Tradition?

I had an interesting conversation with a potential Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival participant a few days ago. She was concerned about our slogan:

A non-traditional approach to traditional instruments.

"I like traditional music," she said, "and I'm wondering if this festival is right for me."

The 'non-traditional' part of our slogan is in regards to how we learn to play, not what kind of music we choose to play. It is hard to become a skillful player unless you're playing music you enjoy, and it's easier to enjoy the music you play once you've become a skillful player. If you already know what kind of music you enjoy, your next step in progressing as a player is to build your skill set. That is what this festival is all about.

I guess I consider a traditional approach to learning to play dulcimers as simply learning tunes. This seems to be what happens most at the dulcimer festivals I've attended and I hope this respectable tradition never fades. But there are so many sources now for learning tunes that this tradition isn't in danger.

A veteran Irish session player told me how surprised he was at the competence level he sees at Irish festivals when comparing them to dulcimer festivals. The intermediate classes at an Irish festival are filled with players who've obviously spent hundreds of hours developing their skills. It isn't unusual for these attendees to be sitting in a class where for 90 minutes they'll focus on mastering a single strumming style that they've been playing for years. The same is also true for just about any instrument you can imagine. Why do players of other instruments spend so much time working on technique rather than tunes? Could it be that dulcimers are actually harder instruments to master, do to their inherent limitations?

Don't get me wrong - dulcimers aren't hard instruments to play, they're just hard instruments to play well. At the same time they're easy instruments on which to quickly learn a tune. I imagine that it is this nearly instant gratification that precipitates most instrument purchases. These brand new players memorize as many tunes as their heads can hold and often struggle to play them well. Without basic skills they quickly reach a limit as to what they can do with the songs they've learned, so they purchase books with fancier arrangements in an attempt learn something more interesting, only to be discouraged by the difficulty. Many people just give up and their instruments end up in a closet or under a bed.

The Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival is for people who want to develop their skills as players. You might learn a new tune or two in the process but it is our goal to help you develop new tricks and tools that will make your playing more fun.

If you have any questions about registering or about the festival please write me: dan@danlandrum.com. If you're not 'into' emailing and you'd like to talk on the phone, just drop me a quick email with your phone number and we'll set up an appointment. - Dan