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I will try to answer any questions you may have about mountain dulcimers promptly. Please call, write or E-mail: J.C.Rockwell Music
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Q1. How long does it take to make one? A: This is a question I get ten times a day or more, especially when I've set up my workshop at a festival or fair. It's really not that easy to answer, since it's possible to keep three or four dulcimers going at a time, clamped into various jigs and fixtures; and each model in my line takes a different amount of time to complete. I usually just say "from three days to a week" approximately. Woodworkers usually mention power tools
along with this question. My woodworking principles are based on one pair of hands from start to finish, the best hand tools I can find, and a long-term relationship with wood, tools, and music. It's my living--and speaking as a musician, I don't like the noise that power tools make, nor the probability of accidents and hand injuries. Q2. How does the design or the shape of the dulcimer affect its sound? A: There are many, many different shapes of mountain dulcimers,
but it is not the shape that gives a particular dulcimer its
unique indentifying soundprint. Instead, the relative size of
a dulcimer has a much more noticeable affect on its sound. Larger
dulcimers, especially those with deep sides, tend to be louder
and more powerful in the bass register. Smaller dulcimers, which
are generally shallower in the side dimension, offer less bass
response, but often they have stronger, clearer response in the
high-end. Of course, these are sweeping generalizations, and
fail to take into account factors such as: . . .and many other critical factors
Q3. What type of wood makes the best dulcimer? A: This is a tough question, and one which will prompt widely varying answers from different craftsmen. In general, walnut and cherry are my favorites for fingerboards, sides, and backs. Spruce is my first choice for soundboards, although butternut and walnut are both excellent alternatives. Depending upon availability, black locust makes a wonderful sides-and-back choice. Its density, hardness, and other properties are VERY similar to Indian rosewood: it has tremendous volume, while also possessing an uncommon richness and fullness of tone. Q4. Does soundhole design have any effect on the sound of the dulcimer? A: Again, as in Question 2, it is probably the overall size of the soundhole--rather than the shape--that is more likely to affect the sound of the dulcimer. In a very general sense, HUGE soundholes remove large sections of the vibrating area of the soundboard. This certainly doesn't seem like a great idea, and the large-soundhole dulcimers I've played in the past all had a kind of boomy, echo-ey sound. Q5a. Why do some 4-string dulcimers have two strings really close to each other, while some have the 4 strings evenly spaced? A: The 4-string dulcimer with a double-melody string (two strings really close together, meant to be tuned in unison, and always pressed down together-as one) is essentially a 3-string dulcimer with a reinforced melody string. This string configuration is especially useful for the traditional melody-with-drone style, where the melody line is carried up and down the double melody string in a linear fashion, while the middle and bass strings sound a continuous drone. The real advantage here is that the double melody string is twice as loud as a single string; allowing it to sing out loud and clear above the drone. For the advancing dulcimer player, however, the 4-string equidistant set-up represents a clear departure: a fork in the road where there is an exponential increase in harmonic capabilities, as well as the number of tunings available. Q5b. How come there are so many different
string spacings and number of strings on mountain dulcimers?
Q6. How long will it take me to learn to play the dulcimer? A: This depends largely on your musical background: whether you play other instruments . . .and MANY other factors too numerous to mention here That being said, it is commonly known that ANYONE, regardless of musical ability, can learn a simple tune like Bile Them Cabbage Down in 15 or 20 minutes. I know this to be true as I have taught this very tune to hundreds of people over the years. Beyond the basics, adventurous souls wishing to explore intricate polyphonic textures or complex jazz arrangements will be faced with an extremely steep learning curve. Q7. What books do you recommend for beginning students? A: Larkin's Dulcimer Book, by Larkin Kelley Bryant (which also has an excellent tape to go along with it), is a very solid, comprehensive beginning method. You Can Teach Yourself Dulcimer, by Maddie MacNeil,
with an accompanying recording, is also very good and highly
recommended.
Q8. Do I have to learn to read music in order to play the dulcimer? A: Absolutely not! The dulcimer is a simple folk instrument
with deep Appalachian folk roots--meaning that the whole European
art music tradition, with its over-reliance on the printed note,
has very little relevance. In fact, I like to think of folk music,
in general, as something that comes right out of the air. Try a sample of tablature written only for the melody string (from my Beginner's Tunebook) and another style showing standard music notation (for note readers) with dulcimer tablature (from my book Dulcimer Solos Vol. 2). Tablature (TAB for short) is very user-friendly and quite easy to get the hang of. But maybe for this very reason, it tends to be addictive. TAB is a great learning tool, but once you get a tune in your heart, you really don't need TAB any more: here's where the true expression begins!
Q9. I'm interested in learning how to build a dulcimer. Do you have any suggestions about where I might find resources like books, wood, and supplies? A: My favorite book on dulcimer building is entitled Constructing
the Mountain Dulcimer by Dean Kimball, and it's available
from: This book will be most useful to those with some woodworking experience, as the author recommends building some fairly elaborate forms and jigs to aid in construction. Two good resources are: Folkcraft Instruments: 800-433-FOLK Stewart-Macdonald: 800-848-2273
Q10. I'm having difficulty locating recordings that feature the mountain dulcimer. Do you know of any sources? A: For recordings featuring the mountain dulcimer, you might want to try: Melody's Traditional Music and Harp Shoppe Q10b. Are there any players that you particularly recommend? Here is a partial listing of some of the more influential mountain dulcimer players who are currently performing, teaching, and recording: Jean Ritchie, Margaret MacArthur, Lorraine Lee Hammond, Roger Nicholson, Leo Kretzner, David Schnaufer, Lois Hornbostel, Mark Nelson, Rob Brereton, Barb Truex, Larkin Kelley Bryant, Maddie MacNeil, Janita Baker, Neal Hellman, Bonnie Carol, Tull Glazener, Gary Gallier, and many other fine players I've not mentioned. Hollis Landrum, Steve Seifert, Molly Freibert, and Lee Rowe are names to start watching for on recordings and in performances and workshops. In 1991, I wrote two articles for the magazine Dirty Linen, each documenting three leading contemporary mountain dulcimer players. These are basically interviews, in which I asked each musician the following questions: 1) Who or what first attracted you to the mountain dulcimer? Do you see the dulcimer as a unique instrument with its own individual voice? What sets it apart from the steel string guitar? 2) Who are the primary influences on your own music and your
playing style? Contemporary Mountain Dulcimers And the people who pick 'em, Part 1. David Schnaufer, Lois Hornbostel, Leo Kretzner. First appeared in Dirty Linen #34 June/July '91 Contemporary Mountain Dulcimers And the people who pick 'em, Part 2. Lorraine Lee, Larkin Kelley Bryant, Barbara Truex. First appeared in Dirty Linen #39 April/May '92 Special thanks go to Paul Hartman, editor of Dirty Linen,
for making these articles available online, and for publishing
them in the first place.
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Nov 10, 1997 |
Copyright by JC Rockwell | |||