Appalachian Dulcimer Traditions
Page 15
Of the dulcimers, one was as interesting as the Hungarian zither. It was a battered, paint-spattered duplicate, right down to its pegs, of the holly leaf dulcimer that is illustrated in figure 8.2! It had been owned by a now-deceased homeless man in Asheville. In the 1960s, he had played it on the streets for small change. He probably found it somewhere, perhaps in a trash pile.
The finding of this instrument revealed that the instrument in figure 8.2 was not a one-of-a-kind specimen. Behind them was a maker of at least two and probably more instruments, about whom we know nothing more than the information provided by the seller of the instrument in figure 8.2 on eBay.
The incident shows that, with regard to the evidence we are using to reconstruct the dulcimer’s history, we are still very much in the age of discovery and will remain so for a substantial period of time. Things continue to emerge from attics, closets, and even among the possessions of the homeless, opening up paths, shedding light on lost makers and traditions, revealing important links and relationships, indicating dissemination, and adding to our knowledge.
With what we have so far found and learned, we have made great progress since I bought the Frank Glenn dulcimer at the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village in 1957, and even since I talked with Patrick Gainer in 1980. We have pruned instruments that are not zithers from the dulcimer’s family tree. We know that the dulcimer was not “born in the hills.” We know that we can also discount tales about dulcimers supposedly brought to America by early settlers from England, Scotland, or Ireland. We know that the dulcimer belongs to a group of instruments that have existed for centuries in northern Europe. We have learned a great deal about the dulcimer’s dissemination in Appalachia and beyond. We have identified many links and relationships among makers, styles, and traditions.
It is equally true that we have immense amounts to learn. As with so many other tales in this book, the tale of the holly leaf dulcimers illustrates the fragmentary nature of much of our knowledge. And everywhere, there are frontiers. How exactly, and where, did the scheitholt become the dulcimer? How did dissemination of the dulcimer take place? How did the hourglass tradition arise, and how are the hourglass traditions of Kentucky and West Virginia linked? What happened beyond the mountains, and when? Where are those black players, who we know existed? What is in old courthouse records that we have not yet seen? Will we find more dated instruments that can increase our understanding?
Much has been lost, and there will ultimately be limits to what we can recover. But as the time of discovery continues, it will reclaim significant portions of one of the nation’s most colorful and charming musical heritages.
Appendix A Library of Congress Dulcimer Recordings
Library of Congress Dulcimer Recordings
The earliest commercial recordings of the dulcimer are products of the post–World War II folk revival. However, the Archive of Folk Culture of the Library of Congress contains a number of field recordings of the dulcimer, extending back to 1934. The earliest dulcimer recordings in the archive are these four:
287–308
Twenty-two 12-inch disks recorded at the American Folk Song Festival, Jean Thomas, director, in Ashland, Kentucky, June 1934:
291 A: “The Pateroller Song.” Sung with dulcimer by Uncle Tom West.
302 A1: “Ground Hog.” Sung with dulcimer by Curtis Dartley.
302 A2: “Turnip Greens.” Same as above.
302 B: “Barbara Allen.” Same as above.
Other Library of Congress dulcimer recordings are listed below, by the chapters to which they apply.
The Library of Congress will provide taped copies of any of the recordings listed here for use by individuals for research and/or for learning songs and tunes. Recordings supplied in this fashion cannot be used for commercial purposes. For information on procedures and fees, contact the Archive of Folk Culture, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540-8100, 202-707-5510.
CHAPTER 4
Raymond Melton had the good fortune to be extensively recorded on three occasions beginning in 1965, with the recordings being deposited in the Library of Congress. These recordings constitute by far the library’s largest holdings of any dulcimer player. I have listed these sessions but have not provided the individual titles of the numerous tunes that were recorded. In the sessions, he is frequently accompanied by various other musicians.
I have provided individual listings for recordings by Jacob Ray Melton and Ruth Russell that were made along with the recordings of Raymond Melton in the 1965 session. I have also listed several recordings made in this session by Velma Nester Musser, a winner in the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention dulcimer contest in 1937 and 1939 and again in 1974.
1,340–1,373
Thirty-four 12-inch disks recorded by John A. Lomax, Bess Lomax, and Ruby Terrill Lomax at the Old Fiddler’s Convention, Galax, Virginia, October 1937.
1,340 A1: “Dream of the Miner’s Child.” Sung with dulcimer by Mrs.Lina Melton.
1,340 B1: “Liza Jane.” Sung with dulcimer by Jacob (Jake) Melton.
1,343 A4: “Blind Child’s Prayer.” Played on dulcimer by Myrtle Melton.
1,343 B2: “Arkansas Traveler.” Played on dulcimer by Raymond Melton.
1,343 B3: “Brown Eyes.” Played on dulcimer by Maggie Blanch Melton.
1,343 B4: “Liza Jane.” Played on dulcimer by Jake Melton.
1,347 A2: “Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad.” Played on dulcimer by Ray Melton.
4,784–4,947
One hundred sixty-three 16-inch and 57 12-inch disks recorded by Alan Lomax, Joseph Liss, and Jerome Wiesner in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia in July and August 1941.
Includes dulcimer players Ray Melton on “Cindy,” Jacob Melton on “Sally Ann,” and Blanch Melton on “Old Joe Clark.”
12,396–12,397
Two 10-inch tapes of instrumental folk music, including dulcimer music, of Virginia and North Carolina, recorded by J. Scott Odell, Division of Musical Instruments, Smithsonian Institution, 1964–1965. Tape 12,396 recorded in Galax, Virginia, August 15, 19, and 20, 1965. Tape 12,397 recorded in Galax, Virginia, on August 18, 20, and 22, 1965.
Thirty-eight tunes played by Raymond Melton, accompanied in some instances by other musicians. Also:
12,396 A: “Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad.” Played on dulcimer by Ruth Russell with Roscoe Russell on baritone ukulele.
12,396 A: “Dream of the Miner’s Child.” Same as above.
12,396 A: “Walking in My Sleep.” Played on dulcimer by Jacob Ray Melton with Roscoe Russell on ukulele.
12,396 A: “Fortune.” Same as above.
12,396 A: “Golden Slippers.” Played on dulcimer by Jacob Ray Melton.
12,396 A: “Ebenezer.” Same as above.
12,396 A: “Cripple Creek.” Played on dulcimer by Jacob Ray Melton with Roscoe Russell on ukulele and vocals.
12.396 A: “Walking in My Sleep” Same as above.
12.397 A: “Sweet Sunny South.” Played on dulcimer by Velma Nester Musser (Mrs. Stark Musser) of Galax, Virginia, with Corbett Tipton on banjo. August 20, 1965.
12,397 A: “Train on the Island.” Same as above.
12,397 A: “If You See That Girl of Mine.” Same as above, with Corbett Tipton on banjo.
12,397 A: “Train on the Island.” Same as above.
12,397 B: “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad.” Played on dulcimer by Jacob Ray Melton with Roscoe Russell on ukulele.
12,397 B: “Ebenezer.” Same as above.
12,397 B: “Down in the Levee.” Same as above.
12,397 B: “Soldier’s Joy.” Played on dulcimer by Jacob Ray Melton.
18,474–18,706
Two hundred thirty-two 7-inch and 15-inch reels. Songs, instrumental music, and interviews recorded in North Carolina and Virginia by Blan-ton Owen and Tom Carter, 1973–1974.
Nos. 18,546, 18,547, 18,548, and 18,549 contain 32 songs and tunes played by Raymond Melton with various other musicians.
Thirty-nine cassettes and 428 tapes. Recorded in North Carolina and Virginia by various collectors for the Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project of the American Folklife Center, August–September 1978.
Nos. 21,749, 21,750, 21,751, 21,752, and 21,771 contain 44 tunes played by Raymond Melton with various other musicians.
CHAPTER 5
The following are four songs sung at the National Folk Festival in 1938 by Maurice Matteson, accompanying himself on his Nathan Hicks dulcimer.
9,829–9,868
One 12-inch and 39 16-inch disks recorded at the National Folklife Festival, Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Recording Company, in May 1938.
9.851 B1: “Earl Brand.” Sung and played on dulcimer by Maurice Mat-teson of Frostburg, Maryland.
9.852 A1: “Bo Lamkin” (“Old Lincoln”). Same as above.
9,861 B1: “Sweet Willy” (“Earl Brand”). Same as above.
9,861 B2: “Four Nights Drunk” (“Our Goodman”). Same as above.
2,735–3,153
Four hundred nineteen 12-inch disks recorded by Herbert Halpert in the South between March 15 and June 15, 1939. This expedition was carried out under the joint sponsorship of the Library of Congress and the Folk Arts Committee of the Works Progress Administration.
2.854 A1: “George Collins.” Sung with dulcimer by Nathan Hicks, Rominger, North Carolina.
2.855 A1: “Ground Hog.” Same as above.
2,855 B1: “Bo Lamkin.” Sung with dulcimer by Nathan and Rena Hicks.
2,865 A3: “Pretty Polly” (“Cruel Ship Carpenter”). Sung with dulcimer
by Nathan Hicks. Rena Hicks tunes the dulcimer before the song.
8,772–8,851
Eighty 16-inch disks of North Carolina folk songs recorded by Frank C. Brown of Duke University in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.
Includes Rena Hicks singing “George Collins” and “Barbara Allen” accompanied by Nathan Hicks on dulcimer.
15,261–15,384
One hundred five disks of various sizes and 19 tapes (17 seven-inch and two five-inch). Folk music recorded by Anne and Frank M. Warner in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, the Middle West, and the Bahamas, 1940–1966.
15,262: “George Collins.” Sung by Rena and Nathan Hicks with Nathan on dulcimer. Beech Mountain, North Carolina, 1940.
15,262: “Blackjack David.” Same as above.
15,262: “The Brown Girl.” Same as above.
15,262: “Cindy in the Springtime.” Played on dulcimer by Nathan Hicks with Frank Profitt on guitar.
15,262: “Roundtown Gals.” Played on dulcimer by Nathan Hicks with Frank Profitt on guitar and vocal. (Dulcimer very faint.)
15,262: “Old Joe Clark.” Same as above.
15,263: “Johnson Boys.” Same as above.
15,263: “Fly Around Pretty Little Miss.” Same as above.
15,263: “Groundhog.” Same as above.
15,265: “Coming ’round the Mountain.” Played on dulcimer by Nathan Hicks with group vocal, men and women.
15,372: “Pretty Fair Miss Stood in the Garden.” Played on dulcimer by Buna (Mrs. Roby) Hicks. 1951.
CHAPTER 6
The Library of Congress Archive of Folk Culture has no recordings of Uncle Ed Thomas, and as far as I know, he was never recorded by anyone else. The archive does have a single recording of Jethro Amburgey, Thomas’s protege; a single recording of McKinley Craft, a dulcimer maker who knew Thomas and learned to make dulcimers from him; several recordings of Balis Ritchie, Jean Ritchie’s father, who learned to play from Thomas; eight recordings by Josiah H. Combs; three recordings (two songs) by Jean Ritchie; and seven recordings by Edna Ritchie Baker, Jean’s sister. These recordings are listed below. Jean Ritchie has made numerous commercial recordings, of which many are currently available, and her sister also made several commercial recordings.
1,374–1,601
Two hundred twenty-eight 12-inch disks recorded by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax in Kentucky, September and October 1937.
1,551 B1: “The Girl I Left Behind Me.” Played on dulcimer by McKinley
Craft of Cody, Kentucky. Recorded in Cody, Kentucky.
3,942–4,087
One hundred forty-six 12-inch disks recorded by John A. Lomax and others in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
3,950 A1: “I’m Climbing up Jacob’s Ladder.” Sung with dulcimer by Josiah Combs. Recorded by John A. and Bess Brown Lomax in Fort Worth, Texas, September 1940.
3,950 A2: “Corn Likker.” Same as above.
3,950 A3: “Cluck Old Hen.” Same as above.
3,950 A4: “Slago Town.” Same as above.
3,950 B1: “William and Dina.” Same as above.
3,950 B3: “Barbara Allen.” Same as above.
3.950 B4: “Jack Wilson.” Same as above.
3.951 A1: “Lord Thomas.” Same as above.
10,882–10,895
Fourteen seven-inch tapes of fiddle, banjo, and dulcimer music and songs recorded by Wyatt Insko in eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio in July 1954.
10,887: Fragment, unidentified. Played on dulcimer by Balis Ritchie. Viper, Kentucky, July 20, 1954. 10,887: Same fragment. Same as above.
10,887: Religious piece. Same as above.
10,887: “Lonesome Creek.” Same as above.
10,887: “Skip to My Lou.” Same as above.
10,888: “Red River Valley.” Played on dulcimer by Jethro Amburgey, Hindman, Kentucky, July 1954.
11,307–11,309
Three 10-inch tapes. Anglo-American songs and ballads from New England and California; English and Gaelic songs and ballads from Cape Breton Island, Canada; and Spanish-American songs from southern California. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell.
11,307: “I Wonder Where Moria’s Gone.” Sung and played on dulcimer by Jean Ritchie. 11,307: “The May Carol.” Same as above.
15,571–15,576
Six 10-inch tapes. Copy of 23 seven-inch tapes of Kentucky folk music and lore, recorded by Frank Trficanti and students at the University of Kentucky, 1972.
Includes Buell Kazee, Pleaz Mobley, Lily Mae Pennington, Edna Ritchie, and a church service. LWO 7284.
15,573: “Goodbye Liza Jane.” Played on dulcimer by Mrs. Edna Ritchie Baker. Winchester, Kentucky, March 11, 1972.
15,573: “Liza Jane” and “Groundhog” played on “sweetheart dulcimer” (dulcimer with double fret board) by Mr. Floyd and Mrs. Edna Ritchie Baker.
15,573: “Little Reckless Boy.” Played on duet. Same as above.
15,573: “Hymn No. 99.” Same as above.
15,573: “Turkey in the Straw.” Same as above, with dancing doll.
15,573: “Sourwood Mountain.” Same as above.
CHAPTER 7
The Library of Congress has no recordings of Homer Ledford, nor of Leonard or Clifford Glenn. Ledford made a number of recordings as a player of various instruments with the Cabin Creek Band, however, and the Glenns play banjo and dulcimer on several cuts on the recording It Still Lives, issued by Foxfire in 1980.
Nettie Presnell was rarely recorded. Her sole appearance on a commercial recording, consisting of three tunes, is listed on pg. 127 of this book. The Library of Congress Archive has two more, made by Frank and Anne Warner, for a total of five. Note that Buny Hicks sings with Presnell on “Johnson Boys.”
15,261–15,384
One hundred five discs of various sizes and 19 tapes (17 seven-inch and two five-inch). Folk music recorded by Anne and Frank M. Warner in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, the Middle West, and the Bahamas, 1940–1966.
15,367: Unidentified. Played on dulcimer by Mrs. Edd (Nettie Hicks) Presnell. North Carolina Mountains, 1951.
15,367: “Johnson Boys.” Played on dulcimer by Mrs. Edd Presnell with Roby Hicks on vocal and fiddle, and Buna (Mrs. Roby) Hicks on vocal, 1951.
Appendix B Measurements o
f Instruments
Measurements of Instruments
Measurements of a number of instruments described and illustrated in this book are provided in this appendix. These measurements will enable the reader to compare instruments, traditions, and patterns. The instruments can also be compared with the larger selection of instruments and measurements that can be found in my book The Story of the Dulcimer and in Allen Smith’s book, A Catalogue of Pre-Revival Appalachian Dulcimers.
In these measurements, the abbreviation VSL stands for vibrating string length, that is, the length of the strings from the top bridge, called the nut, to the lower bridge. The reader knows from the text that the usual VSL of scheitholts is 24 to 26 inches, the usual VSL of Virginia-style dulcimers is the same, and the usual VSL of hourglass-shaped dulcimers is about 28 inches.