Her career bridged traditional and modern forms of folk music. This book teaches beginners how to tune a play the dulcimer, and features illustrations, drawings, and recollections of the dulcimer s local history. And the instrument was a custom order so is not exactly what you will see on the blue lion website. Included with the instrument is the hard case pictured, plus a few dulcimer picks and a humidifier. Dec 06, 2009 jean ritchie was born into a large and musical family in viper, kentucky in 1922. The acoustic jam dulcimer is designed for use in acoustic jam sessions or any playing situation requiring a loud instrument and forceful picking or strumming.
See more ideas about mountain dulcimer, dulcimer music and mountain music. The youngest child of balis ritchie and the former abigail hall, jean ruth ritchie was born on dec. Jean ritchie, the recipient of the bess lomax hawes national heritage fellowship, is a significant musician and songwriter, as well as a cultural activist and chronicler of her home region. This book teaches beginners how to tune a play the dulcimer, and features illustrations, drawings, and recollections of the dulcimers local history. Aug 27, 2014 unas sister, the folk singer and dulcimer player jean ritchie b.
Jean ritchie and appalachian folk music happy birthday jean, american. This dulcimer is based on the blue lion bass and baritone body shape, but with less body height, a 26 14 scale and guitartype bridge pin string attachments. Mountain dulcimer tab book with 16 tunes recorded by patsy cline. Traditional mountain dulcimer by jean ritchie, other.
Woody knows nothin but peckin on the bough, ah but the skies of blue. Of course, what makes a given dulcimer book effective is partly a matter of. Oct 09, 2015 i was fortunate in having found a copy of the dulcimer book by jean ritchie, without which my dulcimer would probably still be hanging, unused, on a wall. Bring the story of musician jean ritchie to life for your group with this ky chautauqua show full of humor, wisdom, songs, and. The back, sides and peghead and tailpiece are the last pieces of wood left from the same board used to construct the first dulcimer we made for jean ritchie. Mailing address cedar creek dulcimers 408 river bluff dr.
My first dulcimer was definitely a starter, but i have played a blue lion dulcimer since i purchased one from janita at the old memphis dulcimer festival in about 1992. Crafted to celebrate the anniversary of blue lion dulcimers guitars in santa margarita, this dulcimer. An instructional record, an album by jean ritchie on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Read the dulcimer book by jean ritchie available from rakuten kobo. You will learn the basics of music, including tunings, modes, strums, accompaniment techniques and other essential knowledge. Born and raised in viper, kentucky, jean was the youngest in a musical family of fourteen children born to bailis and abigail ritchie. The youngest of 14 children, she studied at viper high school. Fretted dulcimer for sale posted 318 by kathy rose phone 7607261742 san diego area blue lion fretted dulcimer for sale.
Jean ritchie has been an inspirational pioneer and advocate for the mountain dulcimer and it is a pity that the marketing of both these products could have been better. Blue lion instruments builders of fine, handcrafted, mountain dulcimers and acoustic guitars. I had a little musical background from earlier days, and jeans book taught me how to tune and to find notes on the dulcimer for particular songs each note was represented by a fret. Contact us site map about blue lion ordering info shipping rates current price list. Jean ritchie celebrated her 50th year as a performer of her beloved appalachian songs in 1995, and mountain born, which features ritchie with her two sons, peter and jonathan pickow, was sort of a commemorative release to mark the occasion. We are proud and honored to be the authorized builders of the jean ritchie dulcimer. Jean ritchies dulcimer people by jean ritchie, 1975, oak publications edition, in english. Learn to play mountain dulcimer with a dulcimer book from. An instructional record fi 8352 from 1964 released on cd in 2007. Then in a video on the influence of church music we saw the poff family singing in a church service and one of the girls is playing a dulcimer. The ground covered is similar but more comprehensive than that covered in jean ritchies folkways record the appalachian dulcimer. Browse our selection of mountain dulcimer tablature and music books below.
Jul 29, 2015 the littlest dulcimer july 29, 2015 maylee at beyond gumbo interesting stories and people 2 comments marie williams, lagniappe dulcimer society member, has several mountain dulcimers including standard, small, little and tiny. Mystery lyrics of nottamun town and the music of jean ritchie. We have been honored to be the authorized builders of the jean ritchie dulcimer since the early part of the l980s. I play noterdrone style music on it and like its ease of play. Next we saw a large display with a photo of jean ritchie playing her dulcimer. A fter that we came across a large board that visitors can drawwrite something of their experience at the museum. We build standard, bass, baritone, acoustic jam and soprano fretted dulcimers and offer dulcimer strings and other dulcimer related accessories. Mcspadden dulcimers mcspadden dulcimers specialty is the mountain dulcimer. Anyone, regardless of musical experience, will be able to play the songs and tunes that jean teaches. Played flat like a traditional dulcimer, but with a wooden banjo head and a very big banjo sound. The dulcimer is a very simple instrument to play and provides a haunting, mountain sound. This easy and immediately playable introduction to the mountain dulcimer will get anyone playing, regardless of prior musical experience. The ritchie family was very much a part of the appalachian folk tradition, and had committed over 300 songs including hymns, traditional love songs, ballads, childrens game songs, etc. There were moments when i heard people like jean ritchie sing so.
Blue lion mountain dulcimers we own a blue lion bass dulcimer and love it as well. A photo of my bljritchie dulcimer can be seen here. As she tells it, this led to her forever being asked at performances and appearances, which album has the most dulcimer. David schnaufer, gary gallier, mark nelson, neal hellman, janita baker, mike casey, jean ritchie and many more. In her youth she learned folksongs in the traditional way orally. The dulcimer only has four strings, with two of them being doubled and tuned to the same note. Style i style ii jean ritchie force dossche 6 string bass baritone 6 string bass acoustic jam soprano. Her career formed a kind of bridge between the traditional and modern forms of folk music. Dulcimer vol i instrumental solo and ensemble selections of traditional, contemporary, original, classical, jazz, and celtic music, featuring. Traditional mountain dulcimer by jean ritchie softcover. Learning to play dulcimers gila mountain dulcimers.
The dulcimer book by jean ritchie softcover sheet music. For fit and finish, the quality of the instrument is very very good. It also includes music and lyrics for 16 songs from the ritchie family of kentucky. The song has been in our family for many generations. Jean ruth ritchie december 8, 1922 june 1, 2015 was an american folk music singer, songwriter, and appalachian dulcimer player. Dulcimer lessons with mark gilston black eyed susie.
Unas sister, the folk singer and dulcimer player jean ritchie b. A charming and lowkey affair, mountain born has the usual traditional pieces drawn from the ritchie family songbook, but it also has a higher than normal. Along with some general dulcimer history the signage with the mize dulcimer states, this dulcimer was made by robert r. Articles by jean ritchie a dulcimer round from jean ritchie.
Jean ritchie writes beautifully of her own history with the dulcimer, a history that any dulcimer lover will want to know. Because our mp3s have no drm, you can play it on any device that supports mp3, even on your ipod. She was born into a singing family in viper, kentucky, in the cumberland mountains of the eastern part of the state. Appalachian balladeer and folklorist jean ritchie possessed a high. Played like a banjo with a neck and wooden banjo head, but is fretted like a dulcimer and much easier to play than a banjo. An instructional record by jean ritchie on amazon music. We build standard, bass, baritone, acoustic jam and soprano fretted dulcimers and offer dulcimer strings and other dulcimerrelated accessories.
Shop and buy traditional mountain dulcimer sheet music. She writes knowingly and well about many dulcimer players and makers, providing background information that can only come from someone who knew these people. This dulcimer is based on the blue lion bass and baritone body shape, but with less body height, a 26 14 scale and. Richard farina blended several different styles of dulcimer playing. Jun 19, 2019 jean ritchie s dulcimer people by jean ritchie, 1975, oak publications edition, in english. The youngest of 14 children, she studied at viper high school and cumberland college.
Heres a link to a wonderful article about bob and janita baker, who make the fine dulcimers featured here at wildwood music. I was fortunate in having found a copy of the dulcimer book by jean ritchie, without which my dulcimer would probably still be hanging, unused, on a wall. As well as work songs and ballads, jean knew hymns from the regular baptist church she attended in jeff, kentucky. Our family ancestors came over from england, scotland, ireland, the earliest ones we know of arrived in 1768. Shes holding the smallest, playable dulcimer ive ever seen. Although jean ritchie is associated with the appalachian lap dulcimer, an instrument she largely introduced along with richard farina to the emerging folk revival of the 1960s, she seldom features it on more than a handful of tracks on her many albums. Jean ritchie brought a mountain dulcimer out of the hills of kentucky to new york city where it was discovered by an entire new generation of musicians. Our family still cherishes and sings the songs they brought with them. I, luckily, came by it used though in likenew condition. Oct 21, 2019 jean ritchie december 8, 1922 june 1, 2015 was an american folk singer and appalachian dulcimer player. Ruth barrett is an internationally known mountain dulcimer artist and. As previously stated, the mize dulcimer was originally located in the birthplace of country music museum before they split into two museums. A repair on a blue lion jean ritchie model mountain dulcimer.
Her method of playing does not sync with mine something ive since learned is due to the folk revival of the 70s and the new methods of playing old. The story of the blue lion dulcimer for some time, i had wanted a koa dulcimer built by bob and janita baker of blue lion instruments. Traditional mountain dulcimer taught by jean ritchie book. Jean ritchies the dulcimer book has an old photograph of mrs. Mp3 is a digital audio format without digital rights management drm technology. A lovely collection of 50 tunes from sweden, norway, denmark and finland arranged for mountain dulcimer by virtuoso musician and national dulcimer champion, mark gilston. I wrote this hammer dulcimer tune, which is used as the opening instrumental for. Songs featured include, go tell aunt rhody, the cuckoo, goin. I couldnt find it anywhere on youtube so i made my own. The appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or. Dave has released seven dulcimer instructional bookscds, four instrumental. The lower bout on the bass side was completely destroyed so this was the patch used. Official website of jessica comeau, mountain dulcimer instructor, player and singer for special events, concerts, and workshops.
Jun 03, 2015 the youngest child of balis ritchie and the former abigail hall, jean ruth ritchie was born on dec. It is a traditionally styled appalachian mountain dulcimer built to jeans. Jean ritchie was born into a large and musical family in viper, kentucky in 1922. In her book, dulcimer people, jean ritchie recalls how she first taught him the dulcimer. The dulcimer book by jean ritchie softcover sheet music for. These were sung as lining out songs, in a lingering soulful way. Modal tunings contribute to the dulcimers curiously foreign sound, creating that simultaneous strangeness and familiarity that is the charm of so much folk music. School me on the mountain dulcimer the acoustic guitar forum. It is a traditionally styled appalachian mountain dulcimer built to jean s specifications. Jean ritchie, ky, nyc best known, player, builder, teacher, collector, author perhaps no one has done more to popularize the mountain dulcimer than the great jean ritchie. See more ideas about mountain dulcimer, dulcimer music and dulcimer tablature. These double strings play the melody while the other two are.
This book gives the traditional background and history of the moutain dulcimer in her kentucky hometown, as well as its distant ancestors in europe. Marie williams, lagniappe dulcimer society member, has several mountain dulcimers including standard, small, little and tiny. Traditional mountain dulcimer by jean ritchie, other format. Marie named the very little dulcimer itty bitty and it is her newest acquisition. In the early 1960s, ritchie and her partner george pickow began distributing dulcimers made by her kentucky. Mize for the carter family during the 1971 celebration, this dulcimer was to.
1500 104 1475 1010 1200 632 1170 659 728 507 1292 1101 1301 1425 574 184 1036 1649 1523 1080 347 966 414 574 1363 175 1164 297 1106