Making Music

We found a wonderful acoustic music shop called Apple Mountain Music. The clerk minding the store was playing a hammered dulcimer as we walked in. There was something very welcoming about the shop. It had 'good energy.' We found it because we had signed up for a dulcimer class through Univ. of NM and it was being held there next month. We had gone to this shop to buy the required book. The shop has all types of acoustic instruments and also hosts lessons by local musicians. The next morning was a singing lesson, and we registered for it on the spot! It turned out to be a lot of fun and very worth our time. The instructor was once an opera singer, so the class was much more about voice training then just being a 'sing along.'  The class has been an on-going group, and we will continue to meet with them.


We also signed up for a Mountain dulcimer all-day weekend conference in October with lots of workshops to choose from. I've played my dulcimer for more than 30 years, and although I can get a lot of music out of it, my vocabulary is very limited. Lee bought us a CD of leading dulcimer artists and I was amazed by the variety of music that can come out of a simple 4-stringed instrument. Although I love my new electric guitar, I'm now also excited about expanding my dulcimer skills and using my voice as an instrument. It's a wonderful bonus that Lee is also interested in exploring his musical side and we are taking the singing and dulcimer classes together.


The second day we were in ABQ, we visited Old Town which is a series of quaint tourist shops and artist galleries in the original ABQ business district. To get out of the heat, we entered a small deserted shop with lots and lots of necklaces and other jewelry. Because the tourist season this year has been so slack, the shop is closing for several months so the owner can focus on the other means she has for income. They were having a big sale, so we had to browse! I saw a necklace with an eagle. It spoke to me, so I bought it. I have been wearing it every day since. So many people have commented on it and someone asked me if it represented an eagle or a thunderbird. I hadn't thought about it, but in googling the question, I discovered is that the eagle is the earthly manifestation of the spirit thunderbird, the symbol of creative power. As an analyst, technician, and teacher I am left brain heavy. One of my life goals in retirement is to find ways to nurture my right brain. ABQ is becoming a magical place for me, and is connecting me to my musical path.