Columns – Dulcimer Players News

Tales and Traditions: A Singleton Dulcimer

A few days ago, I received an email from James Floyd, a Florida resident, which read in part as follows: “I found this dulcimer today and the folks at Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer said you might know something about it. The label inside says WC Singleton-Viper KY-Box 75...

August 24, 2024Mountain Dulcimer Tales and Traditions, Vol. 38 No. 1

TablEdit Tips: Working with modules

By Melanie Johnston | Using TablEdit for arrangements with multiple staves.

May 6, 2024TablEdit Tips, Vol. 50 No. 2

Postcard printed circa 1910, image colorized from renowned Asheville, North Carolina, photographer T. H. Lindsey's original photograph titled "613. Convicts in Swannanoa Cut," circa 1885. It was taken as part of his "Views of Western North Carolina" series, part of a tourism campaign touting the area as the "Land of Sky." Image credit: "Stripes but no Stars, Asheville, N.C." in Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P077), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill. — Dulcimer Players News

Lil Rev’s Dulci-Lore Corner: Asheville Junction (Swannanoa Tunnel)

By Lil Rev | Greetings and welcome to the first of many articles that'll showcase the tunes, traditions, and techniques of our beloved hog fiddle (dulcimer). This issue's column will explore the origins and an arrangement of one of the most haunting folk ballads of old, "Asheville Junction," also known as "Swannanoa Tunnel."

May 6, 2024Lil Rev's Dulci-lore Corner, Mountain Dulcimer Arrangement

Illustration that accompanied Madeline MacNeil's “Roots and Branches” column. From the DPN Archives Vol. 6 No. 2 (1980). — Dulcimer Players News

Roots and Branches: The Bird Song

By Fiona Potts | Trace the origins of the words and tunes of "The Bird Song," also known as "Leatherwing Bat," featuring Margaret MacArthur.

May 6, 2024Mountain Dulcimer Arrangement, Roots and Branches, Vol. 50 No. 2

Jerry Rockwell on the cover of DPN Vol. 11 No. 4 (1985). — Dulcimer Players News

Possibility Box: The Safe Passage Project – Another 4-Chord Loop

By Jerry Rockwell | This A Mixolydian 4-chord loop is one of my favorites, and it is very popular with my Patreon subscribers. It has a dark, foreboding Celtic vibe ...

May 6, 2024Possibility Box, Vol. 50 No. 2

A dulcimer made by Samuel F. Russell in 1939, in the Smithsonian collections. ID Number 1996.0276.10. The image has been cropped and enhanced to increase the visibility of the construction features. Photo credit: Division of Culture and the Arts, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Tales & Traditions: Samuel F. Russell

By Ralph Lee Smith, from the DPN Archives Vol. 25 No. 2 (1999) | I have been remiss in not paying tribute to old-time Virginia dulcimer maker Samuel F. Russell of Marion, Virginia in this column. Russell is the only person who produced a significant number of Virginia-style dulcimers for sale prior to the post-World-War II folk revival. ...

May 6, 2024Mountain Dulcimer Tales and Traditions, Vol. 50 No. 21 Comment

Ralph Lee Smith

By Cathy Sabol, from the DPN Archives Vol. 8 No. 3 (1982) | McDougal Street, Greenwich Village, New York, 1956. The folk music revival was in full swing, and the Folklore Center was selling dulcimers 'imported' from North Carolina for $30.00 a piece. Ralph Lee Smith, freelance writer and player of the harmonica, guitar, banjo, and bones, decided to invest in this strange instrument. Fortunately it came tuned. ...

May 6, 2024Mountain Dulcimer Tales and Traditions, Vol. 50 No. 2

Tales and Traditions: A Singleton Dulcimer

TablEdit Tips: Working with modules

Lil Rev’s Dulci-Lore Corner: Asheville Junction (Swannanoa Tunnel)

Roots and Branches: The Bird Song

Possibility Box: The Safe Passage Project – Another 4-Chord Loop

Tales & Traditions: Samuel F. Russell

Ralph Lee Smith

DPN Restrung: The Doubleback

Collector’s Corner: Memory Garland

Editor’s Letter: Madeline MacNeil

Archives

Categories