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  1. Musical Inspiration from the Land of Mozart

    I’ve just returned from a Christmas Markets river cruise along the Danube River that featured stops in Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Music dominates these regions and the Opera House is a cornerstone of every large city. They are filled to capacity at every performance. This region boasts the settings for “The Sound of Music” and is the birthplace of Mozart among many other equally famous composers.

    In Salzburg, a few doors down from the building in which Mozart was born ...
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  2. My Trip to the "Zone" and Back Again

    Did you ever have a practice session when everything is “golden”? This happened to me recently. I was working on a particularly difficult piece of music and was getting very frustrated. Most of us struggle with voices in our heads that tell us “we don’t have what it takes” or “we’re just not going to get it, no matter what”. At times like that we take a nice, big mental stick and beat the dickens out of those thoughts. We remind ourselves “I CAN do this” and “everything worth having is worth the ...
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  3. It's Never Too Late: Life on the Other Side of the Hill

    When I was a young woman I, like many people, was overly concerned with what people thought. Also, like most people, I have managed to overcome that madness...thank heaven! When I decided to resume Mandolin lessons after a very long absence, it never occurred to me to question if I was too old. I mean, age is the least of my worries. Considering the alternative, I am pretty darn thrilled to have made it to the other side of the hill.

    When I go for my lesson, I sometimes see a young ...
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  4. Choking: Let it Go and Let it Happen

    I don’t know about you, but when I really try to do something well or when something is especially important to me I “choke”. I know that choking is the result of over-thinking. Apparently the brain can’t process the act of thinking about excellence and executing excellence simultaneously. The brain-to-fingers connection just breaks down. For me, the importance of how well I play is directly related to who might be hearing me (an obvious lack of confidence on my part). If ...

    Updated Sep-03-2013 at 10:01am by lorrainehornig (grammatical error)

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  5. Trials and Tribulations of a Complacent Mandolinist

    Let me start by saying that I love the mandolin...always have; always will. I bought my first mandolin in the 1970s for $500 and, believe me, that was a big investment for me at that time.

    I already knew how to read music, having taken music lessons on clarinet for 3 years beginning when I was 9-years-old. Reading music is like riding a bike...once you learn, you never forget. Sooo...I self-taught myself until I felt I couldn't progress any further.

    I started taking music ...

    Updated Aug-29-2013 at 9:53am by lorrainehornig

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