb 2014 02:45:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-14T21:45:09.396-05:00</atom:updated><title>Descending E Dorian</title><description>Last time we looked at arpeggios for a descending B Aeolian Mode in DAD Tuning, and this time we'll descend with E Dorian.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
First let's play the single-string version of the E Dorian--frets on the melody string:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
8--7--6+-5--4--3--2--1&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Maybe you can hear that this one sounds a little different than the Aeolian. If you want to hear what the E Aeolian sounds like right alongside the E Dorian for comparison, simply substitute the 6th fret for the 6+ and you'll have it. So you might ask yourself how these two modes are similar, and how they are different. Again, going into your favorite search engine and investigating what other folks have to say about the Dorian and the Aeolian modes,,, this is a great exercise, and you might be amazed at what you'll learn!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Harmonizing E Dorian with Em, Bm, A, and D&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a pdf of TAB for the Descending E Dorian in 3/4 time. The first 8 bars have the bass string carrying the mode, the second 8 bars have the melody string carrying the mode, and the last 8 bars have a counterpoint ascending bass line, which sounds great when played along with the descending part:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jcrmusic.com/pdf/desc_dorian.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;Descending E Dorian Arpeggios&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/02/descending-e-dorian.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-1459325397993360985</guid><pubDate>Sat, 08 Feb 2014 04:58:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-07T23:58:25.830-05:00</atom:updated><title>Descending B Aeolian</title><description>This time I have a few links about Descending Aeolian Modes:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/desc_aeolian_drone.html" target="_blank"&gt;Descending B Aeolian&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
...and a pdf of arpeggio TAB harmonizing the B Aeolian:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/pdf/desc_aeolian_34_1.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;Harmonized B Aeolian Arpeggios&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/02/descending-b-aeolian.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-4349474849838428901</guid><pubDate>Fri, 31 Jan 2014 23:39:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-01-31T18:39:09.696-05:00</atom:updated><title>Chord Progressions Six</title><description>&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Introduction &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the last issue, we looked at creating arpeggios on the &lt;b&gt;Bm - G - D - A&lt;/b&gt; progression. This time, we'll connect some of those &lt;b&gt;chord tones&lt;/b&gt; with the notes in between them: these are called &lt;b&gt;passing tones&lt;/b&gt; and they can make your music much more interesting, depending on where they fall in the measure--whether they fall on an accented beat or not.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;A Simple Device to Unify Your Composition (or Improvisation)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If we make a descending scale on each chord, starting from the 5th of the chord and finishing at the Root, we have outlined (or kind of "unfolded") the chord. This makes a cool device for pulling everything together and giving your composition a unity. Let's take it chord-by-chord.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Bm Chord&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Starting with the high F# on fret 9 of the melody string, we have:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
9--8--7--6+-5 - where the 9, 7, and 5 frets are the chord tones, and the other frets are passing tones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;G Chord&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
7--6+-5--4--3 - where the 7, 5, and 3 frets are the chord tones, and the other frets are passing tones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;D Chord&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4--3--2--1--0 - where the 4, 2, and open string are the chord tones, and the other frets are passing tones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;A Chord (Frets on the Middle String)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4--3--2--1--0 - where the 4, 2, and open string are the chord tones, and the other frets are passing tones. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Experiment!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
See what you can cook up with these little lines. You'll have to fill in with the other supporting chord tones of each chord to make it sound full, but use your imagination as much as you can. Try some different rhythmic patterns, and hold some notes longer than others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;New Article on Modes&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I slightly edited one of my DulciTheory articles and linked it from the home page of my web site:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/modes.html" target="_blank"&gt;Modes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This might help get you thinking along some of these chord-tones-vs-passing-tones lines, and I think it is a good way to approach the multi-modal system on your DAD dulcimer. Good Luck (Skill?), and let me know if you if any of this works for you. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; </description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/01/chord-progressions-six.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-6906646137146121478</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Jan 2014 02:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-01-17T21:24:23.660-05:00</atom:updated><title>Chord Progressions Five</title><description>&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;A Great 4-Chord Progression&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first four chords to the great Irish tune "Star of the County Down" are &lt;b&gt;Bm-G-D-A&lt;/b&gt; (best key for your DAD dulcimer), and if you take these chords and just cycle them endlessly, they make a very moody, dark and mysterious backdrop for all sorts of musical ideas that you might play over them. One device I like to use for this sort of backing is to &lt;b&gt;arpeggiate&lt;/b&gt; the chords, or pick out the individual notes in each chord and play them one after another. I usually do this finger-picking style, but you can play it flatpicked if you want.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here is a little arpeggio study I did on these chords:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/pdf/b-G-D-A_arp1.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;Arpeggio Study 1 for Bm-G-D-A&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When you strum across all three strings, you are playing &lt;b&gt;block&lt;/b&gt; chords, or playing the notes of the chord simultaneously.&amp;nbsp; Here are some block chord ideas that you can try. Each chord holds for a complete measure, or four full beats:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/pdf/b-G-D-A_block1.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;Block Chords for Bm-G-D-A&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Now, for me, when I write down some TAB chords in block form, I get a sense of freedom from looking at all that space in the measure that I can creatively fill up with whatever chord tones I choose. You might try this yourself: try playing any notes in a chord on the half note level, or you might vary from straight quarter notes to the occasional half note. You might even want to try some chord tones on the eighth note level!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As with anything I'm showing you here, keep it loose, have fun with it, and let your imagination show you the way. Let me know how it works for you--did you get something flowing along? This is one of my favorite circular, hypnotic progressions!!</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/01/chord-progressions-five.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-4079938558873788569</guid><pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2014 04:56:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-01-11T00:04:50.850-05:00</atom:updated><title>Chord Progressions Four</title><description>&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Introduction&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Last time we covered chord cycles (particularly in 4ths), showed you some two chord progressions, and went over some ideas on the nature of modal chord progressions. This time we'll continue poking in to the whole "modal" thing, I'll show you some more two-chord progressions, and we'll also look at a couple of cool three and four chord progressions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;How To Use Chord Progressions In Your Dulcimer Practice &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here are some ideas for applying these progressions to your daily practice:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Progressions often form the backbone of many popular songs:&lt;/b&gt; use them to get ideas for new melodies that might go well over the chords. Try different melodic ideas over a progression (sing some melodies while you play the chords - I know this sounds almost impossible if you are new to it, but it works for me....and I'm not any kind of singer in public!!).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Use progressions for an exercise in arpeggio playing&lt;/b&gt;. There are endless possibilities for arpeggiating a chord, and when you experiment with your own personal way of flowing up and down each chord and connecting them in interesting ways, you are taking some important steps in organizing your musical ideas.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Use progressions as a bed for your improvising&lt;/b&gt;. This is best done by laying down the chord progression on a tape recording or digital sound file (the latter is easy to loop, so you can have it repeating many times). Then, with you as the "lead player" you can try all sorts of melodic stuff over these chords: the sky is the limit, and if you try this, you might be amazed at how much fun it is!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;You might try some of the modal chord progressions as a kind of endless cycle of mesmerizing, hypnotic arpeggios:&lt;/b&gt; you might want to try chanting some syllables of your own choosing over them. This meditative use of the progressions contains the first three ideas above as well.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Modal Two-Chord Progressions&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Em7 - A7 (Dorian)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Bm - A or F#m (Aeolian)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A - G or Em7 (Mixolydian)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Modal Three-Chord Progressions&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A - D - Em - D (Mixolydian: "In My World There's A Garden") &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Em7 - A7 - Em7 - D - Em7 - A7 - Em7-D-A7 (Dorian: "Flowers of Kale") &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Modal Four-Chord Progressions&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;D - A - Bm - G (maybe not that modal, but the G or IV chord at the end makes it a very circular, swirling kind of progression: "Tapping Into the Light" "Tapping At the Edge of Paradise")&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A - Em7 - G - D (Mixolydian: "Prayer for Safe Passage")&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Bm - G - D - A (Aeolian: first four chords in "Star of the County Down" - more about this in my next email newsletter) &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Listening and Downloading the Music&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All of the selections in parenthesis (with the exception of the traditional "Star of the County Down") may be heard in their entirety at SoundCloud, and I now have enabled free downloads on just about everything: just look for the little downward-pointing arrow icon below the waveform. All of the progressions above are custom-tailored for your DAD dulcimer, but on the recordings, you may find that I'm tuned CGC or EBE. ENJOY:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://soundcloud.com/jerry-rockwell"&gt;http://soundcloud.com/jerry-rockwell&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/01/chord-progressions-four.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-7354074843904417831</guid><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jan 2014 23:18:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-01-03T18:18:13.370-05:00</atom:updated><title>Chord Progressions Three</title><description>&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Looking up Terms&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Put this into Google (or Bing) and see what you get:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
flow chart chord progression &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
OK, maybe a bit overwhelming, and probably "all Greek" to many of you, but this kind of chart always gets me going in deeper. If you are somewhat visually oriented, a few of these charts may be a&amp;nbsp; kind of "jumping-off point" for you in exploring how one chord leads to another.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When i tried "cycle of 4ths chord progressions" I got this:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jacmuse.com/harmonic%20resources/chordprogressions/newpage114.htm" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.jacmuse.com/harmonic%20resources/chordprogressions/newpage114.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pretty cool stuff here, and what I usually do (not having a piano or guitar in from of me most of the time), is to try a little bit of this stuff on the dulcimer in my own esoteric way. For instance, if I'm in DAD, I might start the cycle on F# - not being so nit-picky about what kind of chord I'm playing (you can always just do a Root-5th-Root chord as a barre across the fingerboard: at fret 2 for the F#) - and going in 4ths until I get HOME to a D chord! Try it, you might have fun! (hint: the second chord in the cycle would be B or Bm)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;Modal Chord Progressions&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Getting more specific to the uniqueness of the mountain dulcimer, you might want to find out about this whole "modal" thing and what it means. If you typed in modal chord progressions to a search engine, you might find some interesting leads. As I've mentioned many times, Gary Ewer always has some of the best immediately USEFUL stuff anywhere:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://garyewer.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/how-to-create-modal-chord-progressions-to-use-in-your-songs/"&gt;http://garyewer.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/how-to-create-modal-chord-progressions-to-use-in-your-songs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
AND....you can play many of these chords on your DAD-tuned dulcimer! The first part of it talks about regular old A Major (which you have completely on your DAD dulcimer thanks to the 6+) then shows you some B Dorian changes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;A Free Download&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For today's giveaway, I'm offering a free download of one of my favorites from my Too dark to work... collection (look for the little down-pointing arrow below the waveform):&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="https://soundcloud.com/jerry-rockwell/04-in-my-world-theres-a-garden"&gt;https://soundcloud.com/jerry-rockwell/04-in-my-world-theres-a-garden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is a mixolydian chord progression that is as circular as you get. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you have some fun messing around with some of this modal stuff.</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2014/01/chord-progressions-three.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-1547131134956070739</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Dec 2013 02:37:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-12-27T21:37:14.162-05:00</atom:updated><title>Chord Progressions Two</title><description>&lt;h2&gt;Introduction&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
The last post, Chord Progressions One, had a whole lot of stuff for you to look up. I hope it wasn't too overwhelming for you! My intent was just to get you excited about &lt;strong&gt;starting&lt;/strong&gt; the process of discovery with chord progressions. With any mountain of new things to learn like this, remember that you can always just look up one term that you are curious about and leave the rest behind: I have found that the small steps made consistently make a real difference in my music study.
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;Getting Started With Your Own Progressions&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
 &lt;li&gt;Simpler is Better: progressions with 2, 3, or 4 chords repeating over and over in a cycle are amazing, and fun to play.&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;Cycles that repeat over and over are soothing, mesmerizing, and entrancing&amp;mdash;NOT boring! AND they work GREAT for the dulcimer!&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;Make sure you understand the difference between back-up chords (often arpeggios like in fingerpicking style) and melody. In rock bands, there is a rhythm guitar and a lead guitar. A singer (melody) often accompanies herself on the piano (often with arpeggios).&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;I try to combine the backup, or accompaniment arpeggios AND the single-string melodic lines on one solo dulcimer performance. I like to TOGGLE between these two functions playfully as I go. This is not really that difficult, but you do need to GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION to do it!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;A GREAT Two-Chord Progression: D -- G&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
 &lt;li&gt;I know you are probably thinking: "that's too simple" but it is really endless in its possibilities, and is especially hypnotic.&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;I have more fun with this progression if I spend a longer time on each chord. Try 2 or 4 measures on each chord.&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;Try some different time-signatures! 3/4, 6/8, and 12/8 are all ways to jog your rhythmic muse. Google "time signatures" if you need some help with this.&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;Move through several positions up-and-down the length of the fingerboard for each chord. &lt;a href="http://stephenseifert.com" target="_blank"&gt;Stephen Seifert&lt;/a&gt; has some GREAT chord charts that you can download from his web site free of charge. This will give you a roadmap for navigating through the chord tones.&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;Have FUN!! Keep it PLAYFUL, ENJOY the process, Don't be a perfectionist!&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;MAKE YOUR OWN RULES!!!&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;Try to use open strings whenever you can&amp;mdash;like on the bass to the D chord! &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;Give-Away For This Issue&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Here is another great two-chord jam, this time with Em (or Em7) to A7. This TAB was one I used this past October for a workshop in improvising at the SouthEast Ohio Dulcimer Festival (soon to be called a "Gathering"):
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jcrmusic.com/pdf/Em7-A7.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;Em7-A7 Jam TAB&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
Now, if you want something like this to play along with, here is a very rough jam I did just fooling around with this progression. The above TAB will give you some ideas that will work over the recording, but it is NOT a transcription of what I played!!
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jcrmusic.com/audio/Em7-A7_jam1_092213.mp3" target="_blank"&gt;Em7-A7 Jam 1&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/12/chord-progressions-two.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-3957232201341399784</guid><pubDate>Sat, 21 Dec 2013 00:39:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-12-20T19:39:06.054-05:00</atom:updated><title>Chord Progessions One</title><description>Hi Folks:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is Friday again and here is another issue of my DulciBlog. This time I want to open the door for you to learn about Chord Progressions--how they work, some basic rules and guidelines, and how to build your own. I want to give you some terms and phrases to look up for yourself in Google or Bing. I hope this gives you a nudge in the right direction, and that it encourages you to try some progressions on your own.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
Doing Your Own Searches &lt;/h3&gt;
If you punch some of these terms into a search engine yourself, you will be amazed at how much you can learn! Everyone is different with respect to musical abilities, experience, what instrument(s) they play, and understanding of music. You are the only one who knows what you know and what you don't--and don't feel discouraged if you don't even know where to start: many of us feel the same way, &lt;b&gt;that we don't even know what questions to ask!&lt;/b&gt; This is perfectly natural!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;You Need To HEAR Examples&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As you try some of these search terms, phrases, and questions, be on the lookout for web sites that let you &lt;b&gt;listen&lt;/b&gt; to the chord progressions or examples. Learning music has more to do with &lt;b&gt;listening and hearing what's going on&lt;/b&gt; than memorizing concepts or definitions of terms. An "audio picture" is worth a thousand words! My all-time favorite blog for great musical examples, clear explanations, and audio snippets of the examples is Gary Ewer's Essential Secrets of Songwriting Blog:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://garyewer.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"&gt;http://garyewer.wordpress.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
And Gary has another web site devoted to chord progressions:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.essentialchords.com/" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.essentialchords.com/ &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I've learned a &lt;b&gt;LOT&lt;/b&gt; over the years following these sites, particularly when the topic is chord progressions!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
Rules For What Chord Follows What&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;what are the rules for how chords move from one to another?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;is there a &lt;b&gt;chord progression flow chart&lt;/b&gt;?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;is there a &lt;b&gt;chord progression branching diagram&lt;/b&gt;?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;building your own chord progressions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;DIY chord progressions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;circle of 5ths progressions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;chords moving in 4ths&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;chord cycles &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
Tonal Harmony&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Tonal Harmony&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Tonal Chord Progressions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Tonal Music Theory&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Common Practice Period&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;
Modal Chords&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Diatonic Chord Progressions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Modal Chord Progressions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Aeolian Chords&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Dorian Chords&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Mixolydian Chords&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Relative vs. Parallel Relationships Between Modes&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
A Few Things To Remember&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Keep perspective!&lt;/b&gt; Don't feel you have to devour everything right away. I just put these terms up for you to search because some lightbulbs may go off for you. Some terms may not have any resonance for you (the terms under Tonal Harmony are just good for a very, very general overview and that's ALL -- you can pass them by entirely, or spend 3 to 5 minutes reading a definition.... that may make no sense at all!!! and that's fine). Some terms may arouse your curiosity--like the Modal and Diatonic terms: these have AMAZING possibilities for the mountain dulcimer in DAD tuning!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;h4&gt;
My Favorite Circular Diatonic Progressions&lt;/h4&gt;
These are the BIG HITS of the last decade for me and my dulcimer composing and improvising--they are all playable on your DAD dulcimer:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://jcrmusic.com/pdf/chord_progressions.pdf"&gt;http://jcrmusic.com/pdf/chord_progressions.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you need TAB numbers or diagrams for a few of these chords that you don't know, then you have an opportunity to do a search for &lt;b&gt;DAD chord charts for dulcimer&lt;/b&gt;, right? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Happy Holidays!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jerry&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/12/chord-progessions-one.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-7189008807185491617</guid><pubDate>Sat, 14 Dec 2013 01:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-12-13T20:59:27.169-05:00</atom:updated><title>A Great Irish Hymn</title><description>Be Thou My Vision is one of&amp;nbsp; my all-time favorite hymn tunes, and it goes very nicely on the mountain dulcimer. Like Southwind from last week, this one also lends itself to fingerpicking with lots of open strings:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jcrmusic.com/pdf/bethou_dfp.pdf"&gt;http://www.jcrmusic.com/pdf/bethou_dfp.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-great-irish-hymn.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-2409023792476065352</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Dec 2013 22:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-12-06T17:24:40.085-05:00</atom:updated><title>Southwind</title><description>This is one of my favorite Irish tunes. It appears in my 1984-era tunebook called Dulcimer Solos (which I've been planning to reprint for a long time, but just haven't found the time.), and I still love playing it even now. It is a slow waltz-time tune that is very soothing. This particular arrangement uses a lot of open strings and is best played in finger-picking style. Here you go:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.jcrmusic.com/pdf/southwind_dfp.pdf"&gt;www.jcrmusic.com/pdf/southwind_dfp.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you right-click on this, you can save it to your desktop.</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/12/southwind.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-3704309489317459022</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Dec 2013 17:01:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-12-01T12:01:00.057-05:00</atom:updated><title>20 years since the release of "The Blackbird and the Beggarman"</title><description>&lt;p&gt;It is hard to believe how fast time flies! My CD of Celtic instrumentals for mountain dulcimer was started in the Fall of 1993 and was released roughly mid-year of 1994. It came out on the Wizmak label, and was produced by Pete Sutherland, a great Vermont-based fiddler, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and all-around great guy. I also had the support of some extremely gifted musicians: R.P. Hale, Ken Lovelett, Niles Hokkanen, and Ron Ewing.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here is one of my favorites from B&amp;B at SoundCloud:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://soundcloud.com/jerry-rockwell/song-of-the-chanter"&gt;https://soundcloud.com/jerry-rockwell/song-of-the-chanter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/12/20-years-since-release-of-blackbird-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-6972055218705444056</guid><pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:49:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-04-25T17:49:45.390-04:00</atom:updated><title>Too dark to work...</title><description>&lt;iframe width="400" height="100" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=797891200/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"&gt;&lt;a href="http://jerryrockwell.bandcamp.com/album/too-dark-to-work-too-light-for-candles"&gt;Too dark to work... too light for candles by Jerry Rockwell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;a href='http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000613802463511&amp;amp;pid=1116007&amp;amp;adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kohls.com%2Fproduct%2Fprd-1116007%2Fklutz-potholders-and-other-loopy-projects-activity-book-by-university-games.jsp%3Fpfx%3Dpfx_shopcompare%26cid%3Dshopping3&amp;amp;usg=AFHzDLvgVv-1wn1zeuOxDg81qTj7juCi8g&amp;amp;pubid=634149' rel='nofollow'&gt;Klutz Potholders And Other Loopy Projects Activity Book By University (Google Affiliate Ad)&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/04/too-dark-to-work.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-7003580522855548203</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-04-23T11:50:33.944-04:00</atom:updated><title>Great Jam-Along Tracks from Stephen Seifert!</title><description>OK -- Stephen is using one of my recent Large Hourglass model dulcimers, but I'm not advertising that at all -- I just think this is one surefire FUN way to get your dulcimer playing flowing right along with some great rhythm:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://youtu.be/H8MDT2OukmI"&gt;http://youtu.be/H8MDT2OukmI&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Stephen has some more great instructional stuff on his web site:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://stephenseifert.com/"&gt;http://stephenseifert.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
======================================= &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000613802463591&amp;amp;pid=30662%20000%20000&amp;amp;adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.teavana.com%2Ftea-products%2Ftea-media%2Fmusic%2Fp%2Fyoga-music-cd%3Fmr%3AtrackingCode%3D76D0AEF3-232D-E211-BFCC-001B21A69EB0%26mr%3AreferralID%3DNA&amp;amp;usg=AFHzDLt7I2gp9blBbAx64JTBtiy-2drftw&amp;amp;pubid=634149" rel="nofollow"&gt;Yoga Relaxing Music CD (Google Affiliate Ad)&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/04/great-jam-along-tracks-from-stephen.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-7834600320004448194</guid><pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:01:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-04-23T11:01:14.825-04:00</atom:updated><title>Nice Article on Suspensions!</title><description>I always try to keep up with Gary Ewer's blog, and especially the great articles on chord progressions, but this one is REALLY close to home for me:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://garyewer.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/chord-progression-tip-creating-and-using-suspensions/"&gt;http://garyewer.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/chord-progression-tip-creating-and-using-suspensions/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There is nothing more boring than constantly landing on a chord tone right on the important beats of a measure -- and especially beat ONE! When you slam into a 4th and then resolve to 3, it just sounds cool. You can learn about the main kinds of suspensions here in this article, and then I would suggest you get to applying them to your dulcimer, or guitar, or uke, or whatever. Be PLAYFUL if you can... if you keep messing around with this stuff, it will start to become automatic after a while.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Happy Suspensions to you!!&amp;nbsp; </description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/04/nice-article-on-suspensions.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-1476413640325559972</guid><pubDate>Thu, 28 Feb 2013 23:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-02-28T18:30:59.570-05:00</atom:updated><title>Cuckoo Elegy Slideshow</title><description>&lt;p&gt;Judith Giddings worked out a really great slideshow with her spectacular nature photos to go along with my "Cuckoo Elegy" piece. We're finally live now with this slideshow and soundtrack:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://youtu.be/75Cj_GpY2Pk"&gt;http://youtu.be/75Cj_GpY2Pk&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you like this tune, you might be interested in the other eight tunes in my new "Nine Meditations for Dulcimer" on bandcamp.com:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://jerryrockwell.bandcamp.com/"&gt;http://jerryrockwell.bandcamp.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2013/02/cuckoo-elegy-slideshow.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486385338742264528.post-7845712607250876270</guid><pubDate>Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:52:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-06-05T11:52:07.403-04:00</atom:updated><title>IUMA is back up!!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;I was just reading in Hypebot that the pioneering internet audio site called the Internet Underground Music Archive is now back in operation. That's really cool!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I even found some stuff of mine that I put up there in 2000 or so:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://archive.org/details/iuma-jerry_rockwell"&gt;http://archive.org/details/iuma-jerry_rockwell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/P&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is mostly some pretty crazy electronic stuff (crazy for me anyway!) but there is also a little bit of dulcimer stuff here and there.&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://jcrdulcimer.blogspot.com/2012/06/iuma-is-back-up.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>