In Praise of the Mountain Dulcimer
by Rebecca Prewett

Why is it that the mountain dulcimer has captured my heart?

Part of it goes way back to my childhood, when I readChristy by Catherine Marshall. The Appalachian mountains seemed to me a wondrous and fascinating place. Even before I ever heard or saw a mountain dulcimer, I knew I would like it.

I haven't been disappointed.

Today, as I actually ventured into composing two simple pieces for the mountain dulcimer, I was reflecting on how the instrument has so many different moods and sounds, so many different ways in which it can be played. I like the challenge of playing around with different modes and tunings. In fact, I ended up--in order to make one piece sound the way I wanted--tuning to some mode that, for all I know, I may have made up. (The truth is probably that I couldn't figure out what mode it really was.)

There's something nifty about the distinctive drone sound of the dulcimer, produced by fretting the melody string(s) and strumming the third and fourth strings "open". The sound has been compared to bagpipes, but it's really unique to the dulcimer. There are times when that special sound touches something deep inside me. At other times, it's certain chords and harmonies that I want. And then there are times when simple fingerpicking (which I'm finally learning) is what really makes a particular song. And then there are all the other various styles and ways of playing that aren't quite yet in my repertoire.

Besides the special sound, there is the way the instrument looks, the way it feels in my hands and on my lap, the way my nifty noter feels and sounds, as it glides over the fretboard, the way the instrument seems to come alive under my fingers...

But most of all, it's that special dulcimer something that touches the music part of my heart and soul the way no other instrument can.

copyright 1998 by Rebecca Prewett

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