Once again Steve is offering to share a twice-a-week acoustic music devotions for the season of Lent beginning February 26th (Ash Wednesday).
Sign up here and they will arrive in your email inbox twice a week to accompany you on your journey through the season of Lent.
He also has created a Lent Devotions Playlist on Spotify if you want to have access on demand.
Performance Tasks/Learning Objectives from this lesson:
1. Find an E Aeolian Scale (Natural/Pure Minor) on your instrument
2. Use that knowledge to Play God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen or Wayfaring Stranger
3. Name the notes that the student used to play this scale
4. Define the Aeolian scale
5. For Mountain Dulcimer: What do I have and what Drones do I need?
A. If I use a Capo how do I tune and where do I start?
B. How can I re-tune and play Aeolian in some different Keycenters?
6. For Hammered Dulcimer: Name all the Aeolian Scales I have on my instrument.
7. Understand the usual chords in Aeolian of E Diatonic Chords with G Key Signature
8. Clues for figuring out if a song is in the Aeolian Mode
9. Gapped Scales (Pentatonic, Hexatonic)
Other tunes that are in Aeolian Mode: (in Premium Backing Tracks on DulcimerCrossing.com)
Lake Ozark Blues (Aeolian of D)
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Aeolian of D, E, F#, G and A)
Portage River (Aeolian of D)
` Reluctant Busboy (Aeolian of E)
Homework:
1. Compare what we did in Aeolian of E to Aeolian of B
2. Look through your music and see if you can identify what key the songs and whether or not it is in the Aeolian (Natural or Pure Minor Mode.) (Eye)
3. Play Along with the Backing Tracks Library on DulcimerCrossing (listed above).
4. Look at the Dulcimercrossing lessons that are in the Aeolian Mode: We Three Kings , I Wonder As I Wander
5. Report back with questions, insights, “aha” experiences in the comment section of the Homework Week 3 post on the Blog The password is: leapforward
Resources Needed:
Visualization of the Aeolian scale on Hammered Dulcimer (box)
Aeolian Scales on Mountain Dulcimer E & B
Aeolian Scales on Mountain Dulcimer D
God Rest Ye Merry Hammered Dulcimer, Mountain DAC = Dm
God Rest Ye Merry Hammered & Mountain Dulcimer DAd Capo 1 = Em
Self-Assessment based on Student Performance Tasks
Following our first two Live Music Theory classes for Premium Members of DulcimerCrossing.com, Erin Mae and I have a new Quiz, this time comparing the Ionian and Dorian Modes.
Click here to try it out and test your understanding!
Later today [4 pm PST = 5 pm MST = 6 pm CST = 7 pm EST] is the 3rd lesson, this one focusing on the Aeolian Mode.
Premium Members have access on the Live events page at DulcimerCrossing.com.
(Be certain that you have logged in and the background is blue and then click on the Zoom link for 1/30/20.)
In this week’s lesson we’ll look at the DORIAN (mountain minor) MODE.
Thursday, Jan 16th 4-5 pm PST = 5-6 MST = 6-7 CST = 7-8 EST
Premium Members of Dulcimercrossing.com can access this lesson by logging in and clicking on the link at the LIVE EVENTS SCHEDULE and clicking on the Zoom meeting link.
If you missed the first session which was available to both Premium and Basic Members, you can click on the WATCH the VIDEO ARCHIVE link on your respective LIVE EVENTS Pages when logged in to the site.
There is still time to join the class and Leap Forward in your Musical Understanding in 2020!
This class begins on Thursday, Jan 2, 2020!
Take this quiz and get ready: https://owlmountainmusic.com/leap-forward/
by Steve Eulberg
Dulcimers as if Music Theory Matters
Music Theory as if Dulcimers Matter
Dulcimer Crossing will be offering something new for our Premium Members in 2020.
We’ll begin with a 4-week special course taught by Erin Mae and Steve Eulberg on Thursdays.
These will be hour-long, live, interactive sessions beginning at 4 pm PDT | 5 pm MDT | 6 pm CDT | 7 pm EDT on January 2, 16, 30 and February 13.
Then we’re lining up other teachers to offer a once-a-month live lessons after that group of lessons ends. This will be a special benefit for our Premium Members. (Sign up for Premium Membership now and you’ll get to have all the benefits immediately!)
Start planning now to attend.
You will find this to be an easy way to follow through on that New Year Commitment to practice more in a regular and scheduled way.
by Steve Eulberg
To help get you into the spirit and to further equip your musicianship, we have several lessons for playing Christmas Holiday tunes on both kinds of dulcimers in several different tunings!
(Click on each title to see the sample lesson page)
Remember that both Basic and Premium Members have access to ALL the lessons ALL the time! Join Here
Angels We Have Heard On High (Mountain & Hammered) DAA, DAd tunings Key of D Steve Eulberg
Breaking Up Christmas (Mountain & Hammered) Keys of A and D Tunings: AEa, EAA, DAd, DAd capo 4; dddd; dddd reverse capo 1) Steve Eulberg
Children’s Song of the Nativity (Hammered Dulcimer) Key of G Linda Thomas
Comfort, Comfort (Mountain Dulcimer D’DAd tuning) Key of D Steve Eulberg
God Rest Ye… (Hammered Dulcimer, in 5 different keys) Steve Eulberg
Good King Wenceslas (Mountain Dulcimer DAd tuning) Deborah Hamouris
I Wonder as I Wander (Hammered & Mountain Dulcimer) DAC tuning Keys of Am and Dm Steve Eulberg
Jingle Bells (Hammered Dulcimer) Key of G Linda Ratcliff (Mountain Dulcimer) DAA, DAd, DGd tunings Keys of D and G Steve Eulberg
Jolly Old St. Nicholas (Hammered Dulcimer) Key of G Linda Ratcliff (Mountain Dulcimer DAA, DAd tunings Key of D Steve Eulberg
Joy to the World (Hammered Dulcimer) Keys of D and G Linda Ratcliff (Mountain Dulcimer) DAA, DAd tunings Steve Eulberg
Little Drummer Boy (Hammered Dulcimer) Key of D Linda Ratcliff
O, Mary Had A Baby (Mountain Dulcimer) DAC Steve Eulberg
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Hammered Dulcimer) Key of D Linda Ratcliff
Silent Night (Mountain & Hammered Dulcimer) DAA, DAd tunings Key of D Steve Eulberg
Still, Still, Still (Mountain & Hammered Dulcimer) DAA, DAd tunings Key of D Steve Eulberg
Stir Up Your Power (Hammered Dulcimer) Key of D Steve Eulberg
Up On the Housetop (Hammered Dulcimer) Key of D Linda Ratcliff (Mountain Dulcimer) DAA, DAd Key of D Steve Eulberg
We Three Kings (Hammered Dulcimer Keys of Em-G Linda Ratcliff (Mountain Dulcimer) DAC Keys of Dm-F Steve Eulberg
By Linda Ratcliff
Eos is an original tune by Steve Eulberg. Eos is the goddess of dawn in Greek mythology, and Steve named this tune Eos because he wrote the tune early in the morning. This tune is played fingerstyle, and the lesson is best suited for intermediate to advanced students.
Here Steve plays through the tune for us.
Look at the free overview of this Fingerstyle Lesson here. Remember that members have ALL the ACCESS to ALL the lessons, ALL the time!
You can also enjoy Steve fingerpicking the tune on guitar on his new CD, Between the Tracks. This 13-track, 44 minute CD is a fine offering of relaxing, modern solo guitar magic that serves up a wide range of jazzy and bluesy acoustic instrumentals.
by Linda Ratcliff
Moderato in C was written by Fernando Sor for classical guitarists.
However, the exercise lends itself very well to the mountain dulcimer in the D-A-d tuning or you can retune your dulcimer to C-G-c to keep the piece in its original key.
Watch the intro and demonstration below:
This tune will make a great warm-up exercise for your routine.
Demo the whole lesson series here.
Remember, subscribers have access to ALL of the lessons ALL of the time. Join today and you will, too!
by Linda Ratcliff
Each year, in and around the San Mateo, California, area, the San Mateo Award Program chooses the best local businesses in several categories. They focus on companies that have demonstrated their ability to use various marketing methods to grow their business in spite of difficult economic times. The companies chosen exemplify the best of small business, often leading through customer service and community involvement.
Steve Eulberg, one of the founding owners of Dulcimer Crossing, lives in San Mateo, CA, making Dulcimer Crossing eligible to enter the competition. Dulcimer Crossing won the 2019 Best of San Mateo Award, in the category of Education.
Thank you, Steve, for all your hard work. We’re proud of you.
