1978-02, Dulcimer Players News Vol. 4 No. 2 by Dulcimer Players News

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W C!lmSr

P a e:rs Vol. 4 Wo. 2. Sprinq m~

Pc:Dple Sho.rif1Cj "L1:f0r(T)Qtion About Dulcirnas a'1d their Mltsic

M.ountnln Du.ICIr'ler'" (I reo. 1847

1978

FUBLISHED BY THE BLUE RlDGE DULCIMER SIIJP, fRONT ROYAL , VIRGINIA

Please address all correspondence to : THE DULCIMXR PIAYERS NEWS

P . O. BOX 157 FRONT ROYAL, VA 22630

PHONE : (703) 635- 3811 FAltora: 1'bl 111p Malon & Madeline Ma cNeil Hason

Secretary: Ruth Anne MacNeil

_ _ _ _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , • • _ _ _ _ _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -_ _ • • • • • • , • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 • • • • • •

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All advertising rate. are based on camera ready black &. white copy •. TIie:re 11 an extra charge for adverthements which incor por ate photos tor scr een1n8 . Copy _y be prepar ed rull- sbed on the bash or our .finhhed page sue (ta ki ne: 1D8r gins into account) or prepar ed o n 8 liz by II typing 'p!IJ)er tor eventual r eduction by our pr inter to the t'1niah full size pa.ge at 5 l/Z" by 8" PLEAS! lBI' OUR ADVERTI SERS IGWtI THAT YOU FOUND THEM THROUG H THE D. P. N•

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Paul Robinlon, a genuinely . .iable an with jUlt a vhilper o t leptuagenarian lDiu:hievoulnell, ownl a very old dulc1aler. It is at the very lealt one - hundred and thirty yearl old. houl Robinson'l great - graDdr..tber, born aDd died on January 22, 1825- 1697, bought the dulcimer in Clarklburg, West. Virginia, lhortly a!ter lIovellber 11, 1847 . The dulc1ller val ;'lIed down through varloul _bel'l or t.he Robinllon faaily until it reached l'IIul, vho h. . held it lince 1934. Tol1.ow1ng 11 a letter ~ l'IIul, p1npoin~1.ng t.he dulc1ller ' I hi.tory. January 10, 1973 I . . not Tel")' good 'WOrding history, 10 i f you can take -.y VTitillB and word it better to ltay vlth the dulct.er through the C<:laI1ng years )'OU do 10. The Robinlonl are about all lone that know the dulc1aer. I 'WOuld not known had I not been vith Aunt Louha and lhe told me 10 mu ch . So you keep thele datel and you vill not. be far oft the exact ale of the dulcimer .

John R. Robinlon (Great-orandhtberl Ma.rr1ed to carollne Boal (Rob1naon Marriage date, l'Iovelaber 11, 1847

Born, January 22, 1825 Born , May 11, 1826

Die-.!, January 22, 1897 Died, February 5, 1906

Shortly afier their arriage, t.he date ve do not have, Grandt'ather bought at Cwkaburg the dulc1M.r. Grand.father val very great for aua1e and. bed a 'fODderfUl voice to line -.Jlic, ao the du1c1aler val hil IllUdc pride thrOU6b the )'Mrl. Shortly betore he paaled away he gave the du1c1aler to h1l lon, Daffy Rob1naon. n.ff'y val the owner for a fev palling yeara. In 1913, Dafry waa in hUing healtb and. before palling avay gave the dulct.ler to bb niece, Aunt Loui .. t.yon . It val bers to call her 0Im .

Then 1c.et1_ on in later yearl, Aunt Loulla gave it to "Dad" Francil Robinson. He then later gave it. to hh oldest. aon, Paul Robinlon in 1934 . He atill 11 the

.....,.

Vben I firlt v1aited the RobinlOD ~, Paul Dot only lhewed me the dul.claier but alao point.ed out -.Jcb of the furniture which he bad I118de and a very large collection ot Ind1an arrowheadl vhich he had collected over the lut torty year.. in variOUI parte ot Ohio. In addition, he ownl a book ot Obio hiltory, which 111 one ot the very fult such booka ever publilhed (circa. aid 1800' I). In the backyarc1 are over a dozen bird teeders and bird housu. hul telll me that larle groups ot wild birdl come to teed and rest and that watching and. car1ne lor them giv81 his vile and him great pleasure. On ay second vialt, I t ook IIY duleilD(llr and played lIeveral tunes tor the Rob!nlonl; in reCiprocation, Paul ve nt to the balelDent and found h1l "musical sav" and "rendered" me a couple melodie • . He tella M that he haa not. played for years and quipped that both be a.nd the lav vere a l ittle "rusty". hOI! the photocraphs, ODe vould think that the dulct.r 11 • llght-to-.ediWII brown color; bov~Ter, lee1nc it directly. one would. think that it _ I prillarU.y an at.olt - black as though .o.eone had Uled black atAin and tben had vainly tried to re.ave it. Sc:.eooe once told _ t.hat the ase of a du1c!.er could be pined by obaervine the direction or the: heart·lhaped .0un4 holes. I do not know it the statement hal atch c redence, but. each ;.ir of bMrtl does run in the . . . direction and the pointed end ot each heart h lac1ng the bead of the inatrument - both features, according to the acquaintance, algnal that. the dulciller is very old.. The III),It curioul feature ot the Robinlon dulcime r , however , 1a tbe nWDbera carved on the fretboard. The drawing below lhowl hew the nuabers are arr allBed .

.".

~ S~

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Fro. the ar"'l'I&e_nt of the nUJllbtr. and of the letter "c" , one could infer t.hllt t.he builde .. of the inatrument wanted the th1.rd fr'et to besin the .eal. and that the dulet.er vou.l.d be tuned DGD or DDG to provide tor the key of G in e1tlwr the inverted Ionian or Ionian tWline. I atilt ada1t tt.t 1 have neYer aeen letten and numben pe,..nently earved onto the fretboard althou.&h I've .een besinnera put. nick·"n f~. whIch could be r~ later on. I ' ve alao .Mn .everal dule_ra, ineluJlnc ~ cwn. which ha'ltt dea!ena (cre.centa, dot •• da.ond., beerta. etc . ) inlaid on lJIportant t'reta in .o.t tunlnca. Tbt nu.bt!r "1· on the third !'ret. !nates:! of on the fir.t. and t.he letter "c" on the t.h1rd fret .eell unu.ual to _ MClluse on other dulet.era t.he nu.ber1nc of the fret. aceordina to t.heir nat.W'al chronolOlY on t.he fret.board or inlaH de.1gn. on iaI· pertant. rret. do not dictat.1I hoV' t.he dulct.er shall be t.uned. Here not. only the lledal t unina but al.o the key 11 pre.cribed by the figures earved on the in.trument . The texture differ. greatly from 110.1. other dulc1lller. alao. The wood dou not have a gl... y • .octhnen or a finiah but haa the .triated text-ure of natural vood . SouIeti_., one cannot tell frocaI the photosr.pba or even from viewing it directly that thia un~n textW'e .:d.ta; in tact, ODe _y need to feel the vood to detect the .uacle-Ilke ripple. or wYy .trations. The unfinhbed .urtace also give. the Inat~nt a Mtural, al-aat rugged appe.rance.

Hank Mbauah 3561 Medina Avenue Colu.bloU. Ohio 4)224 (Ed. Iota: OUr thank. SO to Ralph tee S.ith for helping \U obtain Hank "-rbaUCh ' . intere.tina; info,..tion on the Paul Roblnaon dulcbler and to Rick KoCIll of Colu.bu •• Ohio for the phot.o&rsph.l. Henk Arbaugh, II high achool teacher, hila been perforalna;, r ..earehina. teaching and leadina; folk lIN.ie workahopa for .everal year. . He plana te dO hia doctoral vork in rolklora at Ohio State.)

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Happy Creek 'ani Front Royal, Virg1nia

It'l aid -February, and lnov and ice have been vi th UI for over a month . You aisht notIce t.hat the Sprilll l ..ue of the Dule*r Playerl Hevi aboundl with rloveu. The Sprina i ..ue takes tor. in January and 'ebruary. and W'''I been thinldn& ahHd to feltivals and flowera and .et.incl v1t.b friendl nev and old. Tonight. we deeided to conduct an 1nfo~l lurvey of the dulet.er playeu, bulldeu and entbudaltl who lublerihe to t.he DPlf . lnd.ividu.l lublcriberl and bulk orderl nUliber eloll to 1,500. AI of aid-'ebrual7, v e have lublcriherl 1n every ltate except Hava.11, Idabo. Montana, Ifort.h Dakota, Sout.b Dakota and Wyca11l1. There ant .ublcribeu in CalVoda - rrc. ftoYfl Scota to Brit.hh Columbia, Mexico, Italy, AUltralJ.a, hance, Enalanj. Scotland, Sveden, Welt GeMllllI'l¥ and The !Ce:therlandl. We hive lubleribera ft'Otl Key West, 'lorida t.o the Yukon Territol7 of Alalka; from Winterville. Georgia to Somerville, Manaehuaet.tl; 1R Quiekaand, Kentucky; Garden Grove, North Carol1na; Plealint. Grove, Utah and £Verlreen, Colorado. Notea CClaie into our office vith intereatina letterheadl. DentlaU, leienthU, veterinarianl, .-bel'l of "11&iOl.lI ordeu, grade achool teaebv"I, unlveuity profellOu, lecret.arle., Itudenta (Harvard. W1l.U.uI and Mary and USC, JUIt. to na.e a fev), lbop ownerl and profe .. lon.l ~s1eialll lubaerlhe to the DPlf. 11lere ' l 1a.et.h1t1& lpeeial about dulcwr fol.ltl (have you ever notleed t.hat.f) and we wilb we knew each lubleriber personAllJ. BpeaUna of apeclal dulet.er folU, apln we want to thank our Canad.1aJ1 f'l"1end Mieh. . l Lepre fro. Mont~al for the de11&hU''Ul drawing. be hal I .. nt for Ule 1n the DPlf . YOI,I'll fin4 thee acat.teredo t.hrou.&hout. t.h11 i .. lle and in l ..ue. to c:o.e. arrina: brina;1 flowers and Oulcwr Dey. and green Iea"ea and the Alabau:e feativ.l and war. breezel and Cosby and more . Go t.o a festival t.hla year. Brin& your dulct.er . L"IOk for UI. We'll be looking for you. Happy Spring !

Are you }{OYinq ? You voul.d.D't. leaTe )'OUr dulcwr bebind, 10 vh¥ leave your DUlCIMER PlAYERS NEWS lanp1lh1n& in the Vl'OIlI _11bQx. or in the _11 .. ek he&d1nc baclt to Front RoraU TIMI, TV auml, PSYCJlJLOGY TODAY and other _gazlnel a,Jlt know week. In advance about. a nev addreu. You can t.all UI one day before t.he DPN lOll in the 1IIIIl11 if you .ult - but pleale t.ell 1.11 . In order to have 3rd Clall _11 forwarded you mult. .pecif1ca~ note 50 on the eard you fill out at the local Polt Office when 70U let the. Ir.nov Vhere t.o forv&J"tt )'OUr lat Clall _11. The DPlf 11 _lied 3rd cl.all . It it c:o.e. back to UI, we ~It '*7 the POltage &pin, and voue l\lclt, ve don ' t know where t.o lend )'OW" DPlf. We haTe a ..all colllc~lOD of lorloIl,y, unclas.-d DPlfI on a lhalt. Pl:rhapa the ownerl think tha DPlf vent out of budnell or that. ve laclt eo.. relpondbllit.y. Kot true! Den ' t for get \II vben )'OUr addre .. changel. and your DPN v1ll folltN :rou to your new hoM .

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Feedhach Dear Phil 1 III prepared to make an offer which ..y interest. aome of your readers.

connection with my work I have Icce" hardware .

to • great deal or

.ophllticate~

computer

I have written .. prQCull which lilta preebe 1IIe"urelllent.. for fret. place-

ment bI.ed on .tring length .

Thele

1IIe•• urementa

are accurate to l/lOOOth of the

unit of ."UTe be it metric o r othervile. It should be noted that theBe mellllurementa are bued on the "equal tellpered " chrolllltlc leale. Aa .uen they could be uled for !'rett.lng any in.tl'Ullent, not ju.t • dulc:bler .. of course rou know. I extend .y orrer to any reader I I follows : Send _ • ata.ped. lelt- addreued envelope conta1n11l8 the It.r1n& length 1n which you are int.ere.ted and I '11111 lend out e ec.putflr leDented lilting of fret . . . ure.entl to the 36th !'ret. For dulcimers, of couree, you Blat leave out the appropriate freta. I will I:UO .raver .ole re • • onIble questionl regarding intonation or ~ program tor Lhole interelted. } am endoaing a lample lilUng rro. ~ progna (not printed here). For Ikeptiea, the prolralll revolvea around the tollowing tOl"lll\la. Sineerely , De.n Rieh 2~ Brandywine Blvd. Wi1aington, Del. 19B09

2.-~(f-h"'rx fo ~~

10 - st""'7 ~

Dr. W1111all Speneer announcea that a one -week worklhop on Mountain Dule1 __r will be otte red tor 1 ullelter hour e re~1t thil au.-er on t.he e4l1PJI ot AppalaehiAn State Univenit:y . Tentat.ive pana are tor tha week ot june 26- 30 trom 8 :00 A.M. to 12 eleh da:y. In addit.ion to balie inst.ruct.ion on hov to tune anti pl.a:y the duleiar in varloua .odel, .:Ire advanced ri8ht.- haDd Leehniquu and vains .t:.horda will be uplond. There will 1110 be opportunit.iel t.o bear _evenl ot the loe.l dule1.ar pLayen Ind tield trip. t.o tx.ea and lhopa where the_e inat.ruaenta are ..de . Since thia will not. be a eonatruetion el.... :you _hould plan on bring1n6 :yoW" ovn dule1.ar, but it :you don't hava one t.o ule, _everal will be available at the vorklhop. You will alao have an excell.nt opportunity t.o purehau I haM-ade dule1l1er trOll one ot the local curtamen i t you vllh. Inquiriea lhould b. Iddr... ed to: Dr. Willa .. Spencer. Hulic Dept., App.lachian State Univera ity . Boone , N. C. 28608. We have leveral new bookl Ind recorda 1.1 vell III perioUcaa which we had planned to review in thll 1Iaue. Hovever, due t.o a laek ot lpace we ' ll have to lIve thelll tor nex-t. t.1.a. Jerry Rockvell. ha_ lutho~ two new Mountain Dule1.er book_ nTwelve Traditional Tune. tor Dul.c1aer" and "Chordal Ixplorationa tor 3- St.ring Dule1JDer- Ion1an Tuning". Mort on the.a later. Fine little boou! ! Al.ao. Paul Pyle hal reviled hi_ nice Uttle Ntn . Dulciaer book "The Appalaeh1an Mountain Dule1aer Book- (Uti D. P. Jf . BooUiat) and t.he reauUa are very good indeed . A book era-d with sood in!'o,..t.ion!

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Dear Phil and Maddie, The DPW 11 . . &ood .. ever . It ' . upedallJ valuable tor lie . . up here in the Jlortbeut or Iln&laDd the ~t.aln elulcS.ller 11 not a ~ lnltr'Ullent. "!lot.

our acrt or instrument" va. one eo-ent. I ' ve heard . Ilovever • • 1 player! aU over the place .eem to be proving, It ' . poli l ble to erfecthely playa vide range or llUaical lansualel. The lI'orthean or Iln&land 1a the tK*e or t.he ~rthUllbrlan bagpipu. The .... 1e on tb..e teDd! to be played in • d..pIer ('a.hlon and Ie .. frenetically than OIl the U1Ilean P!pel . I'. bellnn1nc to reel that re..onably nlll!ble dulcs..er playlns fiflleu oould f'1.Dd ao.e very beautlt'Ul _locl.1e. a.onglt l'IorthUllbrun • .IIle. HIIlv. you heard or tM tollowinc record. - TQC)RR(1W WE PART by Finb", Fure1 and Bob Stewart (wlth Stuart Gordon and George Furey) on Crucent Records and DROPS or BRANDY by Sean McAloon and John Rea on Topic Record.' The flr.t 1. priaarlly .ude oc.b1n1nl Uillean pipes and p.. lteriel. but with !Iorwelan riddle, vhlltIe, .-u1tar and bodrhan too. It 1. one or the ~.t ~.u.ti t'u..l and hAuntins recordl I ' ve heard for. lone; tu.e. The lecond one 11 .ul1c coB:Iinillf Ulllean pipel and ~red dulc1.aer (the inatrullenU an played ind1viduall¥ too). Thil 11 f.lter .ore Ihu.er1ng .ul1c on the ¥hole and 11 in a .ore traditiol\lll vein. Great ltuN'. lnc1dentl¥. on another tack, Rh. .an Roland llik ' i "Serenade To It. CUckoo" tpel nicely in the Aeolian mode and ~ of tho6e nice Juicy Jass chordl can be quite ... il¥ oftained . 1IIIprovinUon in the Jdddle 11 a bit ot a problem. You can do lOIIIething thoroughly "vulgar and. un,eelDl,y- 11ke ,wit.ching over t.o the traditiol\lll lOng "The Cuckoo". Such changing of rhythm , culture. and lIIUlical chaTacter 1a likely to IMVlI you in a .tate of .hock~ ~hov tt.nk, .... in ror ell )'OUr wort, helpf'ulnell and kindnell . JuUan Watson Sprins Lodge krl\llrd castle County Durbb, ElIiLAlm

AT LAST ...

DU LC IMER S THAT ARE I"IAI>E. ANDF'A/"'''!D''~ W.U.AS It F'N' GU 'TA~. SOL.D ~O<ID "'~'I> fNT'"U'I. SOOI(''''"TC H£O ToP, .,,~ .. ,"NO.s. 0 U.

"o.s.'

FUlL lell ....... FULLY FIl~TTED. ~O o~ ""O~" UY'. + STR'Ne •. WilLA/lIT, CN'HII. V, Clilsr",,,r, 011 SHe,_a. WOODS. $0 .."''' IIOLIS - •

,J, •.

G..".ANTIfP ,.11 LIFE. .I%~~ 111 _ _y ... : W""lllN II. MAY ~ " ''''1ttS SERf"'. /('1• ....... ,

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1M> QuiU or A.rf.ua Lut!thn h .. _ protit or.,.m .. u_ vft.1d, actt •• &II lAt_-

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lIItlilhra or all ptr.llN1_ aM. d-V- or np.rl.-.: • • Owr a.u. IICUdU •• are "iac d·

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To Job tM Q\d.ld or .... ncaa IAoUoJ.era

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(ch..:k or _.,. ordlr ) llith ,our ... M. alld" .. , phone , IlC . Ittt"'rllhlp ,h... MItitl .. )'ou to aU VUbUcaUona printed thJ,. 7_ '" .aMbition r tpu at tht Con..... tiOfl . halt pM.U ady.rUn_l. and r.... cu••tti"" ad. 111 11M 9 .... "t ... 1.: • .... .. ..... rMip u r tUicata ( .....H.. lou

Ol. 9 S .€' /'1Q.in l1,cls'J /'111 .

.rter Ju __ ,.,. 1911) .

8ZZZ South Park Avenue Tacoma.WA

~08

DULCIMERS BANd OS

.AND1'HIH6$

KEN HAMBLIN ..SEND

80X 894 SALEM, VA.24f53

t6f IN STAMPS FOR CATALOGUE JEAN'S DULCIMER SHOP P.O. Box 8, Hwy. 32

Coaby, Tonn. 37722

Anfshed dutcimera and kHa by several

makers in stock. Other instruments. too. 01 _ . record The - . . .. _ albums, and accessories on mountain and hammered du~ available anywhere. We distribute to other dealers, 100. Catalog: 351. _ _ with order.

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Dear Phil & ....ddie : Tran.. tlantic, who dhtriblltel Trailer re conll , val IIiPPOled to send YOII a review copy of EARTHED III CUlUD VALU:Y, but didn 't. So I will . Kepe you 11ke it. (We do ve ry, very INch.) I ' . not 'IIre the dlilct.Ctr r ecorded vell . Haw about a r ONa o n how t o aike the dlilcilier '0 it re cord. properly? I've been . . king around bllt haven ' t ~t found any llire- fire t.echnique •. Best ..,hhe. for continlled s lIcce •• Holly Tannen Greeting. rro. Koolie r land _ Much h. . been happen1na with the dlilcae r here 10 will try to fill you in. Thh put lu-.er val lpent GOing to variOUI festivall hearing tnditional and billegn .. . . lic , learni ng IIIIlny nev t!;nel . In the tall I went to varioll' r-rk. playing on II;Y lunch hour . ~ter Cooney and I gave a clan o n beginning dulcaer and be.d 24 people .how IIP~ ao.e Ire still taking private leslonl fro. _ and show ... ch pr<MIhe. We plan to offer t.he Clalll thi. Ipring at the Tree Univenity here in Indianapolh. Ir anyone b interest.ed t.hey can contact _ . I have an albWII in the work. . It will contain contelllporary, traditional, and o rigina l ,ons', played on dlllc1_r Ind guitar. Hope to have it finished thb Ipring ! AlIo , I ' m working on a ae ries of callette tapes for learning du lcimer that I hope '1'111 be available .oon . On the beginning tape I will have different tun ing' played ao that. tuning wi ll become Ie .. of a proble.. _ I hope ! ... P. 8. Plene find below In expanation of ha"";)nic. and their IIle on the dulcime r . Fred Heyer 3915 N. New Jeraey Ind pll . , lnd . 46205 HARMONICS +++-+-+ Har.onic. , or bel..l1ng or chilling, are a part. of _ny pickert "hot lickl". It 11 t.he technique by which the .t.ring 11 light.ly tollcMd at a certain point., emittin& a high pit.ched ch1a1ng lound. Single not.el or whole chords can be played in t.he belinning, .iddle, or to end a song . The effect can sound quite nice . On the dulcime r, clear hanaonics can be played b:y Itriking the str1ng lightl:y above the 2 nd, 3rd , 4th , and 7th frets, and an octave above. Ir the dulcimer 11 tuned to the bagpipe o r dtraight 0 t.unins. all st.rings can be played for a very ple. . 1ng effect . In thll tunins try : 4 - 3- 3-2. 4 - 3 (You ' re in the Any Nov) 4 - 2 - 3 (N . B. C. ), or jll.t touching above the 3rd or 7th fret to end a lOng . A IIOre advanced technique all.avl you. to chilDe any note found on the dulcimer . To do th1l , you fret. a DOte vit.h your left hand (if you ' re r1&ht handed of course) , touch the Itrins on the corresponding fret an octave higher vit.h the first f~r of )'OUr r1&ht hand , while striking the Itr illl vit.h the aiddle finger of your right. hand. Once YO Il get. used to IIOving both band. toget.her you will be able to cM.• all notes avall.1ble on t.he dulcime r and add hot lick. to the I weet .ouod. Fred He~ r BANJO PiAYERS A'ITENTION Any of you bsnjo players Ollt t.here who a r e llnavare t.hat. t.hat t.here is a ne wlletter f or t>.njo players lhould look into BANJO NEWSIErl'ER . It. is put. Ollt. by Hub & Hancy Nitchie, 1310 tIIwkinl Lane, Annapoli. , MD 21401. Thll iI a fine and well establilhed publicat.ion which coverl bot.h bluelr. . a &; old time banjo playing &; building , et.c . o~ O\Ir. 1n Ar11116t.on. Va. are try1nc to help tva beglnn1ns du.le1aht. 1n the San Francilco area. Jack & Jane are both new to dulcimers and playing t.he .. and are having t.rouble develop i ns their .kllll _. becaule they don ' t know anytlne el.e in that. area who pla:y. o r t.eache. the dulc:1Aer. Anyone in t.he bay area who would be interest.ed in playing along vit h or t.eaching the .. two neophyte. plene c.aoll Jack Burchard in oakland st 652 · 5~32 .

Fr1end.

:J)..;., :J)../cim...

..."

771

lUll KU.

...................

H . . _ A ...... ~

....

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Dear pt,ll, Since I lnt wrot.e to you (Winter 1978 issue) tIY nrlt dulcimer hn gone througtmore ra~Hcel lurgery, and I thoucht you ' d like to hear what elle I ' ve come up with. To get the belt pouible tone from I dulcimer, I think the channeled fretboard with hole. undernelth 11 the but bet.. The entire fretboard transcnltl vibration. directly to the aoundbOird when built this way . On the other hand, a lcalloped fret. boerd 11 your belt bet for incre ..e;! volume. However, I do think that 10lIIe duired characterhtic. of u:~ dulcilM!rI tone are lost th1l way . I ' . lookine for a middle grounJ between thele two con~ptl, thul I have willed lIlY fir.t dulcimer to Icience. I t-J to reconatruct th~ fingerboard do to a bed fret s-ttern, anj the inltruMnt hal tIIk.en lINch wear and tear. So, I ' . in the process of build1n& number two . Here 11 the re.ulta of '0C!e .ore experiMnta with nWllber one. I firlt reOO8nhed the dtem tone from III scalloped fretboard by hitting the ha~nici at various placel. They are IlUch weaker than tt.t of a ~lain channeled tretboard. I alao think that a loun;lboerd can diltort .e- frequencb. by vibrating to Dlch - .ort ot overloading the wood. I bave'nt decided whether I've overbraced or underbraced t~ top. Another thine I ' ve noticed on every dulcUier I ' ve played ia a certain intona tion problelll around the third and fourth tretl . The fourth fret, which 11 the fifth of the IC.1e, ia alwayl IUghtl.)' flat if the lecond Itring ia tuned. fifth above the ball I tring, . . in the- Ionian and Mixolydian lDOdu . Either the middle It. r i ng 11 a harp at the third fret and the baa. Itring flat at the fourth or vice vern . Thll 11 eontusing to M. Maybe lomeone with. IIIlth background can figure it out.. I lur e can ' t. Movable brUgu are a IlUlt! The higher the tendon of a Itri", the f la t ter the intonation seellll to get. You've sot to be able to co.Ipenlate by .,ving the b r idge. I've been .. king lota of IIIOvable bridgel for people who SO crazy trying to t une with ltationery one â&#x20AC;˘ . A. of nov, I'm trying to work out a tab .yatelll for some Iri.h harp and p i pe t unel I play. I can ' t figure out how to get all those fingerpicked l1tUe bugge r . on paper yet. \lhen I do I'll lend 10000e in to D. P. N. I think it would be nice if everyone learning to build dulcimera would write about their experiences. It ia an illlportant part of learning to look at f ailu re. Ind figure out why they are a. IlUch al enJoy1n& lucceaae â&#x20AC;˘. I ' ll let you knov how nu.ber two Comel out - 1'. full of new ideas. Deus Berch l685 Ealt Firth St. Brooklyn, If . Y. 11230 Dear Phil & Friend. I really enjoy your D.P. N. and vhat a .torehouse of info~tion ~ We Iln! fortunate hare in the Indu..napol1l area to Mve lo.e fine dulciMr _k.erl aDd a1.l0 a "Cent.ral IMiana Folk Muaie and Mountain Dulcimer Soeiety" which Brow. aU the t1:ee . Are ' nt dulcimer makers and players spect.al !~ n 1'. privlledBed to be one of the dulcimer player. on tour at "CoMer Prairie Pioneer Settle.ent" - I ' ve encloled a brochure ao you can .ee Ju.t a little bit; what ve are, and tory to portray. Since ve do fir.t perlon and role playing I can only play song. before 18)6 (our tt.e period). I love Ill' work , the people I work with and the set.t1n& vtuch 11 beautiful. Colle see u. i f you ever have the t1De ~ ! Bet-ty Ger r ard 823 S . 10th St. !foble.ville, Ind. 46060

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Sprins ia here (at lalt!) and. the d.ulc:1.er festiva18 and gatheringa are nov lbap1.ng up f o r the oo.ins lealon. The D. P.N. hopei that every player, build.er, or Just plain liatener vill come out for one of these g r eat gatherings o f d.ulcilDer people and fini st; up the lealon in September at the National Finala Conteatl in W1n!1elcl., Kanl .. . The D. P. lf. will be at. these eve ntl - hope to lee you all at one or ano ther. -Filth Annual Southern ApP!llachian DulcilDer Festival will be held. on Sunday. May 1,

1918 at Ind.lan Springl School. located. louth o f 8iradngbam, Alabu.. on Cahaba Valley Road. (County Road. 21) between U.S . Highwayl 31 and 260. Houri will be from 1 : 00 to 6:00 p.m . Adillildon will be $1.00 and e veryone iI invited ! Lelt year law quite a large crc.vd for thi s event from I118.ny ItatU. The 1978 felti.val vill feature Icheduled d.ulc1lDer perforllllLncel (Mountain & Ha..aered) indde, plul playing & singing outlide under the t r ees, lalel boothl for d ulct.er makers and acc:euorlu salat. Any dulc1lle r . . ker who would like. booth should contact t he feltival ehau-n: Mr . Char lea Eilil , Southern App. Dulcimer Festival, Indian Springs School , Helena , AL 35080 (205) 823-0913. Other int'o may be obtained from the All ocia_ tion Cha iMDlln: Peggy Donaldson , Rt. 15 , Box 10l2, Binll1ngham, Al 35224 (205) 788-8534 (call after 6 p . lII . or on veekenda) . wiil hold its Spring Meeting on Sunday, April 23 , 1918 at Millouri from 2 till 5 pD. Featured wi ll be playing in the pavilio n worklhopi a lpecial program for the reddentl of thia r e tire ment center. Fo r more int'o on thil event or memberlhip in the Prairie Club (a cha pter o f The Original Dulcimer Players Club) contact Harvey L. Prin& , 9540 Walmer, Overland Park, Kanl .. 66212. Thia group featurel both mountain & hallJlllered dulc1_r. The SUllZller Festival of the Prairie Dulcimer Club vill be held. June 21i &: 25 , 1918 at Missouri Tovn 1855, Leke JaCOlDO, Minouri, repeating lalt year ' l fantaltic evel?t.

..!til

++tDulc1mer DaYI in ROlcoe Village. The 4th annual Dulc:1mer Dayl is let for May 20 &

21 in histo ric ROlcoe Village (Colhocton, Ohio ) . Dulcimer Days gives artists and art.ilans an opportunity to participate in contests . Jam le81ionl and informal meetingl for learning new techniquel and longs from each other. Both mountain & hammered dulcime rs will be featured . The event will take place at Lake Park , JUlt north o f the restored village. Conteltl vill be ltaged in eight categories. Detailed information on the Villige and Dulcimer Convention is available on requelt. Those who regilter in advance wi ll re celve a map. Ichedulel , and additional int'o, includinc campinc and a ccomodations lists. Write : Pat Brown, OP78 , 381 Hill St . , COlhocton, Ohio 438l2. CollIe Join in this fun and well attended event !!

~11I"'-------1"~

THE COSBY' DULCDmI CONVENTION

1111

The 2nd annual Cosby dulcilDer gathe r ing will again be held t his year on at Jean & Lee Schillinc' l Folk Lire Conter of the S4Ioltiel in Colby, The Convention, Jointly sponaored by The Folk Life Center of the Smekiel aDd the will be itl Illual low- keyed and informal gathering of old and who make, play o r JUlt enj oy lilteni ng to either the lIOuntain or hammered d ulcimer. Oulcimania pr evaill but other instrumentl are welcomed too! ,",ore infoMDlltion may be obtained by wri ting to Folk Life Center ot' Jean & Lee SChilling, P. O. 8o:r; 8 . COlby , Tenn. 37122 Phone 5

1- 5

3路

Anyone who would 11ke to help o ut with the daily vorklhop eventl o n l18k1ng and playing either lOOuntain or halllller dulcimer are urged to dgn up ea r ly . We need an lort l of volunteerl for various Chorel to help make the veek.end go smoothly. Evening conce rts will be held. 11ke we did last yea r a nd an Ire weleomed to lign up and play on ltage. There will be a pot l uck Iupper on latuNay at 5:00 pm. Free primitive camping on the grounds or nea rby fa cilities for tenterl , vans, or traile r l SEE YOU ALL THERE !!

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MIld to:

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- TBIBUle

SIOPPI

Handcrafted Musical I nstruments By McSpadden RECORDS FOLK CRAFTS BOOKS

Drawer E - Highway 9 North MOUNTAIN VIEW, ARKANSAS 725(j() PhoneSOI 路 269路8639

c.tal

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CHORDING:

PART I

r':--------V

Perhaps you prefer atrwtmina: in the traditional noter style . That ' s great. But if you ItSnt to try aOIlMl chorda on the dulcimer, we ' ll help you.

Firat, tune )'OW' dulc1me.r in the typical IOl'lian lIIOde tunin8 - Do Sol Sol. You don ' t have to be in a particular key, but if you vant to follow the practice tune accord1n& to the lllUaical notation, tune )'OW' b.. s luina to 0 and the other Stringl to A (0 A A, i f your dulcimer hal 3 or 4 .trin81 with a double IlMllody Itring). Your dulcimer inltructiOD books rill help you with I o nian tuning should you need further a"iatance. Soeetbing which III1ght help you with chording 1a a tablature work sheet on which you have drawn linel to represent the Itrin8s ot your dulcimer. It your dulcimer has the double lllelody string, you don't have to draw in the extra string, for you use the two strings aa one . You don ' t need If' you draw up a page, why not pbotOltat it and. keep extr l.8 availabl e for thoa. lovely tune. you work out and Deed some help remembering. It you read IllUsic, you 'lll.i&ht consider makins: notation/tablature sheetl s1.a1.lar to thos. we UI. for writing out tunel whi ch appear in the OHi'. If you vant a sbeet with !DUsic stavel and 3 Itring dulcime r tablature lines to photostat , lend me a aelf'·addrelled, ltam~ long envelope and I ' ll be glad to lend you one •

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• We d hcullled tablature at lome length in the Winter om (Vol. 4, No.1), so I'll assume you know how to follOW' tablature at least a little. Briefly, each nueber on the lines reprelenta a fret on the dulcimer. A :tero meanl the Itring h open (unfretted). The rhf'thID i l indicated in the "'me _aner .. IlUsic:al notation (quarter notes have .. Itell, an eishth note hu a flag, two eighth not. . are barred together, etc . ) . In lDO.t of the follow1n8 eXUlples, bovever, the rhYthm vill not b. indicated . Look at the exup1e belOW' of chorda fretted on two stringe.

Perba~ your

first obstacle h fin&ering. There 18 no real u.sic formula. I use lIlY thumb alot on the meloc1y string . However, to reach something with your thumb, you aut twist your arm somewhat . Many excellent players baaic:ally use the index, III1dLfle and ring f1..ni;ers. Others use the thumb orten . It 1a for you to decide . Watch other players snd experiment . Since I currently use lIlY thumb, many of lIlY fin&eringl vill advise it . Do what feelll best for you . In tbe following examplu anc1 tunes, T will mean thumb, I for indu finger, M for middle finger, R for rina: finger and L tor little fin&er. With the t1n&ering vritten In, try the chords again .

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What do you have? Some hanDOnies f or a note at the 3rd fret of your melody strine; in the I onian tuning , Just by adding in the middle or bus string he r e and there. Try another fret on the tllelody string - the 7th. Some chO.l"ds will souml strange. Which onea?

I didn ' t care for chords VII and VIII too much, although they might work for .. particular tune . You can play each fret , find another fret on the middle or baaa at ring which barmonizea well according to your ear, write the fret numbera down and thereby begi n your own c hord cha:-t.

'lVo fretted atring chorda are a beginning. Eventually, if' you vish, you can add another frette-d s t ring to )'l:Iur Ml'IIIOny" For elUlmpb. try the fol lO\li"& chord"

That chord tucked in somevher e might add a nice touch to a tune .

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• My friend Keith Young , an excellent dulcimer builder and player in Anna.ru1ale, Virginia,

devised a chording !lletbod which va_ printed in the DPN (Vol. 3. No.1) . If you misaed it, part of h18 artic le 1& .. _ f'ollow.: "Chord outaide (b .... ) .trillS vith index finser one fret lover than your =el.ody string (played with your thumb For axample . thumb at the 3r d fret, index finser at the 2nd tret. Keep this relationship on up the scale. Exception : notice the sour note at the 7th tret. Move your index tinger to the 7th fret allo (thUlllb stays at the 7th tret tllelody lItring) to make it sveet."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• PRACTICE EXERCISE :

THREE STRING CHORDS , SCAlE lfARM)lf!Z,ATION

We bave s poken in previoull Roots and Br anches column. of the scale running troll!. the 3rd to the 10th tret - Do Re Hi Fa Sol I.e. Ti Do . We ' re going to barmonhe the Do Re Hi acale by putting a chord on each tone. I ' ll put finge r ing down. Use or change thell!. as you v illh.

!t ~~ ~~~~~~MI Re- Mi

Fa Sol

L'b.. To

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fINGERING: Be SURE to be con8istant in your fingering. If you use fingering other than those written with the chords , write them down and learn the exercise that way. It ' . a good rule to write down fingerings 1.8 you work out e.ny piece of music using. chords . First, play the "Do Re Hi" chord. through until SOllIe o f the difficulty vorkJI out . Nov form the first chord , stl'Ulll it and then pick the individual strings in this order: Melody, BaSI , Middle , Bass and then strum asain. The strllllllling and pick1ne: of the first and second chorda is vritten in tablature below.

Play the exercise until it ' s 11ke second nature - maybe 100 times or more during your spare time ! What good ¥ill this exercise porvlde? General dexterity in your chording hand, coordination in Pl.aY1na chords and picking plus a ftUl111arlty with lome usable chorda which might help you in harmonizing BOIIIe tune ••

Many of the chords in the practice exercise are in your practice sor.g. IMPOR'tANT. For play1f18 ease, you should torm your chorda and hold them while you are pickif18 t he individual notes which are in the chord. For one of many examples, look at the second full measure ot " Plaisir d ' Amour ". Look ahead when playing tablature . If you see fret numbers which are ultimately part of a chord, f orm the chor d fir st , pick the individual strif18s and now you are ready to strum the chord when you get there .

••••••••••••••••••••••• PRACTICE SONG:

"Plaidr d'Amour" (liThe Joye of Love " )

Thb beautiful sof18 18 played at a slow to OIOderate speed . It was writte n by the German born operatic composer Martini il Tedesco vho was well- known in his adopted country , Fr&nce, during the turn of the 19th century. This arrangemen t o f "Plaisir d ' Amour is copied in I*rt from SINGING WITH THE APPAIACHIAN DULC IMER by Madeline MacNeil Mason (Communications Press, Inc. - 1m). I t is used with perminion .

••••••••••••••••••••••• We are by no means finished with chording, but next iSlue's Roots and Branches deals with tuning - a comDOn problem with the beginning dulcimer player. Happy Spring! n

The

Mountain

DULCIMER

"All Hand Crafted " --from Hardwoods

"Come Seel

Buyl

AI!d

l'Ioy"

" ' - 7tn_1261

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JOnia.nMode-K.~Of D Tune IX, Sol Sol <OOAl

MoJtiO/ il Tedesco QJr.

~ mo -

.r. I

~ I)

ment

Ihrnlh

lon~.

'# "The.

•

~~-

-6-.

pa.I"

(../

-----

love

:s_

'-..--

b~Llt

M.adeline M.•.c.\'eil

( d.

en -

:e:

•

the

d«res

J. _.<t- _fa

::2 I.....j

~~~

~e 4

Whole

_.r--./

/on9 •

(

L...

4 10..

.....

10..

Your eye' ktased mine, I l av the love 1n the~ shine , You brought me heaven right then when your eye. killed .Ine.

3·

My love loves me,

(d ,

an~ all the vonder. I lee , A ra1nbow .hines in my window , my love lovel me.

t.. And now he ' . gone, like a dream

that fades into :;!avn.

But the won" ltay loc:ked in my heartst r ing!!, "My love love. me. "

5·

Plal.1r d ' a.our, ne dure qu ' un moment , Chagr in (I ' amour dure toute la vie .

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a. new a.lbu.m btl

MADELINE MACNEIL ~ ard UaJi"6 i\pplIachian Dubrrer

01nglng with the App:1IQch Ian Dulclrler Q boot<. 0+ SOnqs In mLlSiCAI noiatlon o.nd tabla.ture.ma.n~ w;f!, col.!'nter- melodie.s -b~ Madeline MacNeil MP.son

Sherondooh Spnnq album Q!oriQinal Sonqs JxjM.adeline M~f(ell- just II litlle.dLdcimer- mo.;nl~ qufw Qndflute accompaniment

ord(:r 510m BIlLe f\idQe. Du.Jcimer Shop PoO.Box 15~

Front RoyaJ.Va. 22."30

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PLZASE ADD POSTAGE TO '«J.ffl BOO" ORDERS (35;! tor one book

50¢ to r two or IK)r e)

The tollov1ng pages reprelent a liating of Just about every dulcime r ~ook which 11 c:urrentl,y availlble. The record Hstings teature those recordl available to us which best r eflect and feature moltly dulcime r music . We continually add to our r ecord l1ltifl81 10 please ask UI about any r ecord you might be trying to locate. It we don ' t t.ve It we a1ght be ab1.e to tell you where to get it. Thele . .terla1.s are . .de available to our readerl in a continuing effor t to be or service and act al a relOurce for dul.cUer players. Proceeds rro. book and record salel help to IUpport the ettortl or the Dulcimer PLayers Nevs.

ALL MA'l'ERIAUI LISTID ON THESI PAGES MAY BE ORDERED

FRO(:

THE DUlCIMER PlAYERS NEWS BOOI<LIST P. O. aax: 157 rRONI' ROYAL, VA . 22630

MOUNTAIN DULCIMER INSTRUCTION AND SONG BOOItS "SDIGING W1TK TIl! APPAIACKIAN DULCDm:R " by Madeline Madlen Muon. A .econd leneration dulc1_r book rro. C~lcaUon Prell ' n"-erlcan Mullc Seriel" . Cont.&inl a tine variety ot IOnel rro. the BriUsb Illea a04 American traditions arraneed in both a ebord1nc t.&blature tor. and raBUlar wllc notat.ion. Extendve notes Oil dneins and pla:ying the lonel are included, &I are countel"llll!:lodiel tor IIIII.ny ot the 10nel . Very nne book ~ ~ ~each.

"BEST WVJD HYMlIS ARRMCED fOR THE DULCIMER" by Mark & Carol Blair. Another book rro. the IAlwrican Nude Seriu li • The title 11 an apt ducriptl.on of th1l book which conte.inl IIIIl.IlY fine hyJIn. in both e;bording tablature and resular IllUIlc:aL notation tO rlll i n an ealY to read and tollow format. Note. on playing the hymn. and other helpfUl i ntonation 11 lne;luded. ~ eaC;h.

BOO"-

nTH! OOLCIMER by Jean Rite;hie . The e;lasaic:al book on the .ountaln dule;Uler by one ot its -alt laportant. player. . Containl IIIlHlY tine t.une. . ~ e.d! . by Jean Rite;hie .

Should be part

ot every serious duie;Ule r player ' s

Many reterene;el, playins tips, hiltorie;al notel , tunes , and dule;imer

bu1l.d1ns intor-.tion .

eae;h .

" PlAYIMl LEAD OOLCIMER" by Dr. RIC;hard WUk1e. Great book tor helpins the bel1nnins or int.en.ediate player to let into the IIOre advane;ed and lnteruUng Ityle. ot c:bord ina and _lody playing COIDbirl&tl.ons. Clear and detailed inltrue;Uon.. ~ e.&e;h. "FOUR AND 'IWEN'I'Y" by Lynn MeS~dden &. Dorothy Fr ene;h . Contains mue;h helpful playing i n/or.-ticn aDd instruction , plus 24 I r eat t r aditional tunel and ball.ad. for duldmer i.o. both tablature and • .IIie;al notation. ~ "ch. "BRnHR!lf WE RAVE MET" by Me;Spad.den &. French. Containl 30 tr&d1 tional ~ aDd caroll fo r dul.dller vitn tlblature and aude; IlOtation . Tuningl and chord chart I allo included. ~ eae;h. "PLAY 'fHI DULCDCER BY !!All AftD 0'nlER EASY WAYB" by Len &. Su Madae;hron . Thil well prepared little booklet 11 e;raamed with soocl intor.aUon. Ma.n.y tipa and lU88utlona are included alone vith an e-.y to tollow approae;h to play1nc theory. A ve r y good lee;tion on tunina: il alao provided . !b..2! "cit.

"ItONESUCH FOR DUl£.lJWI" ($3.00) and "MUSICIC3 DELI'l'! Off DutcIMER " ( $3 . 50) by ROger lficholaon. 'lbese two tine bookl ot tablature. and lnltruction. contain tunel baled on two of Rocer t • record albwu done in h1l great tinae rpie;klna style . Song. and tunel ranee rro. oris1Nl to tradit1orl&l and Xliubethlan . Very wor thwhile boou ~ ~

"IOJInAIIf OULClXER PlATIMi TECK!fIQU!!S: A S'JtIDEln' WORItBOO"" by Eileen Rain.. A boll and v b,)' workbook whie;h takes taalilar tunn to teae;h \.he ballel and. lhow hoY to ada pt the dule;Uer to our modern torm ot 1DU1le; . Troll the buiel it .aWl along to how and wb,)' cberd. are fonlCd. various .odel are tuned, and how to identity a -=xle in -=xlern Mlde; . Mue;h -are 11 alao cowred in thil f1l:!.e workbook. ~ e.&e;h.

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r MOUNTAIN DULClMER BOOKLIST CONl'INUED: "IN SEARCH OF THE WIUl DULCIMER" by Bob Force & Albert d ' Ouche.

Well illustrated

book covering much interesting information on the DOTe contemporary styles , coverS IllUch ground about modes and lIIOdal playing.

Loaded vith tips .

" THE APPALACHIAN MOUN'I'AIN DULCDmR BOOK" by Paul Pyle.

Also

~ each .

A great handbook on playing

1n the traditional style vith lots of really good pointers to get you s tarted. helpful tips and tunes are interspersed throughout. ~ each . " TUNING AND PlAYING THE APPALACHIAN DULCIM&R" by A . W. Jeffreys.

Mighty

A fine little book

which serves as an excellent introduction to chords , counter- melody playing , tunings, ami harmony playing,

11.8 .... ell

as info on noting and strumming .

~ each.

"MOODS OF THE DULCIMER" by Virgil &. Norman Hughes. 55 songs and tunes, tunings, many pl.ayll/g I!ILyleli & IlIel.hode deecribed, plu.1II lIecL!IJ[J on IlpeCilll effecLs, Many excellenL photos of mountain folka and scenes, and SOllIe fine dulcimer tunes are included in this very nice book. ~ each. " THE APPAIACHIAN DULCD!ER BOOK" by Michael Murphy. Conta ins many interesting photos of old dulcimers, etc. published for the first time. Good playing Info & instruction for beginner to more advanced. Lots of source and resource material. ~ each.

"THE PUJCKED DULCIMER AND HOW TO PlAY IT" by John F. Putnam. An expanded and improved edition of the popular "The Plucked Dulcimer of the Southern Mountains". Illustrated instructions for learning to tune and play the dulcimer. Socne well- known folk tu.nes are included to provide practice in various lIIOdes and techniques. !!:22 each. "AN ELIZABETHAN SONGBOOK" by Lorraine Lee. Lorraine has finally vritten the dulcimer book ....e 've all been vaiting for . Contains some great arrangements and instruction for the Appalachian dQlcimer by a very accomplished artist . .tl:.2:2. each . "PICTURES , POEMS AND DULCIMER PIECES" by Kevin Roth . Another well- known dulcimer artist has recently given us another book ye've been vaiting for. The title is an apt description o f the contents and it contains many dulcimer tablatures for the intermediate to advanced player - some of Yhich are on Kevin ' s albwns. ~ each. "THE BEST DUlCIMER METHOD YET" by Albert Ci&mse . Nice book to get started with . It contains 139 songs and lots of easy instructions on strumming , chord playing, picking , and so forth. The song collection in simple tablature is worth the price alone. !l:.22.

E:..i.2

by Mary catherine McSpadden . A very songs with simple instructions for each .

"mE MOUNTAIN DULCDmR (How to Make &. Play It)" by Howie Mitchell. This book contains everything from pertinent information on building your Olm instrument to some help on the more progressive playing atyle of Howie's which helps to extend the lI1I.Isical possibilities of the dulcimer . ll:.iQ each. With aCCOlDpanying record, ~.

"SIMMONS FAMILY SONGBOOK" by Toaay &; Jean SilllDOns. Contains 33 fine follr. songs and tunes ..nth tablature and. regular musical notation systems . FINE BOOK ~: ~ each. "DULCIMER SONGBOOK" by Neal Hel.l..lll8n . A ney book of tunes and songs in tablature fo r the intermediate to advanced player. Great collection ! 55 tunes ~: $4 . 95 each . Neal Hellman & Sally Holden . This is a very chording , and playing styles for many fine tunes. There is also a little record (long lasting) included with this book giving the reader a musical example of all 36 tunes included in the work. GREAT! $4.95 each.

p","1<

"THE RICHARD FARINA DUlCIMER BOOK" by Neal & Sally Hellman. Contain, words and playing intormation and tablature for 24 instrumentals and ballad, by Richard and Mimi Farini. Complete with a discussion of the modes used in the book and even some autoharp arrangements. Grest book of fine lllUaiC. All the tunes except one r epresented. in this book are found on the double album Vanguard recording "The Best Of Richard & Mimi FarinA" (see D. P. N. Record Llst1.ruts) Book only $4 . 95 each .

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MOUlI'l'AIN DULCIMER CONSTRUCTION!2Q!S§.

++++++

"COIfSTRUCTDC THE MOUlfiAIN DUlClMER" by Dean Kimball . This hardbound book cont.ains all t.he into TIIILt.lon t.he ave r age woodworke r rlll need t.o create and tinish a lDOuotain dulcimer in an,y of several shapes and sizes. Alao hilI good tipa on making lCOIe of your own tools for the job. A very good book on dulcime r building . ~ each. "TO BUIW A DULCIHER" by Pltul Pyle .

A best selling: little booUet which is a IlLite slll&ll in sbe but cr&llllled with interesting building il11"o & photos. $4 .00 each .

"MA!CIlC AN APPALACHDJI DULCIMER" by John Bailey . This book on dulcimer construction by an English author is very highly thought of and should be on every builderl book sheU . Lots of good. idesa and intor mation. $l,:1Q each .

"CONSTRUC"l'ION with detailed. Also includes sheet IllUlic .

OF A MOUlll'AIN DULCIMER" by William M. Sch!ll1tt . 10 page plans sheet instructions and d.rawinga to help you easily build your own dul.cillle r . helpf\J.l section on transposing: musi c fro the dulcimer t'rom r egular Only $.!.:,D. each.

"NOTES ON DULCIMER BUIlDING" by Rodger Harris . An excellent nev little book on the building of mountain dulc1men vhich cover s gr ound left out bYthe rest of the books on dulcimer building. Those alresdy into dulcimer building will especially vant to have this book for it s wealth of never ideas and ucellent llstill8s of resources . $5 . 00 each . A MUST BOOII: FOR BUtwBRS ~~

OTHER BOOKS OF INTEREST _.- _. ~~~: ~

by Pete Seeger. Fine collection of songs and ball.ads tolk music persons. $2 . 50 each.

Jean Ritchie. Another book by everyonell . especially to_rds the dulcimer. Relat.es """""" of of a traditional singing family and the songs they included. $~ each .

,,,,t••

by Jean Ritchie. NOt s dulcimer book per words, _lody line, chorda, snd hiatorical singing Ritchie FallLily . $~ each.

HAMMER DULCIMER BOOKS

•

"fIlW TO BUIlD A 'RAJ+IERED ' DULCIMER" by Ph.1ll.1p Mason. Thh 28 page booklet gives

detailed plans and instructions vhlch vl11 allov you to easily construct a hlgh quality, rugged haame r dulcimer with a IlLinimum of fancy tools, etc . Includes sources for wood, strins, hardvare, etc. , etc. Onl.y book availebl.e v hich takes you step-bystep through the COIIplete construction process of a ~r dulcimer. $l,:1Q elch . by Ph1ll.1p Mason . Covers lINch in1"orm.tion interval type instI"\lDlent. has over 20 tunes ':;~~;';. ;::r:ln easy fona as vell as in r egular music notation. History . ~ and discogra phy of the hallDer dulcimer are alao features o f this book. ~gea) $~ each . "TH! HAI+O:RED OOlCIMER : IDI TO MAg & PLAY IT" by lbvie Mitchell.

Not I Hov- To- OoIt lIIIlIlual in the strict sense. . Relates aany of Hovies experiences and experillotnt s in building several dozen instruments. Includes some belpful info rma t i on to help you get s tarted play1n&. and some hel pful IIIllte r ial for those vho a r e pl.anning t o build their OW!) inltrUlDents. $,l:2Q each . Accolllpanyill8 reCOrd/book set ~.

collection o r haamer dulcimer articles which have on Instl"Ullent Herald over the past few years . It content '.~~,~~r.::~'. ~~;';~:~~,!r::TOUl: "Tvo Rour Dulcimer " , "Developnent of the Hammer Dulc imer", ~ and a selection of longs and tunes for hemler dulcimer players.

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_.---·]L\ecorbs HAMMER DULCIMER RECORDS PlEASE ADD POSTAGE TO ALL BOOK AJID RECORD ORDERS ++++ THANXB::

"TROUBADOUR" Dor othy carter.

vho hal a very unique style.

tunel and

IOIOe

~pulAT

Excellent new re cor41ng by a very DELIOIfflVL SOOND!! $~ Eaeh.

1llU11c1at1

Bill Spence vith renniS ' 1 All- Star Str1na Band. Many folkl ve favorite buDer dulc1111er album of all tillle. Hal IIIILny great a1ghty tine dulc1Der playing. ~ each.

"SATURDAY NIGHT Dl THE PROVIIfC!S" Bill Spence vitb Fennig'l AU.- Star String Band. Thil second Spence albUil 11 equally as good as the first. A MUST!! ~ ee.ch. "TRAPEZOID" Sam Rinetta, Pete Vigour, Paul Re1l1er, Paul Yeaton . A combo of four humer dulc1llers (plus other instrumentl) in the hands ot fine players co.bine to produce a unique sound that vill have you tapping your toes right a_yo ~ each .

" MAl.colm Dalsl1sh &. Grey Larson . A superb album of hammer dulcimer in everyone's collection. lots of Irhh tunes and sbsolutely the IIlOlt interesting cover I ' ve ever seen on any re cord album . ~ each .

"MORE PATH RENT" DoIJ8 Ecker, Joyce Desmarall, Rick &. lorraine Lee &. Bob McQuillen . Another ney album tea turing buaer dulciJDer by Doug Ecker. a ~pu.1a.r Boston, Mall . street IllUsician. Duet., solos, and ensemble work by fine musicianl . $Q.50 each. "GREER ROCKY ROAD" Guy CaraV!LQ &0 Friends . Anyone 1'alIl.1llar with Guys haaDer dulciJler pl.ay1ng will want to have thll one. Many fine tunes &. lOngS . GREAT!! ~ each . Bill Spence vith Fennig' s All-Stars. This third an all inltl'Ulllental al'bturl Yith several '010 h .d. cuts and a guest perforllllLnce by Tca McCreesh. A run and inspiring album! $:; .98 ea. Jay Round ylth His Hatrmered Dulcbaer. Jay" third album ill a bit in that he play. alaloat every inat.l'UIIIent on the album and doe. a fine job of it. Plenty ot up tront dulcimer playing . $5 .98 each. "AMERICAN HAMMER OOIA;IMER" Played by Member. of the Original Dulcimer Player. Club ot Michigan. Thll 18 a wonderful album ot tield recordings aceompanied by a booklet ot background lnIo on the players and tunes. The Hst 01 pl&yera represented on this dillc vill be enoU8h to entice anyone to add this to their collection. They include: Bob Hubbsch, Cloise &. If&rley Sinclair , Viola Cox, Eugene Cox, Paul Gil/ord , Bob Spinner, and B1ll Web.ter. $5.96 each.

Charles Maxlon

& Karen

Fine mulic tor hymn

Ski~re .

.1:l.,.t hAaII!Ier dulc1.aler playing 01 Charles Maxlon fro. West Virginia. Great soundins hymnl : Pine ney album !

$5.98 each.

"THE HAJ.!MERED OOLCD!ER ALBUM" Jay Round &. friend. . A very pop.llar record by • very tine Michipn player vho is deeply involved with the dulc1.Gler. ~ each. "COUHBUS STOCMDE BWES" Jay Bound &0 The Will1aDul Family. Jay'. aeeond album teature. IIIIny tine tunes alons vith lOIIe excellent musician. and Jay ' . usual tine playing . ~ each. Jay will .oon have a third album out - Vl'ite U.l about itl avaUlbllity .

~~~~u'l~ro~L~'~

: all the

Mitzie Collins. Thh tine albua leature. both haaDer and cuts. It come. vith a tine booklet with IlUlic atlel WOrdl to songa and tunes plu. II,Ich other intormation. GREAT ALBlJo!! : ~ each .

"WllID THAT SHAKES THE BAIUEY" John McCUtcheon. A tine albWl hy a great haamer dulc1laer player that belong. in everyonek collection . ~ each .

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---

----- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - --

MOUNTAIN DULCIMER RECORDS

0-.- - _ .

"DULCIMER , OID TIME AND TRADITIONAL MUSIC" Ralph Lee Sm.1t.h & Mary Louise Hollowell . Excellent record. which includes an 1nto~tive booklet about t.he tunes and how t.o play them, plus lata of other good. information. FIRE WORK :: ~ each. "DULCIMER , MORE OID TIME AND TRADITIONA.L MUSIC" Ralph Lee SID..1th . A follov- up to the above re cord which alIa contains a very nice little booklet. vit.h the sJ.bum . Theae two alb~a are !!lOst worthwhile to r playera or just plain list.eners. ~ each. Neal Hellman, Bonnie carol, Michael Huge, Robert Hubbert. Dulcimer people will aurely recognize ~t1.,to on tMa ~reat NEW Mountain Dulcimer albUIII put out by Biacuit City Records . The album featurea 19 SOrl3a and t.unea of a vide diverllity . There i8 ailo a tablature book available aeperately which dulc1.me.r players will want to have in or4er to learn and. follOW' the tunel on the albUlll. RECORD $5. 95 TABIA'ruRl BOOK $3 . 95 "STRAWBBRRY fAIR " Madeline MacNeil Mason. Maddie hall finally made a dulc1lGer record and anyone f&.lllil..1ar vith her playing and ainglng (both are up front on th18 aibulll) will lurely vant to add tM. to their collection • • Severa l of the SOngl on thia album can be found in her recent dulcimer book "SINGING WnK THE APPALACHIAN DULCIMER" (see bookl1stings ela_here in this issue) $~ each . Jelln Schilling. A fine album featuring traditional Southern played on dulcimer in Jean ' lI unique a. lovely atyle $2.:.2§: each . "PORCHES Of THE POOR" Jean a. Lee Schil..lin8 . Excellent album by the Ie folks who live in the Gr eat Smokiell. Features many of Jean ' s own compositions . $~ each . "THE RUSSELL fAHny" Roscoe, Roy a. Bonnie. Old time 'IllUde featuring dulcimer played in the Galax style . loaded vith good. old fiddle tunes and toe tappers. $§:.50 each. "APPALACtfIAH ECOOES" George a. Mary Williamson. Old - time Illude with mountain dulcimer featuring solos and duets. Nice tune selection. $!..:..2§ each. "S'roNE courrry DlJLCIMER " The Siamons Family. Contains 18 old- tillle tunes and bal..lJi.ds plus notes on tunings, etc. Fine lllUB1cians trOlll the Ozarka . ~.50 each . SimlIIon8 Family . More dghty tine work by thia tunea on thia one. ~.50 each. "toiIE HITCHELL" Most dulcilller people are f"allli11ar with the el'tceUent playing of this who baa tlone 10 IIPlch to TUrttler ttle cause or tlule1arera. GREAT!! ~ each .

III&n

"TIm OU) SONGS" Marga.ret MacArthur. Fine album reaturine; great dulcimer and harp play11'L8 by this wondertul lady. Many fine tunes and sol'l8s. ~ each . Hlrga.ret MacArthur &. Family, of Marlboro VeMllOnt . A very of Marpret's fine dulcilDer playine; on many cuts. $6.50. "LIVING IN THE TREES" Rick At Lorraine Lee.

Lorraine playa dulcimer on !!lOst cuts

and the .ound these folia produce 'lllUst be heard. to be believed. GREAT :: ~ each

PRICE lIJTE: The pr:lce. on our imp:>rted album. is a bit h1eh due to great difficulty in obtainins these thil'l8a (aU labela) frOlII overseu . We ...y even be out of stock at t1.llea but vill ahip to you aa ve are able . Usually a few in stock at all times tho~h : Roger Nicholson, Jake Walton a. Andrew Cronahav. hurdy- gurdy, ha_er dulcimer. chord harp, of Roger's expertiae with dulcimer. $7.98 Mch.

¥.:i!~~~,:An~drev Cranshaw, Hartin Simpson, Holl,y Tannen and Rick KelDp.

featurir13 me.ny cuts vith Holl,y Tannen au Appalachian dulcimer and a few cuts vith Andrew on hartmer dulcimer. Magnific.nt! $7 . 98 each. [j

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MOUJIlTADf DULCDIER RECORDS CONTllfUED

"LORRAINE lEE ' S DULCIMER ALBlI4" The firlt du}t'1IIer album by thh nationall.y- known and relpected dulc1Jlle.r player and linger. A recording that her fanl have Ions awaited. Several tunes on thh album can be found in Lorraine'l nev book , "Elbabethan Sonsbook" (lee booklilt tor t~il) . $5 . 98 each . "IX1LCIMER FAIR " Leo X:retzner & Jay Leibovitz. An up front 1IIOuntain dulcimer album by two fine players ."ho delve i~to lome difterent styles. MOltly traditional tunes . $~ "THE BEST OF RICHARD & MDU FARINA" A two albulII reoord let ."hich i l Just ."hat the title clai.. . Neal & sally Hel..l.lDan ' l book "The Richard Farina Dulc:irller Book" wa l put t.osether with thil album in mind. The book containl tablatures for all but one tune on this Vanguard " twote r " set. Tvo Record Set $7 .98.

Roser Nicholson. The tirst re c:ordin@; by the fantastic: Ena;l1lh suc:h an inlpiration to players the world over. See booklllt1..ng1 tor Roser ' l book of the same title which contain. tablatures o f tune I on thll album. A .ult for f ofu vho vaDt to set into a bit ot advanced playing. IlIIported Price $1.98

on Dul.c1lller".

Roser Nic:001&on ' l lecond dulcimer album vhic:b allO so along with it {lee book.lht)tit.led ''Musicks Del1te Imported Price $7.96 each.

Phew - Fine player. ~~~~~~!~~~;F~'"~'W'~oJ.~',~ime;:'~!P~";~':'''''r & longS . $ยง.50 each. $5 . 98 ea. Mtn. Dulc1l11er by Robert Brick ~ & M1m1 Farina. (Tvo 10031 by Joan Baez o n this album)

$6.50 each. $V/S each.

RiChard & Mimi Farina $5'98 each. __'?",~ & Richard Farina *~ . ~ each . . ____ :_. Martin . Very tine albua ot dulcimer music. $5.26 each . by Paul Clayton. His only album . $6.96 each . ALBlJoIS WITH

S(IoIE

MOONTAIN OR IWMER DULCIMER MUSIC (SOMETIMES BOTH)

" SHENAfCDOAH SPRING" Madeline MacNeil . Just a tad ot dulcimer backup on this albUIII of lOngS COIIIpoaed by Maddie and inlpired by Shenandoah National Parlt aDd her teelinas tor the people who once lived in this beautit'u.l DOunta1n aett.ins of the Blue Ridge. Most!,y Madeline ' s fine vo1ce & guiter playin@; . Conta1nl "Shenandoah Storyn $5.98 each . "lOR KY FRIEImS A SOnG" setty s.1th. Another tine June Ap~l recording ot a lensitive VOca.Ult and wsic1an. Betty plays a fine Appalachian dulcimer and John McCutcheon ta also featured on thi s album .."ith ha_r dulCimer & ot.her 1ruItruments . $5 . 96 each.

Gordon Bok, Ann Mayo Muir, & Ed Tr1ckett. $5.98 each . Sprung . $5.98 each. HArry Tuft $5 . 98 each . Jon Sundell and the Mounta1n Mus i ciana Coop. $5.98 each. McComb & Friends. Anut.ro""

ALL BOOKS AIm RECORDS FROM THE PREVlOt1S PAGES MAY BE ORDERED FROM : Dulc:imer Players Ne.."s P.O. Box 151 Front Royal , VA 22630 PI&S! ROmMBE!I TO ADD POSTAGE TO ALL ORDERS -+++++ THAlf1tB

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1 000 TOOLS Woodwork.1ng and Huslcal lnat-ruM.ut. Kakinc Tools and Boou

DID YOU KNOW THAT DULCIMERS ARE FUN.

of the htgheat qualLly . Catalog SOt

Woodcraft Supply Corporation Dept. DP 313 Hontvale AveOWl:

Woburn. Ha • .-chuaett. 01801

~ ]{'8.'!Y ~t\im wlth two 7a.thr : pocla!t.s for picks am .5tri1'95

'VLindl. wdh.. Olle lr0t protective. Let tyeryone know how you flel ab out Oul el_.rs with. high qUlltty 100S cotton-jersey r .. -shl "t. Aul hble In nl'll

blue or r.d

wfth "'hfte Ittll"'''!!.

Sp'ectfy color tnd she (S , II or II Ss.oO nd 504: for shipping. Vlr,ifth resldents-Idd U

t .. .

'rlat niH. IddrlSS Ind II p.

Ma tI wt th chect or -oney order to :

: foalrLpaiJdi"j aril cotton. pl'int Jkllc:l. gnp :mi1. .s1wu7kr.sbap

C:;&M..$ZO. •

\'l

Ihl,. Ovld.'rs 1104 fr,utoll Drhe

Al ••• ndrla, Vlrgln t .

22308

lfJiWillStm Y~'.ft&!i pla..

~~n_<A:.!

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Is rfrnnt.

must!

• J

au.ct-~ Dulcl_rll &; Banjo ' • • All Solid Wood . Lit.tll. OUarant.e

~ Laketront 1-1ul ic

1012 I/. Oa1ena ~d . Peoria , Ill . b 16

1IAlue l\ibge

Hammer Dulcimers

J)ulcimer ~bop W~iTE FoR

Mountain Dulcimers Books & Records Accessories

ou~

.'! CATALOGUE FREE

-----L.TS

N~ T. "'~ jnrl'lJ

BWI: IUDGI DUlCIMER Sf«)P

PHIl. " MADDIE Jo'.ASOIf P. O. BOX 157 FRON'T. ROYAL, VA. 22630

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•

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All

)

un - der tn. '•••es and til .. ''''''... Of liJe,

I I

•

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w;th V;r- .3ins

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Se- ven,

And

one OJ il>ern wo...

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lord's best mo-thee In

mild, 0 ....

Dear Pbil and Madd 1e :

I ' ft: been '1ns1n& tbll long unac:co.panied (..altly to 1!1•• lt) tor .evenl year.. Th.1I e,",nine I dllcovered. that I coull play it on the dule1M.r 10 I wrote i t down for)'OU. It 11 • puaicatid. carol .

"' The Le.ve. of Lit e ' ve.ve.

ta.einatlng combination of pasan and 'pparentl1 Chri.t i an

.)'1IIboll . . .•bovina; the 'l"Tee of Lit.. plus other tree and flower .~11 or ancient lII.gi c:al • •n ing . " Bob Stewart "Where II St . GeorgeT" PAGAN IMAGERY III ElI3LISH FOLKSONG

(Moonraker Pre.', 1977)

"The lA.ve. of Lit. " 1. fr"Oll the 11na;1.nc or !forma W.tel'.on on the Topic alb,., FROST

AIm PIRI .

(Ed. IIote: Hol.l7 'l'll.nnen , a lona;- tae DPt! hi.nd , teaches dUlcl_r and per f Oral ext.entlively 1n the United State. a nd the United JUngdOIil . She per t'or.. on the recentl¥ reI... edo albWl "krthed i n Cloud Valley" . )

<i!)

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0 where are )'Ou going to , )'Ou leven pretty maidl All under the leavel o r life? We are l.eking for eveet Je sus Chrht To be ou.r henenly guide.

0 how lIIII.y I lIlY weeping leave My lorrow undergo? When I IllUst lee lIlY own Ion d i e And lonl I have no IIIOre.

Then go ye down to )'Onde r town And. lit in tile gallery And. there )"Ou ' U see lVeet Je lul Chrht Nailed to a big yew tree.

'nlen take ye John Evangel1lt To be your eid.lt eon

80 they ' va run down to )'Onder town Ae ralt .. toot could tall And ... n.y the bItter and. the srievoul tear Fro. the v1.rglna ' eyel did tall .

He ' l lain hie head on hie right lboulder And death hal OCtIle hi. nigh o come and claim me, Holy Gholt I die, Mother, I die.

Don ' t veep, Mother, don ' t weep. Mothe r Your weepina doel !lie grieve Tor I Wit Iutter thie, He l!aYI , For Ad. . and tor Eve .

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That he _y comfort you lomet1ee1 Mother, .1 I have done.

The tennel that growa 10 Itrona "-en, dear lorda , and )'OUr charity b the endina ot 110' aong.

Playing and lingina ideal tor "The I.eavel of Life": Pick the dulc1eer .tringl. The tempo 11 Ilent and t he lona lhould be luna; vith great teeling . If i t h done v1th feeling, you might eventually not i ce that you are addif18 "deco rations" to the melody. Thh ie tine and 11 enc:ouraled .

TRADmONAL ~PPIU(J/IA~ H_6I.AU DIS"'" FI.. tOLII>"--IJoPLAme.~EAlnrt,oR"'V~.D -AU. Fe.",", aoolf-,un ••oP -TOP, '''ICIC, _ .. SIIn, _ _ "'IWlU _ 1/00-WOOl> PS6S. +S>'IIIMOS. COn"'''''' Sll.WIt 1'",,5T$

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• • Thele arrangelDents ot "Gentle Maiden" use different. areas of the dulcimer for an interesting contrast. of sound. With the upper resister, aU of the lllelody ill played on the melo:l.y string. With the lower r egist.e r, the melody 11 played o n the first three fret. ot all three strings. Pick the strings and !teu. away trom you gently, ul1ng your ear .~ • guide exact.ly where to pick or strum. Leo Kretzne" 1031 South FOTelt Ann Arbcr, Michigan 481011 (Ed. Note: Leo Kret:r.ner 18 a Yell-travelled f olk 1llU81cian/ne turalht who excels on .. I'IWIlber ot instrUlllents. He is featured vith Jay Leibowitz on the recently rele.led album DULCIMER FAIR . )

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DONAID ROUND &. B.B . RECORDS 6470 8t.h AV! . GRAKDVILU , MICH. 1!9il16

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Dear PhilI recently completed a hallDered dulcu.er f'T0il your plans book, and vas quite pl@U@:I with thl! r@lult • . I have a fev quutions and a little feedback that I ' d like to share: I have _de the soundboerd of dur grade f1.r, which is easily nailable fl"Oll !KIlt. lu~r yardl. Spruce is virtuaUy non-e:dltant 1.n this J*rt of d:e country. The fir worked quite well, and at an:t rate, Ueal highly preferable to any hard vood, and upec1l1l.y plywood, for the pw"pole. I made the bridges tTOll hard .,ple and capped thell with guitar lize (_dlulII) t'ret wire. One quution here: why are the ball bridses lhorter than the treble bridgea? Betore drilling the tra_, I spent a goo:!; deal of 'ti_ disculsins the lubjec:t of tun.i..ng pinl with a plano technician triend of aiDe. An aportant point he r-tledl _I that. the holes for the pinl lhould be drilled at the lovest practicel drill lpeed to avoid burning or Sladng the lurfaces ot the holel, which could ultilllltely ilDJ*ir the efficiency of tuning the inltrument . Aho, "e IU88eated that the pin holes be drilled at • slight an&le (avay froll! the Itring), about 7 degreel t'r0il verticel in order to ease the wear and tear on the pin block. This I did, and found it latisfactory . Another point here is tMt before the Itrinsl are brought up to full tendon, the coil ot vire around each tuning pin should be 11tted fr~ belov to fOnD I I neat and Inug of • coil al po.. ible . This relllOvel any 1111111 amount of llack prelent and makel tuning ealier. If this 11 not done beforehand, the instrulllent vill not Itay in tune, al t.he coils will gradually Inug themselves up, creating llack and flattening the tuning in the prOCell. After Itringing and tuning the dulcimer, 1 found that the notel ia.ediately adjacent to the pointe wbere the volcins bars relt on the internal bracea vere not as loud or "aUve" u the rest of the notes . Is this a problelll inherent In ha-.ered dulcimer., or la there. way around itt Have a happy nev year, and keep on .. king IIIUdc : Rick LlndatTOlll 327 w. 8th Ave. TallaMllee. Fla. 32303

Dear Rick Glad to hear that you have turne:l out a ha_r dulcimer and that the book va. of sa.: help.!' • .ore t.han happy to snaver your quest.ions as best 1 can In hopes they will· help you or lOIIeone ehe building fro. the plans. I'm happy to hear that you put on your thln1r.1ng cep and tried clear fir tor the s0un4boe.rd. As you know, it works well enough . Sa-e other voojs I'v ... used with goo.1 I\lCCell are clf-ar pine, poplar, cherry, IIIIIlhaaODY. and otherl. In. pinch. alaolt any woo:! vill vork tor a soundboard so one should not. let t.his be • hang- up In building an inatrWllent. These days I use sitka spruce aI.eat aU the t,1_ because I l1u the cleu lound thalt. it Sives . As tor your quution: vhy are the bass brldgu lhorter? This h usually to allow .ore clearance or the ball Itringl as they pall under the playing area ot the treble bridges . Th" ba .. bridges, being placed almost all the way to the rlcht of the dulcl~r need less height to clear the already low treble strlngl at that point. AIIO, vith the b. . s tuning pins on the right side pin block it h not necuaary tor the shor~ part of the balS strings to contact the side bridges. These short atrings are not pla~d anyway. Your idus about drilling the pin blocks make good senle and -:he angled tuning pins are a goo:t Idea, alt.hough 1 don ' t use thelll lIYae11' and have no<:. noticl!d any extra wear on the pin blockl as a result. Alao your suggestion about ... kine; neat and tight eoils with the atring. around the tuning pinl is indeed important . If one vill t.ry :ror about tour turnl around the pin then the tail sUc:king out the pin hole can be clipped of fairly ahort without worrying about. sl1ppace. Lastly, i t you notice some clunking at the stringl at the points where the bars Csoundboard bracel) contact the internal braces, then IIClve thell further away fro- the bridgu tOltlrds the lett. As tor the ball bridgel, you a1&ht try placing the bars to the lett of them lnltead of the right . This gives a liveUer ruponse it that h whit you are art.er. The clunking prOblem II1ght be COIIpounded by the type or wood you ule /'or a soundboard. I ' ve noticed it .,It with plywood and not at all vitb spruce . I hope you also will Ileep on _king IlUsic and lnatruJllenU: Phil Muon P. O. Box 157 Front Royd, VA 22630

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@hi Jdgrowth Hammer Dulcim~r ~~ Of C. '"

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"Chl1dgrorlh" 11 one ot thole lOng.. everyone knows a different ve r l i on to, and everyone who pallled 1t on to me taught i t to IDe differently. In my book (yet to cOllIe out) I thOlJ3ht it. c:ould be I theme and variation. . Thb verdon is the . i.alpieat o f thole that I play. Do you know. ver.ion o f "Chlldgrovth" Y Do you cr allY r eade r l know the o r181M of the lOng aDd parti eular ly it ' s .tranaa name? Any book. that have it'!' My dulcimer 11 tuned vlth fifthll up the lert. hand aide, an octave between the lover treb le and ba... Some f olk. may have to a dapt my lIOngl to their dulcimerl , COllIe up an octave in the bau perhap.. I play one voi ce vah one hand and one with the o the r, IDOlt of the tllle. Folk••• k how can I go fa s t wit h one hand. I bounce froID one note to the o ther . I ' ve found you can bounce up and down the lcale and, with II little

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Above 11 the _lady to a reIlly tun tune for the he..er dulcimer. I ' ve included the not.e Mille above the IIIl.lIsic l1n~ to help those who don ' t read .,tic: III that well. The tune i t 1n the key of G lMjor. I ' ve teen tblt old fiddl.e tune written dovn in lever.l boon (and leversl nrdona) but I learned: 1t recently fro. In old nu.er diul.c:~r instruc:t.ion book by J. Low titled "An Instruc:tor for t.he Oulc:~r .. . " Ind published IOlDlltt.e 1n the lat.e l.8oo. by Oliver Ditton&. Co. of Bolton. Man. +++

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D P N Back Issues List

'l'he roUorlng Ult COIIprllu ..u the D. P. N. back hlues which are lUll ' ..... tlable alOlli with. lliting ot the futured article. and tWlU ot each l . .ue. We are running

abort on .0fIe or thele .0 )'O\I ' d better pick up thole you are intere.ted 1.n II soon .a Duld..ller Pla.yer. NevI Bt.ck Iuun!.!! ~ each peltpaid .

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vor.aa: I , NO. 6 (Sept- Oct 1m) Cover : Dave & Linda Taylor. let. ot 1ntorathe letten 1.n thh hlue &lon& vith • great utlcle by Roger 1I1cbobon t.itled "Bach and the Dulct.er· . Tv» KlOC' for mountain dulciaer: "The Three RavefUl" 1m "Black Jack Davy" . ~r Dulciller tunet: Irish Waahe~n. Arllan... Traveler, Wearing ot the Oreen, and 7'blter ' . Hornpipe .

Article.: "The Unexplored Chart " b)t Lorraine Lee, Roth article & tWle by Roser !flchollcln, "Bade Tipa tor Beginning Dulc1lller Player," by Holly Tannen, "Qui ck Tune Chart tor V.rioua Four String Dulcimerl" by Neal Kel.l.man, "Svallovtall Jig" arr. Neal Hell_n, Bonnie Carol Dulcimer Shop photo.. ror Halllller Dulcimer: "HulDered Notes " by Davi d Taylor, "ADerican FoU InltTUllent.s: The Ka=lered Dulc:1IIIer (PB..rt 1) by Charlel Faulkner Bryan, "Humered Dulcbler Into" by Jiul Gregory.

Articlel: "Chordl" by Eileen Rainl, Illel" by Bob Rodriquez, RBuilding Dulapinet" by Roge r Nicholaon, "An Old Dulcimer Hel Surfa ced " by Doug Murray. Tunel: "Song hOil a POrch" by Bobbie Wayne, "Shady Grove" tab lent by ftec1 lAlnd1l, "June Apple" tab by Heal KelJ.-n. For Ha.amer Dulc1lller: "The aa..ered DulcUier in Ad..- plcture/utic:J.e teature by Geoffrey B. Saa.lel, " ..... rican rou. rnltZ'Ulll!ntl : The aa..ered Dulc1lller (Part 2)" by Charlel rlu.l.luler Bryan. VOUl(! 2 , NO , 3 (SUlIlIIIer l~) Cover : Phil &. Madeline Malon. Articln: "Tvo Finger

Style Pieking for Duldllerby btlly Reid, "An Interviev vith Movie Mitehell" by F;evin Roth, "C&lculating Tret Placement. " by B. a . Lowery, "More on rret Placement" by lei Heyen, "The Doubleback" by Jlic:k Engler, "Aeol1&n Mode" by Eileen Rainl. Tunel: MSoo,t.hv1nd" article &: tab by Roser Jlic:boIaon, "Red -Haired Bo1" tab by Bottie HoIiie'r,' "Mood P1e~ 12" article &. tab b1 Roger lficholson, "lCorobulhltl." tab by Simon Spaulding . For Hu.er Dulcbler:"aa..er Dulei.er sail Stringl" by ~ul. Gittoro, "He.aDer Oulc1ller Int'o" by Br:yan Mumtoro. "HI.IIImI!red Notel" by David Taylor, "Ifurlting &: Taming t.he Native AMrican &-1' Dulc:imer" by Richard Hulan . Articles: "Chart for Tranapo.ins: Dulc:ime.r Planl" !d Myers , "An Interviev with Ray Malon, "More About Fret Placeeent" by Woody l'I.dset.t, "Fret by 8illlOn 8pauldina;, "Fretting the Dulcimer " by Glen Branham, "TUning" by Bonnie Carol . Tunel: "Almsin" tab by Roger Nichol.on, "The Old Han &: The Old WOI\I.n" tab by Sulie Rothfield, "The Wraga;le-Tagle Gypsies" tab by Eileen Rainl &. Diane Noblel. "Apple Seedl " tab by Chuck Biehl, "DrOWI Y MaUie" &. "Soldier ' .. Joy" tabl b1 BUlan Bpauldina. Articles: "Soute C'hraaatic Thoughtl Rainl, Electric Dulc1lller, ''Unl~rung : by R. C. on Frets" Wood.y Padgett, "what 11 a "Interview wit h Robert. by Maddie MacNeil Malon, "Rotel fro. the Record Rack" by Bob Rodriquet;,"3 £lIy RIllel tor Chording" by Keith Young. TUneI: Silly Bill, Scot.land the Brave, kDonn An Chnuic, I'iddlil16 "gpipes, Golden si'iPiiUs, Three Kerry Reell, O' Rourke ' l Reel, Planxty George Brabaron. Allo a long let.t.er fl"Cla Dou.a; Ecker on varioul alpeetl ot Hulller Dulcimer _Una: & playing.

for Oulc1Der Playerl by Harri. s..rt 'l'Ime.: "Creen.mvel QalJ..Urd w tab by Lee, "Aaad.na: CAce" tab by Ron hna. ,~;,.-~ by Al1l MIIacn, "J . E. Matheny : An Early Dulc1Der Info and Tune (Auetr1an Melody) by Dorothy

Articlel: " How to Build a Kit. Review, "liara:Inica and tab by Holly Tannen , Mule" tab by klrraine Duleimer tuatory" by David Taylor, "liaamer

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VOUJMZ 3 , m . 3 (SUlIIIIt!r 1m) Cover : Jean Ritchi e . Articlu: Tvo Gr eat Mode Finder Chart., Mini Recorc1 Reviews , Dulcimer Kit Re rlew (Green Rivu Kit). M1t~ie Collins Kumer Dulcimer Collection. J ean Ritchie Cover Stor y. and-Many. Many i nformat i ve tid bits scattered throughout thi8 i.sue. Tunel : The Water i8 Wide. Never Weather Beaten Sail. PlAnxty Irvin. Relourcea for 8ullcUng your own Humer Dulclller .

Articles: ~How to MIke a beginning dulcimer ;:tlayers by hetted Dulc1mer" by Glenn Branham, " Shape !totes &. The Dulcimer " by Dor othy May. Tunes: The Alh Grove , Mar garet ' . Waltz, Olcl Molly Hare , The Willow Song, Home Sweet Home, Jamie Allen, Barrel of Sugar . Alao lot. of tune. and info on Ha_r Dulcimer . Articles: "Root. and Branches" a Mason , ~Rev1ew.", "Tablature: A by Chrll lihlte &. Barbara Truex, "!totes !'roc the HaIllDeI' Oulc1ller Reeorc1 Rack" by Bob Roclriquez, and. mucb ..ore info . Tune. : "Jaellen (by Bonnie Carol" , "Wind That Shaku the Ba r ley~ ~ Pretty Sara". "South Wind " . "Blackberry BloIIOlll" , "There will be a Happy Meeting in Gloryland". Hammer dulcimer info (SOllIe).

pa.t iSlues which are The D. P. '" has in stock a rew article reprints out o f print . Thele reprints are available at hoa 50Â˘ """ uch postpaid , Reprint Reprint Reprint Reprint Reprin.t

1 . "Dulcimers io the Smithsonian" 2 . "The Dulcimer snd Sitar: A Comparison" by Roger Nicholson 3. "My Style ot DulcilDf!r Playing" by Holly Tannen (detailed expl&natloll) 4. "Playing the DulcilDf!r" by Jack Hoe 5. "The Dulciller : Olcl Roots &. Hell Roots " by Roger Nicholson (includes tabs t or ' t.a.ent tor Richard Farina ' and ' Wyeth Jig ' )

OOLCIMER BOOKS AND RECOROS Roger Ni cholson--all albUMs--$6 . 45 each All Kevin Roth LP's on Folkw~ s , $4 . 99 each Mary Rhodes, le DulCiMer, $6.45 Paul Clayton 0u1c1~r Album, $4.99 All Jean Ritch ie albums, $4 .99 each Pa cific Ri~ Dul cimer album , $4 . g9(a1so book, $3.95) All alblJllS by Farinas, $5. 99 or $6 . 99(book 4. 95) Ha~red Oulci~r albums a books, all Fenn1gs, Grey-Larsen, Trapezoids , imported a hard-to-find .1bUlS of all kinds, A huge selecti on al so of Irish .us1c including the fabulou s Derek Bell Irish Harp LP fOt" only S6.45. (Free catalDgue of our Irfsh Ill.Isic). We 11111 al\Y'll'here, just add $1 . postage per order to the above prices . Let us know what you've been looking for, IIl.)'be we can find 1t~ To be placed on our mailing li st wrfte : SIL8URY HILL RECORDS. P.O. BOX 2407, HOlLYWOOO, CA 90028.

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SUBseRIBB ) ~

TD THE

DULCIMER PLAYERS NEWS The Blue Ridge Dulcaer Shop 11 the p,lbl1lher

"TKE DULC])(ER PLAYERS tltVS;

• quarterly p,lbUcatlon o r ~o page- rounded by UI in January or 1975 ror t.te purpon or I pzoeadina: • now o f lntorMt.lon and relOUr-ee _terial ror du.lCUleT player ., 4ulc l .. r .. ker., and other t vho lhare a . peclal love for these 1n.trUlll!nt . o r ".-wet 'Olll". We have been growlni Itefldll)' ever linee and nov ree.ch about 2 ,000 dulcimer people throughout the world.

ADDRESS AU. CORRESFOICDENCE TO: mlTORS: Phillip Mason

THE DULCDaJI PlAYERS NEWS

P. O. BOX 151 rROl'rI' ROYAL, VA . 22630

Madeline MacKeil Mason

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F-1 PIV.5E SlJm HE A ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPT I ON 'YO "Tim DULCD<E:R ' L\YERS NE'JS"

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DULCIMER PlAYERS NEWS

P.O. BOX 157 FRONT ROYAL, VA . 22630

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