Are You Listening? - Owl Mountain Music, Inc.

by Linda Ratcliff

Listening = Learning.

Are You Listening?

Listening to music is one of the most important parts of being a musician.

Listening to dulcimer music can keep us motivated day to day – between jam sessions, festival, or lessons. Without that boost, practicing can become a chore – easily left for another day, and then another, and then another … until we begin to completely lose interest.

Now you don’t have to set aside a special time of day to listen to your dulcimer music, the way you schedule your time to practice. But get a nice collection of dulcimer CDs and put them in different places … in your car, in your family or media room, even at the office. Then, when you have the time to listen, they will be easily accessible. We have several teachers who offer their own CDs.

In addition to listening to others play, it’s important to listen to yourself.

Our own teacher, Nina Zanetti, explains it best.

“I think that first and foremost, it’s important to listen. By listening carefully, we can identify passages that would sound better if they were played more smoothly, or more cleanly, or more expressively. Once we’ve identified passages that don’t feel quite “right,” then we can go back to them, experiment with different approaches, and find ways to play them to achieve a sound that we like.”

Nina also emphasizes the importance of bringing out the melody, so it can be heard over the drone or chords you may be playing. You won’t know for sure if you are doing this … unless you listen.

In this video, observe how Nina is practicing what she preaches about listening to herself while she is playing this beautiful tune “Bridget Cruise, Third Air”, by Turlough O’Carolan.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask Steve or myself.

Happy dulcimering,
Linda