Plucked or bowed dulcimers for CW reenactors

[razyn]

I've gotten the feeling that this instrument is not especially dear to the hearts of the reenacting community; but several of us play them, or own examples that date well before 1860.  For any who might be that way inclined -- the most comprehensive exhibition, to date, of the earlier extant examples (and traditional forms) is currently mounted at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, in Ferrum, VA.  I posted a little walk-through on one of the dulcimer forums yesterday, and will link it here as well.  Oddly enough, it's another Ning site.

 

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/forum/topics/the-virginia-dulcimer...

[Paul Certo]

I always take a dulcimer to camp. Our club is made up of people portraying eras from colonial days to the Wild West. Sort of a time line, though we don't always have multiple eras represented.

How dear it is to the reenacting community may depend on how accurate each group wants the music to be. Some groups seem to want bluegrass, and I've had a few people request Peter, Paul, & Mary, and even John Denver songs. In my backyard I don't mind doing a few of those songs, and Rock or Jazz isn't uncommon for me, either, but not at period events.  One Union Artillerist always asks if I brought it, as he likes to hear it more than any other instrument.  I don't have a completely period correct dulcimer, as mine have modern geared tuners, but for now that's what I'm using.

Paul

[Steve Jeter]

 Ever seen OLd Davy Crockett playing dulcimer?? Well you still aint;)

[razyn]

I took photos of most of the captions and graphics in this exhibition, so I could study them later.  Here's one that particularly caught my eye:

 

       "Overall estate records from 1780 to 1860 in Virginia's Roanoke and New River Valleys list more dulcimers (39) than all other instruments except the fiddle (103).  Nearly two-thirds of those dulcimers were owned by families with apparent ties to the British Isles, not Germany.  It is reasonable to assume that the non-German owners were playing mostly English-language songs as well as tunes with American or British origins."

 

This is on the wall with the theme "Becoming American," on which there are a number of instruments showing the very slow transition from mostly straight-sided dulcimers in the older, German form (usually called a "scheitholt" by Anglo-American curators, of the early 20th century and later; but a "zitter" by German-American players, of the early 20th century and earlier) to the more recognizable Virginia "teardrop" shape.  There is documentary evidence that the scheitholt form was already beginning to be called a dulcimer, even by those who normally spoke German, in mid-18th century Pennsylvania.  It was of course called by many other nicknames of a more local or regional character (hog fiddle, scantlin, and so on).

 

I don't feel a need to speculate on the repertoire of dulcimer playing mountaineers of southwest Virginia -- but the estate records make it pretty clear that the banjo was less common than the dulcimer, in that area, before the CW.  The data have also been collected for nearby counties of North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, and are similar -- but aren't included in the captions for this Virginia exhibition.

 

And by the way these estate references are almost certainly not to hammered dulcimers -- which did make an appearance in the southern hills, but generally after the CW.

 

The "hourglass" form, such as that in the lap of Davy Crockett in the preceding post by Steve Jeter, developed in the Big Sandy valley (border between Kentucky and present West Virginia) right around the time of the Civil War -- perhaps even during it, but certainly not long before.  (And if any were made prior to 1863, that wasn't West Virginia, yet.)  Many of the earlier dulcimers, on either the Germanic zitter or the Virginia teardrop model, had vertical, zither type tuning pins.  The rest had horizontal friction pegs -- not always of wood, but without gears.  Frets were usually of the staple type, under the melody string(s), but rarely or never clear across the fretboard or soundboard.  The fretting pattern was diatonic, without recent inventions such as the "6+" fret, and other supplementary frets beloved by modern dulcimer players who approach the instrument like a guitar with a handicap.  Usually, but not always, the diatonic scale began with Sol at the nut.  (Fa and Do are the open tones, on small clusters of early instruments.)

 

This is almost certainly more than most banjo picking reenactors want to know.  But if you feel called to make fun of the dulcimer players at your reenactment (because you haven't seen an ambrotype of somebody in a CW uniform holding one), you can do so with more refinement on the basis of the cultural and historical realities -- rather than the poverty of mostly urban, mostly northern photo archives.

 

Confederate mandolin players, now, that's just weird.

[Steve Jeter]

 Please dont take me wrong, I wasnt making fun of that guy , he is my friend, and is extremely knowledgeable  about history.  Most all the Cane Island Vols. have a real dedication to authenticity, but mainly in the realm of firearms, and clothing. As this fellow Lester is not really "musically talented" { his words , not mine}, he chooses to have some fun and strum the dulcimer. Before I joined them they had only Lester to play atmosphere music.
 Now I get to,,, as far as mandos  in 1840 ,, there probably wasnt in Texas, but I still play one sometime at re-enactments. Probably will lay it down ,when I get some time under my belt on banjo.

Just wanted to be clear, no disrespect intended to anybody

 Steve

P.S.  not that you cant be talented and play the dulcimer, dont want my big feet stepping on toes.
razyn said:

I took photos of most of the captions and graphics in this exhibition, so I could study them later.  Here's one that particularly caught my eye:

 

       "Overall estate records from 1780 to 1860 in Virginia's Roanoke and New River Valleys list more dulcimers (39) than all other instruments except the fiddle (103).  Nearly two-thirds of those dulcimers were owned by families with apparent ties to the British Isles, not Germany.  It is reasonable to assume that the non-German owners were playing mostly English-language songs as well as tunes with American or British origins."

 

This is on the wall with the theme "Becoming American," on which there are a number of instruments showing the very slow transition from mostly straight-sided dulcimers in the older, German form (usually called a "scheitholt" by Anglo-American curators, of the early 20th century and later; but a "zitter" by German-American players, of the early 20th century and earlier) to the more recognizable Virginia "teardrop" shape.  There is documentary evidence that the scheitholt form was already beginning to be called a dulcimer, even by those who normally spoke German, in mid-18th century Pennsylvania.  It was of course called by many other nicknames of a more local or regional character (hog fiddle, scantlin, and so on).

 

I don't feel a need to speculate on the repertoire of dulcimer playing mountaineers of southwest Virginia -- but the estate records make it pretty clear that the banjo was less common than the dulcimer, in that area, before the CW.  The data have also been collected for nearby counties of North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, and are similar -- but aren't included in the captions for this Virginia exhibition.

 

And by the way these estate references are almost certainly not to hammered dulcimers -- which did make an appearance in the southern hills, but generally after the CW.

 

The "hourglass" form, such as that in the lap of Davy Crockett in the preceding post by Steve Jeter, developed in the Big Sandy valley (border between Kentucky and present West Virginia) right around the time of the Civil War -- perhaps even during it, but certainly not long before.  (And if any were made prior to 1863, that wasn't West Virginia, yet.)  Many of the earlier dulcimers, on either the Germanic zitter or the Virginia teardrop model, had vertical, zither type tuning pins.  The rest had horizontal friction pegs -- not always of wood, but without gears.  Frets were usually of the staple type, under the melody string(s), but rarely or never clear across the fretboard or soundboard.  The fretting pattern was diatonic, without recent inventions such as the "6+" fret, and other supplementary frets beloved by modern dulcimer players who approach the instrument like a guitar with a handicap.  Usually, but not always, the diatonic scale began with Sol at the nut.  (Fa and Do are the open tones, on small clusters of early instruments.)

 

This is almost certainly more than most banjo picking reenactors want to know.  But if you feel called to make fun of the dulcimer players at your reenactment (because you haven't seen an ambrotype of somebody in a CW uniform holding one), you can do so with more refinement on the basis of the cultural and historical realities -- rather than the poverty of mostly urban, mostly northern photo archives.

 

Confederate mandolin players, now, that's just weird.

[razyn]

I wasn't meaning to put down your friend, nor was I really thinking about the group in your photo.  Actually I was thinking about these people:  http://www.huckleberrybrothers.com/   With whom I have no personal acquaintance; I just ran across their web page because their dulcimer lady has also posted as an admirer of the current exhibition at Ferrum.  There seems to be a degree of musical farbism there, not that I'm deeply troubled by it.  I'm more troubled by the opposite, really -- the More Authentic than Reality variation on plus royaliste que le roi.  This (dulcimer) thread is one of several in which I've tried to let a little daylight seep into that somewhat artificially darkened space.