Description
Folksay Press, Published 1976. Paperback, 102 pp.; 28 cm; Third Printing, 1978; illustrated with black-and-white photographs and music notation throughout.
Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
112
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Catalog notes
Condition & notes
In Good condition. Yellow pictorial paper covers with black-and-white cover photograph by Doris Ulmann of a woman in a heart-print dress holding a dulcimer; a few small nicks and bumping and creasing to edges and corners; moderate shelf wear with some spotting and soiling, fading to spine, and some color loss along edges and spine. Binding tight. Pages toned but otherwise unmarked, with occasional spotting and soiling.A guide to the Appalachian dulcimer combining instrument history, construction notes, and playing instruction with sheet music for sixteen traditional songs. Author Michael Murphy traces the dulcimer's origins, surveys early dulcimer makers, and provides instruction in tuning, modal music, chord formation, counter melodies, and ornamental techniques such as bending notes, hammering on, pulling off, and harmonics. Music transcribed by Denny Kleinman. Illustrations include archival photographs courtesy the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Crosby Brown Collection), the Library of Congress, Norsk Folkemuseum, the National Museum of Iceland, the University of Oregon Library (Doris Ulmann), and others.Contents: The Instrument and its History (Appalachian Folk Music; Dulcimer Folklore; The Dulcimore (a story); Origins of the Appalachian Dulcimer; Early Dulcimer Construction; Early Dulcimer Makers); Making Music (Introduction to Playing; Modal Music; Tuning; Tuning Charts; Reading Music; Picks and Noters; Strumming; Bowing; Picking; Chord Formation; Using Chords; Chord Charts; Counter Melodies; Bending Notes; Hammering On; Tremolo; Pulling Off Notes; Harmonics; Triplets; Accompanying Other Instruments; Translating Printed Music); Songs for the Dulcimer (Amazing Grace; Down In The Valley; Drill Ye Tarriers; Greensleeves; Hush Li'l Baby; John Henry; Long Long Ago; Old Dan Tucker; The Old Gray Goose (five versions); Old Joe Clark; Pretty Polly; Scarborough Fair; Shenandoah; Sumer Is Icumen In; Sweet Betsy From Pike; Tom Dooley); Appendix (Buying a Dulcimer; Dulcimer Repairs; Dulcimer Makers List; Sources for Buying Dulcimer Wood; Other Dulcimer Instruction Books; Dulcimer Construction Books; Bibliography; Discography; Record Company Addresses).