Cold Roots

My old hometown of Kennett, Missouri is still reeling from last week's ice storm. It is one of many small towns in similar situations.

According to this report by a Memphis TV station (you'll have to click in the upper right hand column of the page to start the video) electric crews are going to have to rebuild from the ground up the entire city's electrical grid which feeds over 13 thousand homes. The report focuses on a nursing home where my mother lives.

My sister, Lori, sent me the picture above showing the kind of damage which can be seen on every street. Hundreds of telephone poles are snapped in two. Much of the town will be lucky to see electricity restored before the end of February. Nearly every tree is damaged or destroyed.

It is interesting how little national media attention is garnered when small town life is devastated by disaster. The number of effected people reaches into the tens of thousands when you consider the surrounding small towns in similar situations. I think it is simply a matter of the big news outlets reporting on what is easy and sensational. Small town folk just roll up their sleeves and go to work putting things back together again. It isn't sensational, but it is what makes a nation strong.

Hang in there Kennett.

Practicing Drum Rudiments on Hammered Dulcimer

Ten Reasons
Every Hammered Dulcimer Player
Should Practice Rudiments
Every Day

A rudiment is simply a pattern played with two sticks or hands. Over the years a series of 40 of these patterns have been identified and agreed upon by a worldwide group of percussionists called the Percussive Arts Society. Drummers have been learning to play by using rudiments for hundreds of years, and the earliest written rudiment goes all the way back to the 15th century.

Every hammered dulcimer player is essentially a drummer playing a very complicated melodic drum. Below are 10 reasons why I believe any approach to learning hammered dulcimer will benefit from a scheduled approach to learning the rudiments.

1. To Practice with Purpose - How many songs have you learned? How many have you forgotten? Great players of any instrument will tell you that how you practice is as important as how much. Rudiments add directed purpose to your practice time. Specific skills, developed in a particular way over a long period of time are the ones that will stick and free you to be the best player you can be. Where you are now isn't what matters. Your potential is what matters.
   
2. To learn what it is I'm already doing - You're already playing them so why not master them - The rudiments are not some secret set of patterns that will mysteriously change what you do. You're probably already playing many of them without knowing their names. Committing these patterns to muscle memory will make it easier for you to play what you already know while focusing on the music, rather than the mechanics of playing.
   
3. To measure my progress - As you learn to play the rudiments you'll track your progress by marking the tempo at which you can successfully play them. Success means playing with efficient body mechanics (the least amount of unnecessary movement), rhythmic accuracy, and the ability to begin to think about something other than what you're doing.
   
4. To play more musically -Two sticks, that's all you get. Mastering the art of stick control is the key to dynamic, musical playing.
5. To develop my sense of rhythm - many rudiment patterns fall naturally within specific time signatures. By committing the patterns to muscle memory it is easier to recognize, play and move seamlessly between time signatures.
   
6. To make my weak hand stronger - rudiments do not know or care whether you're left or right handed. Practicing them forces you to treat them as equals and you'll be amazed at what your weaker hand can learn to do!
   
7. To acquire essential improvisational tools - This is one of the coolest unexpected side benefits. You'll find your self simply playing the instrument, rather than playing a specific song. For me, it helps me remember why I fell in love with the hammered dulcimer in the first place. I like the way it sounds. I like rhythm and syncopation. I really like the way it sounds when it all comes together.
   
8. To learn to play backup, rather than just melody - As the rudiments become a part of your playing you'll find you're more useful to everyone with whom you play. You'll become a confident, dependable keeper of the beat, not just someone who can only play the melody.
9. To stay mentally healthy as I age - We've all seen the studies. We need mental challenges for good mental health. Other studies show that skills acquired over steady years of practice stay with us throughout our lives. Rudiments are like little puzzles that increase in difficulty as they increase in speed. Their challenge (and fun) is endless.
   
10. To have fun - It is fun to see yourself improve. It is fun to always have a reason to practice. It is fun to have a brain full of patterns that only need to be applied to the hammered dulcimer to create interesting musical phrases that sound more complicated than they really are.

Coming up next . . .

How to get started without spending a dime.