1982-04, Dulcimer Players News Vol. 8 No. 4

Page 1

FALL 1982

$2.00

Vol. 8, No.4

Interview with Ruth Barrett and Cymia Smith

Meet The Dulcimer Circle John T. Tignor and the Kentucky Dulcimer Tradition

Kenneth Ward Teaching Workshop for Fretted and Hammered Dulcimer

Players

Tunes, News and More .. . RU,h

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DULCIMER PLAY!JlS NEWS Vol. 8, No. 4 Fall 1982 €) All HShu Reserved The DULCIMER PLAYlRS NEWS 11 published four tt..es each year. Iaaue. are aaUed to .ubacribers durIn, lhe Clrat wee.k g[ January, April, J ...lyand Octobar . Subacriptiona in the United States are $8 pel" year, $15 for two yeara. Back ta.uea are avaUable .

Special thanks go to the authora

oC articles and the arranser. of

Editor: HADELINE HacNEIL DULCIMER PLAY!JlS NEWS P.O. Box 2164 Wincheater, VA 22601 (703) 667-2017

tunes and .onga for thia i .....e . Our artiat. - Michel Lesare, Randy Kohl". Larkin Iryant and Gerry Norr!a brl Shten these pase. with their talented drawlnss. Mary Ratliff, Seth A.... ten. Jo•• Nauer and Ruth Anne HacNell worked dillsently with the editor, help!na to ~ke everythina fit toaether juat riSht. Their help and carina can be found on every paae . Photoaraph. are a .a.t t.pQrtant part of each 1s.ue of OlILCIKER PLAYERS NEVS. Our thant. 10 to 8111 Lindaey (Wendy Spencer) , Wil11aM E. Carnahan (John Putna.). SIII!y HeKlnney (The DulciMer Circle) and Kendra Ward (~enneth Ward).

Contents DULCIMER ORGANiZATIO:.lS • • •• • • • •••••••••••••••• ••• • • • • •••••••••• • •••.••••••••••• 3 afr. Roger Nichol.on ••••.••••.•••• . •.• .. • . ••••.• . • . •.•..•...•••• 4

GAVOTTB IN D

EHBELLtSHIHC MELODIES

Hadflline HaeMaU •.••.• . • .. •.•....•. ••••..• . .•.. • .•••.•• 7

SOLDIER' S JOY . • . • . •.•.••••••..• . • . •..•.•..•.•.••.• . • . • . ' •• .•• ••.•..•..•.•. •.•• 9 MEET .•• THE DULCIMER. CIRCLE

COLORADO TRAIL KENNETH WARD

Sdly Kcltinney ..•.•.• . •• . ..• • •••••..•.. . • . •.•.... 12

arr. J udith Strom .. '" .•••.•.•....• . . .• . . •.••••.•..• . . . . . . . •. IS

Kendra Ward • • • •••••••••••••••••• • • • ••••••••••••• • •••.• • • • •••••• 16

PLANXTY FITZPATRICK

L . E. McCullough •. . • . •.•. • ••••••.•... . •.•.••• , •.••..•.•. 11

JOHN TIGNOR

Ralph Lee S.lth ••••...•.• . .• . •..••••••••••.. .. •.....•.•••.•.•.• . 18

tJ.Dy CEniUI

.r"l". Jerry

0.11.1. .••.• . •..• . •...••••••..• . .. . • . ..• . .•.•••....•. 22

RUTH BARRETT and CYNTLA SMITH

Madeline MacNeil • . • . •. . • . •.••.•••••..•.• . ... . . 2)

ClASSIFIED ADS . ..• . • . .••••• . • .• ..•.•.•..•.•... . • . • . ..•••.•••..••. .. ••.. . ..... 27

WHAT'S NEW •. • . • . .•.•••••••• . ..•••.••••••.•• . •.•..••••••.•.• . •.• . ••..•...••••. 28 mOSE 'lORING' DRONES ENTREE

Hary Faith Rho,ada ..•.•.••••••••••••••••• . • . •.••••••••• 32

arr. David Nellllan •..•.• . .•••••••....•..•.....• . •....•.•.• . . . ... . • . • . • )4 Please do not reprint or redistribute without permission. Contact dpn@dpnews.com


writing out muaic , plea.e contact me . Neatneaa i. eaaential . Hoderate payment and tremendous gratitude in return. In the Winter DPN we'll have picture. and coverage of aOllle of the dulci.er event. and festival. which occurred this Spring and Summer . We have .ome in for.. tion and would enjoy receiving .are. Alao, we plan an up-to-data liat of naaea and addreaaea for duicilller organizationa. Pleaa. send ua a poatcard with the following inforlll8tlon : Hallie of Organization, Contact person, addre.s and telephone nuaber, Keeting infor-.tion, and duea , if any . Again, we'd like thia infOrMation aent on a post card. Thank you.

Evenu in III)' liCe ..em to coioc:.1de with publication of DULCIMER PLAYERS NEWS. In May/early June there vaa Illy wedding and preparation fot our Califoro1e trip right when the Su_r DPN lola. Boing to press . Now the Fall DPN is under preparation for the PI inter - and seth and I are GlOving to Hill.boro , VA, a tln7 to~ 35 lIIilea eaat of Wine heater . Paste-up .... ion. live vay to packing and unpacking • • . Hillaboro ia delightful and quiet except for the co~utera travellng from Harper ' a Ferry, WV to Washington , DC . Here'a s trivia queation: who , of some note , vaa born in Hillsboro? Anawer: Suaan Wright , mother of Wilber and Orville Wright. You'll atill find ua at the little office at 200 N. Wnhlngton St. in Wincheater . I'll Co-J.te several daya a week and work at ho1IIe more . We will generally keep an anawering device on the off ice phone , eo be prepared it you callI Dear ha... r dulct.tr frienda: thank you . Doo ' t atop , though. It would be nice to have a backlog of .. [erial for DPN. Builders , wba[ about you?

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The Louisville Dulci~r Soc iety in Louisville , Kentucky i. preaenting a raIl seriea featuring Women in Traditional Music;. . Initial arrana"menta for a threeconcert aeriea are being _de by Mark KattinalY . series tickets will be sold in advance for $10 ($6 for ..-ber.) , and individual concert ad_taaiona vUl be $4 ($2 for _lIIbeU) . Children under 12 will be free . Tentative date. are October 24 , Nove_ber 14 , and Dec_ber 5. All events will begin It 7:30 and will be followed by a 9:00 Iqusre dance. Info: Louisville Dulcu.er Society, Route A, Boz 261A , LaVTenceburg , KY 40342.

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~j~.!..-'-'2u,,//u.f ~ ~~e--~N~ Editor DULCIMER PLAYERS NEWS

The Madison County Mountain Dulcimer Collective group ia expanding and would like to invite all DPN readera 10 the area to contact the group and t o attend the IIIOOthly get-together. . Call LaRaye Cunningham , Rt. 4 , Box 337 , Harshall, NC 28753 or (704) 649- 2147.

notice 4:IJ NOTES ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND THE COMINC WINTER ISSUE: I have promised aeveral of )'ou that ~our tune arrangement. would appear in the next DPN or the next . That uaually ..an. tha naxt aftar the next plus a few .ara . 1 ' 111 not deceptive , juat 8Vuped. I can prepare an entire interview in the tillle it takes me to draw out one tune . I need help. I recently put a notice on the bulletin board at Shenandoah Conaervatory hoping t o find 8OIIIeone who like. to tranacribe auaic. If there are any DPN readera Who 'd enjoy

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Dulcimer Org8nizatiollli

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A ne .. ~red Dulc;.1IIIer Organbalion h.. a formed in Clare1DOl'lt , Cal1fomia , _etinS on the firat Hondsy and aecond Tuead.y of each month , with a beSinning membenhip of twelve playen ranging f r olll beginning to advanced. Info : Ken Kindrick , 1815 Oxford Ave., ClarelllOnt , CA 91711 (714) 621- 0259.

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The Gavotte can be. played in ita deaignated key in the Ionian mode by tuning the first two atrings to A and the third , baas , to D. SOllIe of Bach ' s other musi~ which suits the dulcimer , can be found in ' The Little NoteboOk of Anna Magdalena Bach '. a collection written for hia wife and children which are available on several records. In pasaing , it ' a not gener ally known that Bach ' s grandfather played the German form of the dulcimer - a Scheltholt . He was apparently a miller and used it to pass the time while waiting fo r the corn to grind.

DULCIMER COUlftERl'OI.NT

Thia ia an adaptation of a Gavotte from J . S. Bach ' . Cello Suite No . 6 in o. The original conaiats of ~inly aingle lines , apart from double-stopping , but in keeping with Baroque practice I ' ve added some counterpoint aection , which increaae ita dulcimer intereat and difficulty. Left hand aequences are all important with thia atyle , but I've not detailed these as they depend on preferencea based on hand and fingerboard sizes.

ROC:I!:R NICHOLSON London , Erlgland

Playing Sequence A A B ACe A ABC A D

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Embellishing Melodies

KADOorto:E MACNEIL Wlnehe.cer , VA

A WORKStrJP FOR FRETTED AND

IW'II'UllED DULCIMER PLAYERS

D Chord

A. dulcimer players . we are uaually reapanaible for our own muaical arrangementa and , therefore, it ia helpful to know aa-et hing about chord atructure . We uaually think of chorda in tena of texture, filling in harmony behind Melody. The focua of thia a rticle 10 the .. Iodic use of chorda . Firat . definition. aay htlp.

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Jiar.ony : St.ultaneoualy

. . .a.ure i. very Laportant FI, therefore , 1s a very i __ note. It reiniorces the harD chord . The C i. on a le.a ~portant beat (the 2nd) and helps the player .ove fra. one t one in the chord t o another . The G is called s pa.sing tone. Meaaurea 2 and ) apply the aame principle •• a me •• ure 1. He.sure 4 is .... il.r to the beginning oi the A part.

Three or DOte [onea aounded at.ultaneoualy (two ataultllneoua tonea u"e u8ually caUed an interval) .

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The root of • chord is the prime tone , for example the D in a D chord , or the A in an A chord. This , along vith the rhythm of the IlUsic should be considered when a tune is embellished. If we use the eighth note (in this use worth 1/2 be.t) .s the bali. oi .vaU.ble note. 10 " Soldier's Joy" let ' a eahelll.h the fir.t two quarter notea of -aaaure I by u.ing a .elOOic p.ttern called the lower neighbor . TIle lo_r ne ighbor pattern silaply Man. the In.trumentaliat playa the melodic note (in thia case , FI) , dropa down a tone (in thla caae , !) and then returns to the originel tone (FI). An upper neighbor goea above the 1III1OOic note and returna ("' ... VI G Fl) . In ra ..... idng _ ..... r. I , I'll box In the original . . lody not.a 10 you can observe the pettern • • @ , , , ,. II 't 1 ,

another instrument playing back-up cborda) . Look at [he beginning of " Sold tet' II Joy" . The acc<*panyinl tn.tr~t playa « 0 chord (0 VI A) while the ~lodlc instrument playa the follovina notea - which just happen to

be the individual notea of • 0 chord .

Fretted Oulct.er Playera: PIe••• tune to DAD . The nueber. above the notea throuahout the article are for you.

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to addition to the hanony of a D chord , whIch we can picture ( 1' ). _ have the _lody of a D chord ( _ ) . both reinforcing the texture of the tune ( ~ ). Before going to the 8 part of "Soldler ' a Joy", a chord reference chart ia In order.

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Please note: because C ia a pasaing tone , I t ook the liberty of putting it on the "and" of the 2nd beat rather than 1/2 beat sooner. This helps to .ake the passage smooth. If I combine neighbor tonea with passing tones and ornament th~ all with hargany notes, I have an arrangement. Taste always plays a role in arrangements . Too little ornamentation , and the melody can aound stark. Too much ornamentation could be compa red to eating ~re than one (or even one) frOBting rose off a Birthday Cake I Since an example can take the place of a thousand words , we ' ll try the complete

"Soldier's Joy". First Lry the skeletal version and later the ornamented version t o study the differences. Next , I suggest you try one of your favorite tunes which needs some decoration. If you work from printed music, quarter and half note psaaagea are good SpOts for ornaments . If you play by ear , ornament the notes that you hold l onger , thereby fiillng in eQpty s paces. Fretted dulCimer players: you of ten fill in empty apaces with strums . Try ornamenting in addition to strUllllling. In the wioter DPN issue we ' ll cont inue with this subject, emphasizIng c reative arrangements and vocal harmonizations .

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ELK NECK DULCIM.a.:.o.u ..;: MOUNTAIN. HAMMERED DULCIMERS

p.o. Box

358 North East, Md. 21901

( 301 ) 287-9304 BILL KEAY, Luthler

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Soldier's Joy (ornamented ve r s i on)

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Til DUJ.4:IIIIB SIOPPI H.",,"afte<! Muinl l""'f\lone"Ui 8y Mc51M'dden RECORDS FOLK CRAFTS BOOKS Drawer E - Hlgh.... y 9 Nonh MOUNTAIN VIEW . AR KAN SAS 72SbO Phone 501 · 2b9·86.l9

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:11


FrOlll a 80ft gentle appearance An Intenae aeriouanea. prevailed.

Her dulct.er obl!yed her touch Placed rllht in her lap . Sinling lIPa l ove She once told Me. I knew how ahe Celt When her aweet volca rani . Within her ... a ,he aee.ed to be Although her aplrit vaa free. Giving It all .he had That laat night on our earth . A live and vibrant .plrlt Nov quiet aa a villow tree . The -.ory of her being Haa in.plred u. to a proalae. Wa.te not our tt.e on ~Pty .hado", But be a. a priz_ , Radiating color . rro. pure energy . Touching each per.,n With your Ip laah of color . Aa tiny dr op. of vater When ~nlight ah ine. through .

A pure vOi ce flo~ Through the VICUU. of a at ill evening . AI I welco.e Stirr ing ou r aenae. with her gentle vOice . Pulling her no t a. fr o. the center of her .ind The .park of creativity we. faIt by all . Fro. pu re white energy The prismatic color . flowed . A . . .11 aiihouette .hadow With atrained ~aclea ,howing • • • Touched UII one by one with aplaahea of color . so.e red , ao-.e blue , tbe .ood. of he r vOice changed with aach .,nl . Muaic t o her wa. not all play 1bough .inging wa •• pleaaure .

.

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Wendy Spencer, an active ...ber of the Brandywine DulciMer Fellowahip in Kennett Square , PA, died the day following her perfo~nee nr ~ Club Keetinl in June , 1982. The above poe. val written by Bill Lindaey of Wil.tngton, DE.

- -.

~. ,, __ e·2

John,. Put.. n, a l ong-ti_ dulcimer player /teacher , from Silver Spr i ng , MD , died thi. S~r. He wa. the au thor of THE PLUCKED DULCIMER AND HOW TO PLAY IT. The book waa publiahed in 19)7 and by 1919 had gona through ten printing" Hia .. ny contribution. to the dulct.e r playera of thi. country will be _iaaed.

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FLASH I (rather, TWANCI)

Although the chain dulcimer concep t ia atill in its infancy, making it too early to predic t ita auccess , reports of conspiracy are already circulating. Rumor has it that some chain dulciIDista are r ecycling comple ted dulcimers into the network , which prevents them f r om experienci ng the hiSh•• t profits posaible. The letter clearly atates that the use of cardboa rd dulcimer kits only ahould be used for t he project for ~x1mum .ucce8S. Kits are readily avsilahle from any nearby cardboard dulcimer dealer or f r om Dave Croas, BacKyard Music , 509 s. 44th St . , Phlladelphi.a, PA 19106. (Yea , there really are such things and they play nicely, t oo . )

The little-known card board mountain dulcimer hss achieved vast horitons of interest aMOng novices t o the instrument and especially amons more experienced playera in recent IDOnths . In an attempt to .pr ••d the joy o f the dulci.. r •• • couoatcally aa possible to the people of t he world , while at the same time reali&ing a profit, the chain dulcimer has been introduced. The chain dulcimer concept is reported to operate similarly to the everfamiliar cha in letter but with a variation all ita own. A chain dulcimer r ecruit offers an unsuspec ting friend (perha ps someone who ' . been eyeing dulc imera fo r some time but hasn ' t yet worked up the gumption t o purc hase one) a cardboard dul c imer along with a l etter. The letter ins tructa the recipien t t o mail t he dulcimer to the first pe r aon in a l i st of f ive at the bottom of the page (this costa about $2.78) , cr ossing that name off the list , adding his/her own name to the number five apot and finally reproducing the letter in quintuplicate. Immediatel y following this act , five csrdboard dulcimer kits are pur chased and cons tructed (an average COllt of $100). Upon completion , each dul cimer / letter set is distributed to five equally unsuspecting f riends who reenact the same activity . This cont inues un til the ori ginal recipient ' s name r eaches the top of the 1iat . I f no one br eaks the chain, the results can prove t o be staggeringly effective. The n~mbe r one name on the list can rece i ve a maximum of 3,125 cardboard dulcimers within a couple of months , depending on how long it takea each peraon in the chain to c~p le te the kits. The originally unauspec ting, nOt-ao- au re dulcimer enthusiaat will then be adequately out f i tted to open a card boa rd dulcimer franchise , having invested previously a ~re $102. 78. This comes cowpl ete with the additional bonus of being on the local ma i~n ' s bad side f or life, due to his seemingly incesasnt deliveries of 34" x 8~" x 4" boxes t o one add ress (a t least t hey don't weigh IIIlIch) . Setting a price of $30 apiece , it i s possible to earn as much as $93 , 750 . 00 (slightly higher wea t of the Rockies) , producing up t o and above $93 ,647 . 22 in profits I

Lucille Reilly P.O . Box 712 Moorestown, NJ 08057 My daughte r has 8 f riend who found this i nat ru.ent in a dump a l ong time ago. The dulcimer part has five at rings with f r eta under the first two strings onl y. Just beyond these two "playing " strings t he re Are ~ll alots that line up with the larger rectangular holes i n the body of the soundboard. In ope ra t ion , theae saall slots had pieces of ivory (o r earl y plastic) up where it was easy to ta p them with your finger as you played the mel ody strings . These white pieces were a ttached to a pivoting hammer system that drove sharp faced (chiael ahaped) hammers up out of the l arge r r ectangul ar holea to s trike the various aeta of two strings that are strung roughly over the sound holes. Unfortunately the white pieces all have gotten broken (she ha s only one of the original piecea) but the hammer system works ext reme l y well. Quest i on: Is this a Rube-GoldberS? Where there such thingl on thia planet? Perhaps a r eader could help . Char les AlII 2407 Ottawa Dr. Lafayette , IN 47 905

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MeeL oo The Dulcimer Circle @

1982 by Sally McKinney

The Wsabu.rns neve r planned to beco~ 8

professional !DUsical group - but

people kept asking them to phy . Nolo' Leah , 7 . Aaron , 10, a nd their mother , Kara , can al l claim to be card-carrying

members of The Dulcimer Circle .

Their

busines8 ca r ds , decorated with an or i ginal 1080 , reads: "A Family of Traditional Folk Musicians" .

"If you don ' t love it . " explains Leah , "you won ' t r eally do that 'oIel!. ,.

Leah knOw. ~t she's talking about , for ahe haa been a professional music!an since 1980 , when The Dulciaer Circle started playing for various eventl near their Weat Lafayette , Indiana home . Since then , the. family group has

developed a large repertoire of trad itional folk music to play and to sing .

Theae dulcimer players move eaaily from 1n the

.ode, to the and on to

to their live concerta and televialon appearancea , their muaic haa been played on Swiss Radio International and on their ooay schedule included an appearance at the Indiana Fiddlers ' Gathering at Battle Ground , Indiana . The three IllUsiclana bave wrked hard to get this far --yet they all use words like "love it ," "play" and "fun" 10Ihen they talk about their !alsic .

12

The Dulcimer Circle Bot ita Btart when Mara Wasoorn , a classical pianist , admired a finely c r afted dulcimer at a l ocal festival , and bought o ne t o play f or fun , It 1.nIsn't long before both Aaron and Leah asked for--and received dulcimers f o r their birthdays , and the children began playing and dnging with their mother . Encou r aged by their enthusiastic father, Philo , and their little sister , Hope , the dulc1mer-pl,ying Washburn a would sit on the floor of their fa~ily rOO!ll in a "duicilller circle , " enjoying songs like " Cripple Creek" and " 80il The!ll Cabbage Down" . Casually dressed and barefoot , The Ouicilller Circle now rehearses in ladderback c hairs with cane seata , a grand piano in the bacq; r ound. "The c hildren learn by watching . ••• ilIIitation , " says Mara , Who includes them in making decisions about concerta and songs lu boo played. ''Ready? '' Mara cbecks with her son and daugh er . After they nod , the group plunges into " Soldier ' a J oy ." ''Wait ,'' says Mara to Leah. They all stop. "Leah , you did a ' dOuble one . " It's Just ' down-up '. " The group continues to p lay , and after a couple .ore ' double ones ', Leah geta it right. ' 'That ' s itl" say. Kara , bea!lllng . They all finish the nU!IIber with a flouriah . The Dulcimer Circle practicea for IS to 20 !IIinutes at a t~e , running through such nUlllbe r s as "Goin' to Boston", " Harrison TO\KI ", and Leah ' s favorite , "Weeping Willow Tree". Some numbers are instrumental , played in unison , with harmony-<tther nUlllben a re both played and sung . During a perfo~nce , Leah typically kn i ta her eyebrows and tilts her head . " Faretheewell. Old JOII!. Cl>,rk" , she aings "Goodbye , Betsy Brown n. Leah will glance briefly at bystanders , while Aaron bends over bis strings , .aving his noter deftly. The c hildren believe that the time spent practicing fa \/Orth it . "1 hope the audiences Will like ua and think we ' re good" , says Aaron.

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Leah ' s spprosch is similar. "I just think , ' they have to like us , '" she says. "And then I think "I'll make them like us. ' " Mara Washburn claims that the c hildren don ' t get nervous before perfOIlll/lnces--althou8h she occasiona lly does . Mara , a co llege-trained pianist , gives piano lessons and teaches dulcimer to students other than her children. She La also teachin8 dulcimer to her husband, Philo Wasburn , a Professor at Purdue University . Philo's the one who tskes care of 3-year-old daughter , HOpe , at conce rts while the rest of the family occup iea the atage.

" _

Ouring many rehearsals and conce rt s , the Washburns' parenting style reveals itself : boch parents frequently t oueh and hug their children. When the parents point out the childrens ' mistakea , they never dwell on them . And both adults are quick to notice and comment on the things the children do well . "we ' re a very close famUy , " says Mara. "This just gives us one more thing to share." Mara eventually wanta " t o take the dulcimer to people who have perhaps never seen it ••• we're looking into festivals abroad , " she says . And , .liS the future unfolds . The

. .... ,

"

Dulcimer Clrcle may have trouble remaining a trio. Philo now pr actices t he dulcimer occas i onally , and 80 does Hope. "Yo u can ' t resist a dulcimer i f you ' re around it l o ng enough , " ssys Philo •

...... bull_' ..... ,

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....

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,1M' U>.o,ZO

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-

We specialize In books. records of traditional musk of the Us. cargda. and che Brltbh Isles. We h.iwe kits for ....rnmered ilnd mountil'n dulcimers ilnd bodhrans.

We sell autoharps.

pa~

pipes. concertinas,. bones. tin whistles. oarlnas. recorders. bouzouki.

melodeons and more. FmonaI.~abIe.~

and'ast ~VU.

free Cat.1IIog lallOw 4-6 weeks! or send SI. for first ClaSS mail. O'-_"'-VOOiI ........... HY; 111&6 to_ : II: ; II : CIIC;II; : IIClll: : II :: 11 0:11 :0+

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"5 SIi:CUOVS P\AYEIlS; OO~ POvLE, LOQQ.Jto.IJ-tE LEE, Oe&&Y McC~CI-IV, ROG5Q. NlCHOL&.OI>J, ~N PENIX. ELAINE. SI!..VE.R , ..1",1(£ W,toJ,...TQt.1 4 COle> we.y ow,,", • peRFOQM WITIooI ONa 012 "-"ORE OF oua 11<-l5TRUM6NTS. AS SERIOUS MAI(.EQ.'So WE WOQI(. ,'" A I-IUMIDITV CONTDD!..!..ED SI-IOP U~I\IG SELECT. QUAQTeQ SAWN, aooI(Iv\A"I"C.I-IEO, W4,'-tJUT &IDeS" e.A.CK....... R.EOWOOO TO~, Wi,. .... Tl-1E Q.E~"I" 01" TI-lE BODV WALtJ\IT .Tl--tE PEGS IIoRE we!..L I5E ...TEO 12.0510.I/100000 /Io,tJD WI1'I-1 OUQ I"II.lE TUNERQ MIIoI(.& TUt..lltJG Jt.tJ E,,'DE, At.JO '£EEP TI-4E INSTRUMEt..I"f ~SICA.LLV AtJD V ISU"!..LV bALA.NCED. THIOi ~LE I~ TEMPE.Q.ED WITI-I LOW ....c;.TION boND ~OQ,.DS .e..c.c.UQA"'TEL.... 11'.,1 AIoJ.", MOOE TI-IE FULL LENGTH 01: THE SC-A\...E. MUC.I-I TIMe AIo.10 ATTE.IoJ."TION I S GIVEJ-t TO OE1' ....,L1<> AND TO T\-IE WtMO RUSe-EO TUIoJG OIL ~'r.lIS,", .

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Oi'FEQ 4 MOOEL"" 01" tl,PPALAC\-II.l!t.N OULCIMEQ'O. . "l. 01" I-IAMMEREO DULCIMERS&' Z OF I"UETLESS e.t:o.NJOS .

fut?beJorrb

~Il.

QO'" 6O'lt 74 Qo,tIo.Q1NG SPRING . P ... (aI4} ·2 .24 - 2a<x>

INSTQVME.t.JT5

16673

Round Family Dulcimer Company 0 6470 &11 Aft , Grandville. Michigan 49418 616) 457·2172 Send Of our ,au CGta)OIJ.

1

"1. ..Ioy "*' D.IcI.er I .... d U.9.S Hdi"". Round ond Frl.odl·Trgdiliongl·lnurum.nlol

2. Joy Round With Ttl. William, Fomily ·8Iu~rO'llllovor.Som. vocal. 3. Joy Round·en. Tim. Fri.nd·Som. Old. Som. N_.Som. Vocal -4 . JIly Round·Don" ,", Around Much Anymore·Jon Hgmme.ed Ovid...., 5. 60Minule Con.lte Hommered Ovlclmer IfKlruclionol To~$II,OO Please do not reprint or redistribute without permission. Contact dpn@dpnews.com


arr.JUDITH STROH Whitehall, HT A tune for beginners ...• S trum directioll~ are noted under the tablature. A nice sound can be achieved by finger-picking the cho rds in a three-finger 8ty1e .

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F Eyes like the

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morn - ing star, Cheeks like a

Lau-ra

rose.

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Am pret-ty girl

God

al-migh-ty

knows .

Weep

all ye

lit-tle ra ins

5

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t

C Wail winds

wail.

All

a-long, a-long. a-long The Col-o-

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About 20 veara ago .y uncle, Estil Johnson , talked hia into playing hts dulci.e r once again . £ltil had never seen a duicillle r and wanted to hear one played. Finally -V father , Kenneth. dug through palt trealu res and found his beloved in'tr ument . He adapted &om!! of the old fiddle tunes to the dulci.er snd EstU accoa.panied hi.... ith the guita r . That was the origin of the band. "Morgan Raider," . "Morgan Raiders" beca~ a very popular band which featured a dulci.er playinq the lead, aCCOllpanied by a banjo , baSI , guit.. r , and an accord!an. The band played at many diffe r ent events around the area such as bean di~ners . aenior citi%en events , and various types o f festivals .

Music in the Tradition

Kenneth Ward KENDRA WARD Bidwell , OR

My father . Kenneth Ward , is respected 8S a great dulc1aer player who has

played for 65 years . But he is not only a g r eat dulcimer player , he is • very loving IIIIIIn who has • great deal of co....

passion for people . This down-to-earth lIfe-style t. exe~lified through his personality as he presents himself wearing hi. -bibs, MOreover . perforaing for an audience t. not • racade because through hi. music , he reflects cha r~ and charisma

whiCh reveala hia appreciation of the past .

Therefore .

a.

I ponder the tlll09_

that he has taught .e, I realize that hll teachirtg and guidance Mve been

directed toward the preservation of ay heritage thrQugh traditional-atyle lIIuaic.

He ...a. born In 1901 in rural Calli. COunty , Ohio , where he lives today. His mother , Lilly Ward Swick, played tradi tional-style dulciMer and taught hi~ to play at a very early age. Hi. firlt .ong wa. -My Old Kentucky HoMe a • He s till preferl the tuditional noterI tyle of playing. As I think about storiel that he has told .e , I reali%e what ~kes hia appreciate his past . When he wa s only 17 years old . in the spring o f 1925, he ..de hia fint dulci.er . He used hia mother ' s dulci.er. Which il atill in the family, as a pattern . !UI only tooll were a hand plane . a sa .... and a pocket knife . A walnut tree , on the f . . ily fara, ...as used for the wood. A lot of love still r eflect I in the dulcimer ' l IhinV finish. Dad played hi. dulci .. r faithfully until he started to colleqe when he discovered that he didn ' t have enough ti.. to play. COn.equently . he packed hia dulcimer away for &everal year s . Later . he began to play the fiddle . but he didn ' t develop it to his fullest expectationa becau~ he -never could use the bow very well".

A few yea r s a90. in 1975 . ~y father ..de a courting dulcu.er froa walnut and spruce which alao caae fro. the (aaily far... "I build a new dulcimer about every 50 vears , " said -V rather when someone .. sked how o ften he .. de one. The faaily band portrays the fondness we have for the aulic that has been inltilled in uS through the genuine love MY father has shown through aanV years of dulci .. r playing. When I asked hi .. What he thought the future for dulc ! .. r playing would be Uke . he just .. id that "I hope to keep traditional ausic alive through the younger generation and ) have a strong delire to encourage others to play and appreciate dulci .. r ausic".

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A few years ago , MHorqan Raiders M disbanded and my ra ther started a falllily band. I t consists of Kenneth , my .ather, Martha, and myself. We phoy at IMny events around the ~llia County area as the ·ward PamilyM. For the la st several years we have played at the annual SOb Evans Fa rm Festival and many of the other far. eventa .

During the COncerti , we play various instrl1alents . Perhapi one song includes the ha_red duicilller which is aCCOlllpBnied by the accord ian . Another song miqht include the courting dulcimer and the piano. We encou r age the audience to become a par t of the traditional- style lIIusic.

This tune was composed by Pittsburgh , PA musician L. E. McCullough in honor of Dr. Linda Fitzpatrick, whose vibrant appreciati on of folk music snd c heerful, spirited ~sical nature are C~lIIOrated In this planxty. " J ' ve composed about fifty IriSh tunes ," aaya Hc.Cullough , "but thia ia the first cOllllllissloned piece for a genuine patron of the folk a rt s. It ' s a distinct challenge writing for someone else's sensibilities instead of juat your own. This planxty also has to serve as a processional piece for Linda ' s wedding." Poss ibly the venerable traditions of planxty-vriting and arts patronage will inc rease in the near future, nol only in Pittsburgh but elsewhere .

An album of mountain dulcimer music shared by good friends. SUSIE PETERSEN Hammered dulct.er, guitar , harmonics, 5-string banjo CAROL REICHENBACH and vocals. vi,"

ROBBIE DAVIS EO SIKPKINS

KlKE SCHRADER

Selections include: Old Joe Clark , June Apple, Over The Waterfall, An Uncloudy Day, Scotland the Drsve •.• $8 Post-paid Kitty Paw Records 7214 Bla~ie r Court Louisville , KY 40228

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John D. Tignor and the Kentucky Dulcimer Tradition RALPH LEE SHITH Re.ton , VA When John D. Tignor died .t . , . 59 in Frankfort , Kentucky on June 7 , 1982 , ....ric. 10at one of ita .oat direct reuinina linka to the early dulciDer . . king tradition Ilf the Cumberland Mountaina . The Cumberland Kountain tradition , more than any ot her , gave the Appalachian dulciDer to the " olltsi de world" . Thrll ugh ea.tern Kentucky ~kera , the hourglaa.ahaped dulcimer was diasetlin.ud out aide of Appal.chia during tbe fit.t half of the 20th Century , and this ahape beca.e fixed in the .inda of uny peraon ••• the tradition.l for. of the dulcimer . Brinling her Cumberland Mountain dulcimer with her to New York in 1948, Jean R1t~hie introduced the in,tru_nt and it . . . aic to the burgeoning folk . . sIc revival . Hawver , \/hile the dulcimer ... a triu.phantly establishing itself in the n.tion ', affections , the Cumberland Hountain dulct.er-.aking tradition ""a paaaing away. Witb the death of John Tignor , the traditional Cumberland Mountain dulclaer paaaed into hiatory . There are now no Uving traditional . . ker. of thh inatru.ent. JOHN'S LIFE Ab~ CAREER - John D. Tianor wa born OIl June 27 , 1922, in the f_11y'a two-atllry log beluae in the lIOuth of "Pu.hbac1t Holler ," a .Ue and • half below Hindman , in Knott County , Eastern Kentucky . Hi. fatber waa a faRer , who had alao done 10gg1ng before he urried . He used bia "'gon and te .... til take aweet potatoes and other rar. product a to Hazard to aell. On one IICmOrable accaaion , John ' , father drove the ... aon over the _unt.in. to Vir81Dia to _11 hL. produce . From 1929 to 1940 John attended pri_ry and aecondary school at Hind. .n Settle.ent SChoo l. Hind_n Settla.ent School and nearby Pine Mountain Settlement School were eatabU.hed by Northam .nd Southern phil.nthropiata in the early yean of the preaent century . Their 18

w.

purpose ~. to provide quality educ.tion fllr .ounuin children , whi.le nurturing .nd pra.oting the .ctivitie• • nd v.lue • of their tradition.l .aunt.in culture . As with ao uny children who .ttended the .chool" Hin~.n h.d • deci.ive !apact on John ' . life .nd career . After suduating from Kind . .n , Jol'Jl .erved aa • aisnat.an in the N.vy fro. 1942 to 1946 , in both the Atlantic and P.cific . When he returned fro.. the aervice , he attended Berea College , graduating in 1949 , and did 80M. aradu.te work in agricultural education at the Univeraity of Kentucky . tn 1951 John took a job ~th the Univenity of Kentucky Extenaion service , as a vocational agriculture teacher in Lavrenee County . Kentucky. In 195) he went to work for the U. S. SOU Conaervation Service , with which he spent the remainder of hia profea,i onal career , retiring in 1980 . OLD DULCIMERS Of' THE CUHBERLANDS When Jam wa attending Hind. .n seule.mt School , the .hopte&cher at the School waa • loc.l aBn nllfled Jethro Alllburgey. Alllburgey . . de duld.acr. a. an .vocation . In 1921 he lwId aecured hJa p.uern fro. a _n n_d "Uncle Ed" Thoma, (1850 19))) , the earlieat CuGberland Hount.in dulct.er . . ker of whoM we have any peraonal record . ThoIaaa was reported to have begun _Ung dulciDera about 1870 , and he . .de them .teadily until the time of hi. death . The origin. of the hourgl.ss dulciHr are a.ang the . .ny .yateries surrounding the evolution of the dulciaer in the Soothe", Hountain.. . It 1 .. not the ..,lll'"IIl'L type; the .ingle curve type , either " canoe-at...ped" or "teardrllp .haped" , aa found in SOuthwe.tern Virginia , ia clearly older . What we do knO\l fllt cert.in ia that , durina the .econd half of the 19th Century , houralaas dulcu.eta wre being produced in both weat Virginia .nd J;entucky. The pattern. of the inatru-

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llent, fro. the. tllO locales dUfer in .everal respects . The,e differencea sre illuatrated and descri bed in the photoSuph and cllption on pllge 22 of the Sw.er 1982 i ..ue of the Dulct.er Pbyeu Newt!. ABURGEY AND LEDfORD - The inatrument ahown- at the botta. in Figure 2 18 a dulct.er m.de by Jethr o Amburgey in 1939, while John Tignor was stlll at Hindm.n. The patte rn of the instrument ia vertulllly identical to that used by "Uncle Ed " Thoaaa . Ita characteriatic. include : • long , narrow body and very narrow _lat; a atring apan , fro. nut to bridge, of 28 inchea , which ia notably longer than the atring apan of .oat traditional dulct..t!u of the .ingle-curve type . String apans of 24 to 26 inchea are Co.M)n on old Virain1tl duld.aI!r,; a aUght overlap of the top and bottom over the aides; a narrow fretboard , vith freta .. de of vire ataplea that e~tend only part-way ac r osa (this feature ia not fully clear in the pictures , becauae traditional Cuaberland maker. cut a line all the way acro .. the fingerboard before inserting the ahort freu)j a . .11 head . ay way of coapari80n , the otber inatruaent in Figure 2 ia an hourglaas dulct.8r _de by Homer Ledford of Wincheater , Kentucky , in 1968. Ledford , who . .de hia first dulct..t!r in 1946 , 18 one of Kentucky ' a .oat laportant .. kera. Hi. inatruments .iaht be called an enlargement of the traditional Cuabarland pattern - vider , higher , vith a wider fret board that is fretted all the way acro •• vith actual inatrWDent fret wire and with a larger head . Moat or all contemporary ..ker. of hourglaaa dulc1aers diver,e fro. the traditional Ouaberland pattern in the _ way •• In tbe Ledford dulc1aer , the apan of tbe atringa baa been reduced frOll 28 to 27 inchea . Thia reduces the .ize of the apace. between each fret , aa can be aeen in the photos . John Tignor learned to _ke dulciDlera tros Jethro Amburaey while John waa at Hind.. n Sett le_nt School , and he began to produce hta own lnattulllenta in the early 1950'a. Figure 3 ,howa an early Tignor dulct..t!r . With iu 28-inch 'trina IIplln , it. long , narrow body , it. narrow fingerboard vith wire .taple. tbat .. tend only part _y acros. , and it . . . . 11 , walldeaigned head , it reflects the early dulct..t!r pattern of tbe Cuaberlanda in nearly pure for.. John continued to uae the trefoil lOundhole psttern throughout hia ca reer, 19

and be soon developed a distinctiva aquarebeaded peg . Fro. the early 1950a until tbe early 1970. John produced theae baautiful Cumberland dulcbers . Toward the end of thia period John made tWO sodificationa in response to the reque.t a of .adem players . When .aked to do lfO , be would tret hil inst1'Ulllenta all the \o8y a<:roas , with regular inatrument fretvire. And , for a short period around 1970 , he produced inatrumenta with the same narrow body but with a slightly wider fingerboard , thereby <:reating a dulcimer in the traditional Cuaberland pattern that i8 fully adapted t o sodern methoda of play. The lower i na trUlllent in Figure 4 , whi<:h waa ..de about 1970 , 1. of this latter type . It represents a high-water !lark at the Cumberland tradition , and owner. of the alUll number of specifllen, that are known t o exiat, can rightly treaaure them. A NEW STYLE - The timea , however , were continu ing to chanae , and mo.t of the change did not favor <:o~t inuation of the old narroy.bodied pattern , which did not produce enough sound to Meet either the requireaent . of sodern profea.ional performance or the taate of -adem ear.. In the early 1970s John changed hi. pattern decisively. He retained the wider fingerboard , elt.inated the overlap of the top and botto. over the lide. , and greatly enlarged both the body and the bead. The dimenaions of these highly intereating folk creationa varied rather than following a Itandard pattern . For e~ample , the waiat of the inatrument which waa ..de about 1915 , i. on ly 2~ inchea wide - narrower even than tbs Tho. . a/Allburgey pattern, which had a 2 7/Bth inch waist . END OF AN ERA - In the early day. of hia dulct.er-..kJng , John ..de an inatrument for hia wife Sally , with heart 8Oundholea rather than bis standard trefoil 8Oundholel. In the mid-1970a , at the reque.t of a cuatomer from Connect i cut , John made another in.truMent of thia type , using his old narroy.body pattern , and fretting the in.trument vith .hort wirestaple fret • • Thi. Instrument i. perhaps the la.t old atyle Ouaberland dulcimer ever ..de by a traditional .. ker. At the tbe tbat John ..de it, tbs pattern had been paased down by three craftSllen Tho_s, Amburgey, and Tignor -- for over I hundted yea .. a .

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The author has no doubt that John ' a place in t he history of the dulcimer , both al a perpetrator of the Cullberland lIIOuntain tradition and a. the creator of a folk atyle of hia own based on Cullberland traditions , vtll be increasingly appreciated in the years to COllIe. Lovera of the dul c imer throughout the world vtll re_in in hla debe . Ralph Lee Salth 1662 Chianey House Road Reaton , VA 22090

Dulct.t!ra -ade by Jethro AMburgey in 1939 (bottOfl) and Holler Ledford in 1968 (top).

All inatruments lilu,trated in thia article are in the collection of Ralph and Shb;u ito Smith.

Dulcimer -ade by John T13nor in the early

1950s .

John D. Tignor playing one of his dulcI.er. , while a neighborhood child liaten.. Photo courteay Sally Tlgnor .

Dulcillera .ade by John o. T1$nor about 1970 (botta.) and 1975 (top) .

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Qefl eclions on Lhe CarLer family RON PEl'IIX,CATllY BAATON.PAItA. DAVE PARA ANn MV R(JIJNn

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TUIU.OUCl!

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Arranged by JERRY DALLAL @ 1981

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tl/I/~rad

~~~a;

~tv<¢mdk By MADELINE MACNEIL winchester, VA DPN:

Crntis:

How did the tW of YOu begin to play 1llU81c: together?

1 took dulcimer lessons from Randy Wilkinson for six months. later I began teaching beginning dulcimer myself .

A few months

I called McCabe. ' Gu i tar

Shop in Santa Honica to see if I could teach there and found that they had a rueher already working with them .

I decided to c hec:k her out and went

to her houae. for a lesson. Ruth :

In the fir at five minutes I knew that Cynt ia played better than I , and 1 was embarrassed .

Cynt ia:

We began j.~in8 and it was love at first styles ~8 r eally wonde r f ul .

Df'N:

How long ago WIlli chill?

Cyntia:

Three year a .

Ruth:

I ' ve. been playing for e leven years .

DPN:

Are you both native. of California?

&trulII .

The compa rability of our

I've been playing the dul cimer a little l onger than four years .

Cynria & Ruth:

Yea.

we ' re both frolll southern California .

DPN:

What other instrumenta do you play?

R. . th:

I ' ve t ried many things . I ' ve tried the harp. I ' ve tried the viola; I ' ve tried the lut e , all of which I failed miserably because I didn ' t have the selfdiacipline to practice enough to play well . Then I began playing Elizabethan muaic on the dulcimer along with accompanying the English ballada 1 had been collec ting fo r many years . I decided to devote my efforts t o this one inatrument and do it right this time .

DPN:

You tallt about the campatsbUity of you r dulcimer playing styl es . elaborate?

Cyntis:

I have a f inger positioning on the right hand that is different than Ruth ' s . I put my pinky and my ring finger down on the 8Oundboard abo'le the strum hnllow like .. banjo playe .. does to b..ace lay hand, Then T pluck with my thumb and index and middle fingers . Ruth 8Upporte the hand by placing her thumb against the finge r board and uses her index , middle and ring fingers . I create a more percuseive pluck while Ruth c reates a more fluid one . The tloO sounds work well together . First, we select a III!l0dy tha t we like and find where it fits on the dulcime r to suit our vocal ranges . Ueually we are in B F' B Mixolydian, and somet i mes in C C C mix . We prefer the lower tuning for its resonance and rit:hness . 5et:ondly , 1 find out what t:bo r ds the melody has and t:reate a counter III!lody to weave around the melody . This can then stand alone with the melody or be used as my harmony vocal line. Please do not reprint or redistribute without permission. Contact dpn@dpnews.com

Could you


Ruth:

I feel it ' s important t o mention that what Cyntia &aid is done with a preconceived idea of the feeling we want to express , along with a respec t and love for the traditional muaic that ia our heritage.

DPN:

You r Uret album , AEOLUS , 18 filled with lovely aonga.

Ruth:

We both sing , but I do II.Ost of the lead singing on AEOLUS and on our new album.

00 both of you aing?

DI'N:

Ruth:

we wrote a lot of the ute rial for AEOLUS , "reclaiming" several traditional songs . "Bird on the Briar" waa originally called ''That Night in Bethlehem" and "Alrlanda ' a Lullaby" was originally ''The Orkney Ialand carol" . Both were Chriat~s songa for which we decided to r ewirte worda . We wanted to uke a lullaby that Hary lang to her baby , a lullaby for all children. The result _s ''Lullaby for Amanda". When Cynta played "Bird on the Briar" , I heard worda and we made them up. The worda were inapired by a 13th cen tury Latin love poem for which I had a tranalation . I have alao been col lec ting priaarily Britiah Islea sonaa aince I waa about twelve yeara old . I ' ll. 28 now, &0 it ' a been awhile.

DPN:

Have you been ainging aince early c hildhood ?

Ruth:

Not quite , but fro. the tt.e I WlS about fourteen , I began to sing the songs I had collec ted . Hartin carthy , the Water sons, snd Pentangle were inspirationa in my early years .

DPN:

Tell us sbout your perfonunce work.

Cyntis:

Recently , we did a northern california cosst tour with Britiah singer , Roy HIrria . Last fall we did a tour by ourselves up to northern california aa far aa San Franc18co. we are going to Chicago for a featival in the fall , and then later , another West Coaat tour .

DPN:

We ' d like t o know about your new album .

Ruth:

The title , HUSIC OF THE ROLLING IÂŤ)RLD , was inspired by a quote frOlli the poet , Shelley : ''The mudc of the rolling world , kindling within the atringa of the waved air , Aeolian modulationa". It ' s really a apacey line , but it seemed perfect. We liked tbe idea of the rolling world being our connectedne .. with the earth and our tranaformations and c hangea with tbe cycles of the aea&ons . AEOLUS wea an inllllrd , winter album. The new album 18 definitely one of apring and su_r. It. lot of the &ongs speak of celebration and playful love . we wrote the title lIOng called "The Rolling WOrld" . It'a a aeasonal song about the Wheel of the Year .

Cyntia:

The. inlltrumentation and the treatment of the songs are different from AEOLUS. We are using percusdon along with tbe violin family , Seth Austen on guitar , and even Sylvia WOods on celti c harp .

Ruth:

And jUllt wait till you see this album cover I We ' ve worked very hard on this project . -no;ever , it ' s cer t ainly been s labor of love .

DPN:

Tell UII 80mething about your concerta , your weaving together of music and 8Ong .

Ruth:

Hany timea we approach a concert with a seasonal theme in mind . Last fall when we were in northern California we concentrated on the winter aspect of life , on Hallo~en and tha turning ovar of tha year , on tha praparation to go under the ground in anticipation of spring once more . We did slot of songs on death and rebirth .

Cynth:

We had • wonderful experience in Carmel where we did a aet of moatly Halloween and wintery type 1ma,.ery. There was a whole crowd of eldedy people in the audience and they were reall y .oved by all the honor and recognition we gave the wiae c rone and elder aspects in life . It waa 80 moving to us to be able to communi ca te with theae people who are often forgotten . We gave the true meaning of Halloween. Please do not reprint or redistribute without permission. Contact dpn@dpnews.com


Ruth:

It was a time of apecial worahip allover Europe where the old were venerated. You have the aurvivor of that tradition in the old witch , the old crone in Halloween celebration. It was an acknowledgement and a thank-you to the older people for their wiado~ . We take personal responaibility for what we perfoI'lll and put on albu~a . There are ao many negative iuaagea of WQIIIetl in songs. Sometimes they ' re juat paasive , other timea they are terrible mothers or wicked atep~thera . It ' a ~portant to counter that iuaage and let people know that there were powerful women yeara ago also , not juat today. There are aleo oongs being written now by women in the feminist lIIOvement , for example, that are putting out poaitive imagea of women in contemporary muaie . I suggest listening to the muaic of Frankie Armat r ong ~~d Peggy seeger , they are grest sourcea for positive female illQagery and expe rience .

Cyntia:

We don ' t perform aongs or ballads that present rape or anything like that .

We just don ' t deal with that aort of negativity . We ' d rather promote ideala of love and joy and the coming together of men and women with nature . At concerta we don 't make a big deal about it . We don't talk about our ideaa or give a lecture . It ' a just what we do . It ' s subtle , but we know what we ' re doing . OPN:

What do you eapecially enjoy about the dulcimer and its IIIlIsie?

Ruth:

One can play it sf.llQply and create beautiful sounda. Jean Ritchie playa very af.llQply and so besutifully that ahe haa !lie in tesra . I think dulc~er players who feel as though they muat play aa faat aa Bluegrasa mandolin playera to be considered good , ~isa the whole point . If you ' re trying to convey a feeling , then what difference doea apeed make? I don ' t conaider myaelf t o be a great dulcimer player . I had been playing for ten years before I really atarted calling myaelf a dulcimer player . People began calling me a dulcimer player firat , but I never thought of myself aa that. I called myself a linger , and I atill do . When 8Omeone aaka me "hat I do , I say I ' m a ainger "ho playa the dulcimer . For me , the dulcimer ia an accompaniment for my singing . Cyntia , 1 underatand you build dulcimera .

OPN: Cyntia:

I ' m working on numbera two and three with Dale Foye , who is a luthier. He makea classic guitars . and together we are learning and experimenting with making classi c- style dulcimera using all high quality exotic and hardwoods . Theae latest dulcimera are for Ruth and my concert performancea . Anyone interested in our handcrafted dulcimers can contact me through Aeolus Music . We work out of the WOrld of Strings in Long Beach .

OPN:

Tell us about your record company , Ruth .

Ruth:

We started our own record and publiahing C01llpany . Aeolus Hultc , 80 ..... would be able to make our music available ~. rather than waiting around for aomeone else t o prO<iuce it . Beaidea , we knew what we wanted , and didn't want t o have to compromise our music for ~eone else ' s idea of marketability .

Cyntia:

We al80 found a wonderful co-producer and engineer , Scott Fraser , whom we love and truat. He has had much experience recording folk inatruments. The three of ua work together as a team , approaching the album projects from different angles , yet with the aame vision . It is our hope to continue expanding the horizons of the dulcimer as both a contemporary and folk instrument , and to share our love for the magic of our world. Ruth Barrett , Cyntia Smith 4189 McConnell Blvd. Los Angeles , CA 90066

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r-------------------------------------------------------------------- - ----. FINELY DESICNFD tWID-CRAFTDJ FOLK TOYS:

Limber Jack, Limber Dog , L1a:ber Pony $10 . 95 each includes shipping . Jean's Dulc:1Jller Shop , P.O. Box 8 , Coaby , TN 37722. FOR SALE , lsrge t able model hammer dulcimer , 13 basa courses , 2 strings per course , .abagany cabinet and pin blocks , rosewood bridges and side panels , apruce soundooard. A fine inattUlllent and beautiful piece of furniture . . . asking $500 . Vintage Fret Shop , Box 562 , Ashland , NH 032 17

The classif i ed section of DULCIMER PLAYERS NEWS 1s a low coat ~y to r each hund r eds of DPN readera . Classified ad ratea: 3~ per word , $10 lDinilautil.

A flyer on larger

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TABLAT11RE FOR APPALACHIAN DULCIMER . Also fiddle , ela w-~r/blue8raaa banjo , and flatplck/fingerpick guitar . Send SASE

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includes s hipping .

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ATTENTION BUILDERS : My copy of Chee Hine ' . Dulcimore book 18 mia8ing the blueprint from the back.

If anyone

could help me obtain a COPY. please contact Bob Hange, Chrystal River Strings , P.O . Box 1781, Chrystal River, PL 32629 .

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Ha..ered dulcimer kits from 42" x 18" for BIG SOUND . Introductory price ONLY $135.00. Write to Beaver Creek Dulcimers , 50590 Rodaman Drive , East Liverpool , OH 43920 for free literature . BEAVER CREEK DULCIMERS .

BUMPER STICKERS : ''Mixolydian is Merry ", with dulcLmer design. $1 ppd . or 7De for 10 or more , Dulc~r Society of Northern Illinois , 835 Linden Ave. , Wilmette , IL 60091.

'Micro - The 6502 Journal ' r uns technical articlea on micro-coGputers which use the HaS 6502 Processor. The Atari 800 Personal Computer happens to be one of these aystems. Mike Doughe rty , Box 230 , Rt . 5, Kings t on, TN 37763 , wrote an a rticle , ' The Atari Oulc~er' , which appeared in the May 1991 issue. Hike ' s article ' The Atari Dulcimer ' desc ribes his program whi ch enables someone to play the dulcimer on a computer. Onl y traditonsl s t yles though. Hadern technology has not caught up to finger picking on the dulcimer yec! It works like this. The row of keys on the Atari ' . typewriter keyboard which s t arts with 'A ' serves as a diatonic scale while vari ous other keys are mapped out as shar ps and flata. By itself, the computer plays t he background d rone while you s imply key in the melody as though you were playing a piano . Rhythm i s also handled by the progralll as it produces its dr oning at ruIII . Parameter s such as key , tioe s i gnature , tempo , etc. can be altered by changing the pr ogram ' s source code but not aimply by specifying 3/4 time and one sharp for the key of G. 1'111 still interested in music and play with some regularity on my 6502 and also Z-80 mic roproceasor. Unfortunately. my dulcimera are collecting a large quantity of duat. If any dulcimer Quaic computernicks are ou t there with ideaa o r experiences to share I ' d l ove to hesr them. Al.o my f r e t placement specs sre atill available sa I indicated in DPN Vol. 5 No. 4 snd Vol. 6 No . 4 . Ge t lhis LOO, in these days of Reganomics , I no longer want money for the listings just aend me a stamp. Dan Rich

24 Brandywine Blvd. Wilming ton, DE 19809

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What's New? FINGERPICKING DULCLKtR Janit. Baur . lCicltina Hula beord. avail.bLe through Blue Lion , Star Route , Box 16-C, Santa Karlarit. , CA 9)45). Tbi. album feature.

cl••• 1e.l mu.lc , country blue. , piano ras" and folk tunel flnger-picked on the fret t ed dulc1.er .

Selection. incLude;

Fur !li.e, CreeDaleeves , Piano Roll Blue. , and The Ent.ruiner.

DARCASON:

A DULCIMER Jo_y Wibon , o.r,alon Huaic , 517 S. Griffith Pnk Dr . • &urbank. CA 91506. Joemy ' l f ir at album featuree the mountain dulciMer lIang with fiddle , celt ic harp , flute , whiltle , bodhran and cello. selectionl include; Creenaleevel , C.rolan ' l Draught , Ro~ to Lildoonvarna , and Brown and Yellow Earl.

SAMPLER

COLD FROSTY HORN Dana llallllltOO ,

David Lindsey and the Sweet Song String Band , 904 Houston St . , ArLington, TX 76012 Thi, album has tunel such a. off to California , June Apple, Pig Town Fling and Colden Slippers played 00 hamaered and .auntsin dulct.er , 8ultar , aurobarp. and bar-onica. BUCKS AND OOBS Sa. Rizzett. , Plying Cloude Hualc , P . O.

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87, Valley Head, wv 26294. Here the ba.-er dulc1Der 1, prelented in a variety of

APPALACHIAN PIDDLE TUNES FOR PINCER- STYLE CUITAR Seth Austen . Kicking Hule Recorda . Available : Roan and Branches Huaic , P.O. Bo_ 2164 . Winchester . VA 22601 . Thi, albuM feature. old-tt.e fiddle tune. arranged for solo guitar. Selection, include ; The RlI!d - ltAired BoY . Raatt.il! Annie , Redving and Sandy River Belle .

.oed, and 8ettlna' ~th an eaphaal' on 10101 and duet ••

This albUM inc l udes Panny Poer, Cuckoo ' , Neat , and Carolan ' , Farewell to Huaic.

Quth

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MUSIC OP THE ROLLlNC WORD Cyntia Ssith, Ruth Barrett . Aeolul Hu.ic, 4189 McConnell Blvd . , Loa Angelel , CA 90066 . Ruth and Cynda, who play fretted dulciaer and ling . are joined by aeveral ROlician. playing cello , celtic harp, morris bells , fiddle , ItringbaSI and other instruments . Selectionl include Tha Broo.field HUI. Favan No . 1. and Unicorna. SPARKLE STRINC DISCOVERIES n. ......d . 106 In. .n St. , CaMbridge , HA 02139. fbia cassette tapa co-bines the hsm.er dulciMer vtth several instrUMent. luch as paaltery , piano , orchestra be l lI , soprano lax , and snar e drullle. The aelections loIere all written by B11l DelllOnd. BU.l

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SLElJ'Y KlLLOW HD10RlES OLD TIM!. MUSIC CROlIP . P. O. Bo_ 591 , Hlddleto,,", . OR 45042 Thia album featurea the. playing of Ed Stapkina . Debbie Kelpp and Ralph Kanko. Old-tUle tunea and songl are arranged wi t h mountain dulc1lller . guitar, banjo and baa, .

cyntlA smith

or thE. ~11O(f WooIO"

An albu. of tradItIonal and orisinal SprlnS and MIdauamar Ion,. and l oye .ons. with yOice • •• ~~::.~ ••' dulCimer!. Celtic harp , cell o , fiddle. bae. p• • ltry, BUitar, Md.{fllrcuallion •

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-The mUlic ot Barrett M d S.ith i. undenlabl and un a pol o,i cally beautiful,- POLKSCDn: MAGAZl:t Spring ' 82

~usmuslC 4189 McConnell Blvd.

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WHAT'S NEW?

cODtinued

LAltKIN'S DULCIMER lOOK Ivory Pabcel Music Publiah1n, Co ., )141 Spottswood Ave., Ke.phb , TN )8111.

Larkin ' s book pre.ents inatrllctional techniq ues for be,inning and intereediate dlilct.er studenta . A compsnion tspe degnnstrate. the .an,. in the book , auth aa Holy Manna , Searboroulh Pair , Harnin, Song , and Slaple Gifts. FINGERDANCES FOR DULClKER Bonnie Carol , Salina Star Rollte , Boulder . CO 80)02 fbia book contain. all the tunea , tuninga and arrangement a fro. Bonnie ' a licking Mule al~ of the

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DULClKERS Nina OulabaUIII , Mo .. i e Preas , )58 Oliver Rd., Cincinnati , OH 45215 Th18 bound and letID book ia only IS/16th of an inch tall , yet givea tbe atory of tbe native American duld_r . 48 pages. ANTHOLOGY FOR THE FRETTED DULCIMER Lois lbrnboatel , Kal Bay Publicationa , #4 Induatrial Dr . , Pacific , HO 6)069. Thia book contain. cOllntry-weatern song. , ragtime tunes , Hexican -o.ic , Cajun dance tunes , hy.ns , cb.asical pieces , iDternational folk music and "gueat ar rangementa" by some of Lo18 ' dulcimer play in, friend ••

ARt YOU ReADY FOR MJRE ON YOUR DULCYHOR!? Jane I.

Ad"a, Meadowlark Preaa , P. O. Box 8172 , Prairie Village , KS 66208. This book helpa the player translate popu l ar aheet muaic into dulcimer tablature . loa tunea include : Take Me Home Country Roada , Never My Love , and Will The Circle be Unbroken . THE KITCHEN MUSICIAN'S (X)LLECTION OF MOUNTAIN TUNES FOR FIDDLE, HIoMMER DULClHER , ETC . Compiled by Sara L. Jolmaon , 449 Hidden Valley , Cindnnati , OH 45215. Sara has hammer du1c1-.rteated twenty old-time tunea and written them out in Huaic Notation in sheet music forlll . Tunes include j Anaeline the aaker , Maddy Roads , Forked Deer and Cluck Old Hen. TUNES FOIt HAMXERED DULCIMER Linda Lowe Thompson, 1517 Laurelvood, Denton, TX 76201 . Thia book containa a tablature system and IIIl1aical notation tor fort y tunes such aa Road to LiadooDvarna, Scotland The Brave , Childgrove and Blackberry B10sao.. A casaette of the tunes Is avaUable . TAPLAS 19 The Cardens , MoD1llOuth , Gwent, NPS/HF Walea. TAPLAS is a new magazine reviewing and outl ining the folk Mlilic acenl in Walel . It 11 I bi-lingual magazine written in Englllh and in Welah. Thil quarterly magazine aelll for 2Op. United States IlIblcript i on ratel upon requelt. MUSlCAL INSTRUKfNr CLASSIFIED 11 a .anthly III8gldnl dealing with uled .usicil inltrumentl fra. IllUsicianl , co llector l , dellera , antique ahopI , pawn shops and IndiYiduall from Iround the U. S. Yearly subscription: SIO . oo 842 S. Monroe St. , Arlington , VA 22204 29

THE CALENDAR 18 s bi.anthly ne~sletter contsin ing artlcles abollt interelting eventa and organizationl . Yearly subscription: $6.00 The Fiddle Works , P.O. Box 1250, HcLean , VA 22101

SPttIAL IIOTlCE: kandy WUkinson, 9612 Halehulani Dr., Carden Crove , CIt 92641 , has publilhed a book of claSliea1 guitar works arranged for f r etted dlil c l.er. A tape accom.panlea the book. Our ing our recen t .ave , t he book waa .Iaplaced and I .. unable to tell you the exact title and other pertinent fact,. Contact Randy for Infonaation . The Winter DPN viii liat the book in the What'l New coluam. The DPN 11 aware of several new alUI , but information ia sketchy nov. We ' ll till you -are in the Winter 1Ilue. Mountain Dlilcimer Chriltmas Huatc Kicking Hule Recorda , P.O . Box 158 , Alderpoint , CIt 95411 Ha_r Dulc1-.r Instructional Tapea John HcCutcheo~ aa.espun Tapes Box 694 , WOOdstock , KY 12498 Fine Times At Our House John McCutc heon , Green Hays (dist . Ply in, Fish) THE DULClKER PLAYERS NEWS wants to keep info~d , and share information with it. readers. Whst ' , New? listinga coa t not hing . Please aha r e your latest on-paper or on-vina l /tspe accompli.hlIIenta with UI.

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AT LAST-

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One-of- a-kind inltrumentl by ona h~red dulcimera. dulc~era have the 6 1/2

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GREAT lAKES DULCIMERS Edward & Anna Oamm

118 Ledoelawn· Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 can First (207) 288-5653 AM 'Of It .. CATALOG: Ha"",*-, Dullr:tntrl (S33O liP). Lap Oulclmln 11115 up). Kita, PM"..,.., Kant ..... WlllsU... BocIhr..... 8ooI\1, ~.

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.MARY FAITH RHOADS Center Valley, FA Contemporary players have really pushed back the ls..lts of lDOuntain dulcimer 1llU81c. You can hear everything frOIll ' 'Maple Leaf Rag" to " ~vhe r e Over The Rainbow," and it' 8 a real pleasure to see the vitality tbat the duleimer Is enjoying . even though the ¡ revival has been going on for over 20 yearsl It'. B far cry frolll the days when nobody paid any attention to the dulcimer beCSI.I8t! it wall "too simple." As with any instrument , the !!WIln preble. 1. IIOre in the lIIind of the player than in the instrument. If you feel an instrument 18 limited , then you 'll never try to break the barrier. . With the advent of Richard Patina playing with rock backing , the Rolling Stonea electrifying a dulc1mer on ''Lady Jane , " and Howie Mitchell playing beautiful

things using guitar picking techniques , • lot of people started to think about the barriers and realized that they weren ' t in the in.trument. The dulcimer is no longer just a simple instrument anybody can play , even though that asaet ia still very important. Most everyone starts out playing as simply as possible , noting one string and using the rest of the atringa aa drones . SoMe of the ~at beautiful dulc1aer ~sic will alwaya be played that way . But aa you become more proficient and your ear wanta your handa to do more , you vt11 probably get into chording and mora complicated picking. Eventually , you will be working out and playing complex arrangements , taking adVantage of the beautiful sound of the dulcimer in spite of ita inherent aimplicity . For me , the progreasion included a slight tangent. After playing on a three-string dulc1lller , 1 awitched to four aingle str ings , and then afte r eight years , to five single atringa, (atrung up like a five-string banjo). The five - str ing dulcimer always see~d the ideal to me snd I naver anticipated the lessons it would teach ~e . In addition to enabling me to play three identical atrings vith a notar when I needed ss strong a melody note as poasible , 1 found that tha extra high string next to the basa allowed me to nave at least one other drone an octave higher than the bass . That reinforced the tonic (I usually tuned t he string to do) even if 1 waa playing something else on the three other strings , thus eatablishing a more solid frame of reference for the tune. And then , simply because there were not suc h things as "stsndard tunings " fo r 5- string dulc~rs . I started to discover the incredible n"..ber of tuning posaibil itiea. As the arrangements became more complicated , two things really became clear: 1 had t o think in terma of the ~e of each atring (you ' ve already aeen the reaults of that , not only in weird tuning c01lbinationa but alao in Illy notating the tunings as ''H- I-H , '' "I-I-H," or whatever) rather than jUlt the nmae of the "standard tuning," which really only ref eta t o the mode of tha firat string. With five melody strings and more complicated tuningl , it alao became clear that the concept of the dr one was as important to an arrangement mechanically aa it waa melodically . Cer t ainly there are times when s drone seellis to be out of place in a tune , giving a sound that your ear may not accept or apprec iate . (SollIe people don ' t like bagpipeal) But the concept of the drone can often be the key that unlocka the problems of an arrangement . The drones are usually the tonic (do) and the higher dOlliinant (sol) of a key , and the lower do clarifies the s cale you're using. I mentioned before that it acta as a frame of ref~renea for the .ade; a do in the baSI aituates you solidly in your .ode. If you play a D note and then a higher A note and then hit an F in between , you aensa a ''minor'' &Qund , but an FI feala "major". Your ear feela comfortable .ttuating the P (lIIi~) or P(lIIi) between the tonic (do) and the dominant (sol) . Now, play an A nota and a higher D. Do you &ensa that you ' re playing the dOlliinant (sol) and the tonic (do) , but i n a diCfere.nt order? Nolol, play the notes again and then play the BaIlIe A followed by a higher E. All of s sudden you ' re not so lure whether the D or the A i8 the tonic (do). Having a dOlliinant (sol) baas drone always leavea you a bit unsettled and unsure , a ve.ry good dulcimer tric k on the tunea you want t o leave hanging in lIIidair . Please do not reprint or redistribute without permission. Contact dpn@dpnews.com


The drone alao givea you more freedom in your tunings if you know how to handle it. It ia the backsround against which you make the notes on the other strings appear. Say , for ex~le , you ' ve got an unusual mode on a middle string that you need (or only a few particular notes. What do you do with the rest of the time? You ' ll find that you can keep a finger on it at a drone note (do or sol) , and it blends right in until tbose 1IIOaents when you nee~ the special notes , and then they seem to appear right out of nowhere! But the concept goes even farther than that , which br ings me to ·'Kflt's Law": You hear either the highest note or the c hanging nOte. l th~k 1 first reallzed that through playing the autoharp . You can always heat the tune you're playing on an autoharp , while someone liatening will hear the highest notes you ' re playing. That often forms a complet ely different melody in the listener ' s mind . On the dulcimer , i t wo r ks like t his: In a standard mixol ydian tuning (M-I-M) , strum all the atrings and play down a scale on your high H string. You hea r that note essily because it ' s the highest. After you ' te down to the 0 ftet ("do" on the open suing) , play on the middle (1) s tring at the 2nd fret , then lat fret , and then open. 00 you hear the ti , la , and so of the middle string and no longer hear the do of the open first srting? Why? The only explanation I can come up with is thar do is "covered" by the droning do in the bass , which has harmonic equivalent to the higher do note; 80 in fa c t , you have rhe higher do note all the time . When the note on the middle string descends , you don ' t notice the higher do because you ' re hearing the changing note. well , that ' s basically why 1 feel drones a r e so important . On the dulcimer . especially with its modal peculiarities , knowing how to use the drone really gives you the freedom to do what you want to do. Having said all tha t, there ' s one more thought I ' d like to share wi t h you . The dulcLmer revival seems to have just about gone full circle . While ~ started out traditional ly and got mor e complicated , nowadays people seem to want you to start out compl icated snd totally dismiss the idea and t he importance of the dr one as being a valid approach - di8ll1isaing it , as 1 overheard at a dulcimer ll\eet last aummer, as "that archaic Appalachian sound . " Obvioualy , 1 believe in at tis t i c freedom , but as a pl ayer that particular at t i t ude aaddens me. Their du l cimer s have a lot to teach them . 1 find mysel f , as do a growing number of dulcimer teache r s , distressed by the narrow-mindedness tha t would again r est r ict the development of the beginning dulcimer plsyer . Whil e the new attitude mocks t he subtlet i es of finely constructed , simplistic arrangements , it reduces the duicillle r - to quote John Pearse - "to the atatua of a POOl' guitar , with a few br oken atringa and aOllle missing frets . " It's like trying to say that Jimi Hendrix ' a ve r sion of "All Along The Watchtower " is stronget than Bob Dylan ' s because it is louder and has more complicated instrumentation. I ' m not trying to say that one dulcimer style is bet let than another. People should be encouraged to become fagillsr with all the styles , and then they will have all the resources they need to figure out what they want to play in Whatever form they want to pl.y it.

1980 Frets Ha8a~ine , Cupertino , CA.

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by TCIoI

BA~

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Gintrie

Anon . 18th Century

Tht. abort piece i . the firlt .ovement in a 11K .ove.ent baroque luite. In this pilei there are •• aentLl!ly two voicel . One i, the .clody line in which the notea Ire ateal-up and the other 11 the har.ony line in which the note. are Items-doWD. The boroquc auite vOl an

l~ort.nt

MUsical for. during tho baroque period ( •• rly 17th

centu ry to the mid-18th century), The opening piece let. the aood for the suite and inlure. the instrument 1. in tune. Each lute.laive movement reprelentl a different dance for. of the baroque era. Some coa.on nama. for thea • .oVeGentl are: Sarabande , Alle~nd, Kinuet, Gavotte, Courante, Bout.e, and Glgue . Entree 1. falrly atraightfoward and the double not •• should not poae too aucb trouble when using the tablature II • luld.. This tablature arrangement i s vhat worked best for -rself. You ..y find that I different Irrlnge.ent will be better suited to your own styl. of pllyiQ&. The eighth note runs do not Ilvlya have Iltemltina handa because of the har.ony notea played at the .... tL.e. It is I.portant that these part. flow ..oothly. Play the _locly alone flnt to hur what it sounds 11ke. Nellt, work the ha~y noul in JQ that all the notea are beinl played. Thia type of -usic works beat if you can hear s diltinction between the dieferent parta. That ia, try to ..ke the .. lady line etand out over the har.ony. This ia hard t o do on an instrument like the dulcimer, however, playing the melody notes slightly louder ..y produce this effect. It il characteriatic in baroque aulic to keep a steady tempo. However, within the framework of a steady tempo i, room for .uch in the vay of frilll and ornlQenta. Indicated orna~nta ere optional but will add to the life of the piece and are charac teristic of tJ.roque DUsic . The trills, .. rked by I "tr", begin on the upper note and do not have a set number of repetitions . Just be lure to end on the ~in nota and begin the nellt note at the proper t!.t . Scholars of baroque ausic have .uch to say aD when and ~ to t.provise and om...nt baroque .usic. Par those intereated , there il DUch to sayan when and how to ~provise and orna.ent baroque .uaic . Par thoae interes ted, there is -ueh wrItten on the subject . 1 . . quite interelted in applying cla.sical -usic to the ~red dulcimer, e.pecially baroque auaic since the Instru.ent waa played duriog this period . I would like to ellchenge ,.r.;""'Lo,,,_ sources , and IdelS with otherl who have the la_ interest. T, •

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DAVID N!ntAN 2S £asell: St. Ca~bridge. MA

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02139


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DULCIMER PLAYERS NEWS

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