• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Owl Mountain Music, Inc.

Dedicated to helping your sing your soul

  • Home
  • About Steve
    • Support Steve on Patreon
    • Bio
    • Contact Steve
    • Discography
    • Composer
      • Arabian Nights-Opus Award
    • Producer
    • Publisher
  • Dulcimer
    • Steve’s Dulcimer Articles
    • DulcimerCrossing
    • Instruments-Dulcimers
    • Dulcimer Orchestra
      • Dulcimer Orchestra Library Project
      • Berkeley Dulcimer Orchestra
        • BDO-Spring 2020 Resources
      • Colorado Dulcimer Orchestra
    • Colorado Dulcimer Festival
  • Lessons
    • OnLine Classes
    • Private Lesson Studio
      • Long-Distance Lessons
      • Strummin’ with Steve
      • Habits from the Muse
      • DulcimerCrossing
      • Steve’s Workshop Titles
      • Recital
      • Habits for Your Healthy Music Habitat Patron Access
    • JamPlay Guitar Courses
    • Truefire Courses
    • Mr. Steve’s Folk Music for Little Folks
      • Teacher Steve’s Instrument Petting Zoo
      • Mr. Steve’s Folk Music for Little Folks EP
    • School Programs and Residencies
    • 30 Days of Dulcimer Joy
      • Vault: 30 Days of Dulcimer Joy
    • 31 Days to Fingerstyle Mastery
      • Vault: 31 Days of Fingerstyle Mastery
    • Steve’s Workshop Titles
    • Reprinting, Permissions & Usage Fees
  • Video
  • Shop
    • All Products
    • Thinning the Herd
    • Worship Music
    • Books
    • Dulcimer
    • dulci-bro
    • Guitar
      • Fingerstyle Guitar Series
    • CD-Recordings
    • Owl Mountain Muses
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My Account
  • Blog
    • Steve Eulberg on Tour
    • Poetry and Writing
  • Bands
    • Steve & Erin Mae
    • S·E·A Folkgrass
    • Fiddle Whamdiddle
    • JimJim & the FatBoys
You are here: Home / building / Learn More from Mistakes

Learn More from Mistakes

July 17, 2018 By Steve Eulberg

by Linda Ratcliff

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
– John Powell


I Learn More from My Mistakes Than Successes.
Do You?

 
I love to play through a tune perfectly, time after time, but lets get real – in my world, that simply doesn’t happen.  I fail to play a tune perfectly more often than I succeed. But mistakes can be good. In every mistake, there is the potential for growth. They can help me, if I will just take time to do the work.  For example …

Mistakes help me to think laterally.  There may be a skip and a jump with my hammers that just isn’t working.  Repeating the same mistake over and over is just teaching my muscles to follow the wrong path.  So I usually try to think of another approach for playing the same run or chord.

Mistakes reveal my weak areas.  If we’re honest, we have to admit that we all have weak areas.  I still can’t do a smooth “multiple bounce roll” with my left hammer.  And I’ve tried.  I always have to plan my arrangements so that technique lands on the right hammer.  Wouldn’t it be better if I started developing that skill with my left hammer too?

Successfully correcting a recurring mistake builds confidence.  When I finally begin to play through a section correctly, and without slowing down through the part that was giving me a headache, I feel ready to give myself a new challenge.  I am encouraged by knowing my desired outcome is one measure or one section closer.

Mistakes build character. When we’ve “messed up” enough times, a musician can go one of two ways! We can choose to throw in the towel, pack up our instrument, and lean it in the corner. Or we can learn from the experience, gain confidence, build character, and become more of the musician that we ideally wish to be. 

I choose to keep on keepin’ on, until I can play through successfully.  How about you?

If you have any questions, always feel free to ask Steve or myself.

Happy dulcimering,
Linda

Filed Under: building, chromatic mountain dulcimer, dulci-bro, fiddle, hammered dulcimer, learn, Lessons, mistakes, mountain dulcimer, subscriber news, successes

Primary Sidebar

Between the Tracks Player

Sign Up for Steve’s List

Show the form

Holiday Dulcimer

Cart

Bootkicking Old-Time Dulcimer on Spotify

Want to support my music?

Patreon
For as little as $5 a month, you can support my Patreon campaign and get special benefits!

Patreon Welcome from Steve Eulberg on Vimeo.

WANT TO Be PART OF THE ART?

Want to know where I am performing next? (Click on my photo)

Here is where Steve Teaches Guitar Online

Steve teaches guitar on JamPlay - enter code EAF321 at checkout for a free trial

Want to learn Dulcimer?

Sample Lesson on Dulcimer Crossing.com


Subscribe to view the whole lesson set and learn this tune!
  • Home
  • About Steve
  • Dulcimer
  • Lessons
  • Video
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Bands

Copyright © 2022 Owl Mountain Music | Web Design by Wickam Group