Rhythm - 3

 

All the elements we've discussed - beats, tempo, tone, accent, string emphasis - are part of what makes up a basic rhythmic playing style, but rhythm itself is greater than the sum of its parts. Rhythm is the cornerstone of music. It is the counting out that marks the passage of time colored in different ways. Even in a-rhythmic playing, it is conspicuous in its absence, for somehow the flow of time has to be marked, whether you choose to dwell within it or not.

Dulcimer means Sweet Sound.


Amidst the trials and mistrials wrought by these next

few chapters, after you have spent a while stretching

your capabilities and reached a point of frustration;

before you put your instrument down-- relax,

and find time to sit alone and play what

you already know you can play--

no matter how simple.


Truce; and listen. It'll make things a lot easier.


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