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Appalachian Dulcimer Traditions
The Appalachian dulcimer is one of America's major contributions to world music and folk art. Homemade and handmade, played by people with no formal knowledge of music, this beautiful instrument arrived in the light of the 20th century with virtually no written record. Appalachian Dulcimer Traditions is a first-hand report to enlarge our knowledge of the dulcimer's history by searching the hills and "hollers" of Appalachia, looking at old instruments, and listening to the tales of old folks.
After reviewing the instrument's special musical features, the book describes some related instruments, and reveals little-known facts about the dulcimer's origins on the early Appalachian frontier. The book then describes three major design traditions of the dulcimer, each centered in its own geographical area, and focuses on important makers in each of the three traditions―the Melton family of Galax, Virginia, Charles M. Prichard of Huntington, West Virginia, and "Uncle Ed" Thomas of Kentucky.
A final chapter describes four Appalachian makers of the folk revival transition, who began making instruments the old-time way and modernized them to meet the needs of Post-World-War-II urban players. The book concludes with listings of dulcimer recordings in the Archive of Folk Culture of the Library of Congress.
After reviewing the instrument's special musical features, the book describes some related instruments, and reveals little-known facts about the dulcimer's origins on the early Appalachian frontier. The book then describes three major design traditions of the dulcimer, each centered in its own geographical area, and focuses on important makers in each of the three traditions―the Melton family of Galax, Virginia, Charles M. Prichard of Huntington, West Virginia, and "Uncle Ed" Thomas of Kentucky.
A final chapter describes four Appalachian makers of the folk revival transition, who began making instruments the old-time way and modernized them to meet the needs of Post-World-War-II urban players. The book concludes with listings of dulcimer recordings in the Archive of Folk Culture of the Library of Congress.
180 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 28, 2025
I found this more engaging for its human interest in lore about the families who crafted instruments than his The Story of the Dulcimer (which is more archival and less anecdotal), but I wish he'd have expanded his purview to include the wider impacts of the traditional Appalachian lap fretted model as popularized by the likes of his folk scene colleague Jean Ritchie in postwar Greenwich Village. Which in turn generated the exposure of crowds at fairs and concerts to it in the counterculture. But he has covered this in a memoir-songbook separately, which I've yet to find. So this will suffice, if with a bit of inevitable repetition between two books he's penned about this mountain "zither" innovation, one he dated to 1818, by the by, attesting to its frontier provenance and happily persistent dissemination.
It's a straightforward text, roaming the hollers and hollows to discern the Southern regional tradition in the varieties on the basic "psalmody" soundbox form derived from the German "scheitholt" (the term rooted in "log") although this ancestor appears to not have long survived in the New World, as its successor, carved and warped by thrifty Scots-Irish settlers, superseded the vaguely remembered inspiration, as it was easier to create than a fiddle, and dude need a bow to play, just a turkey quill!
Much as a broader version of the dulcimer's American revival needs still to be chronicled, at least we can thank Smith and his diligent folklore and musical compatriots for seeking out, pre-Internet, the surviving heirs who kept the manufacturing and playing of these "sweet-toned" and hardy models vibrant, so we who, like me, discovering them in secondhand stores today, can learn of this heritage.
It's a straightforward text, roaming the hollers and hollows to discern the Southern regional tradition in the varieties on the basic "psalmody" soundbox form derived from the German "scheitholt" (the term rooted in "log") although this ancestor appears to not have long survived in the New World, as its successor, carved and warped by thrifty Scots-Irish settlers, superseded the vaguely remembered inspiration, as it was easier to create than a fiddle, and dude need a bow to play, just a turkey quill!
Much as a broader version of the dulcimer's American revival needs still to be chronicled, at least we can thank Smith and his diligent folklore and musical compatriots for seeking out, pre-Internet, the surviving heirs who kept the manufacturing and playing of these "sweet-toned" and hardy models vibrant, so we who, like me, discovering them in secondhand stores today, can learn of this heritage.
November 30, 2019
Having read the first edition (1997) from my public library, I got the second -- 2010 -- edition through interlibrary loan. It is amazing to see how many new discoveries of old instruments were made between the two books and how much more clarity Smith was able to bring to the various "traditions" of individual makers of the late 1800's - early 1900's.
The individuality is such that the discussion is not so much of regions as of localities: Huntington, WV; Bath, KY; Beech Mtn., NC; Perry County, TN (the "Tennessee Music Box"). Smith gives detailed directions to Bath, in Knott County, the seat of which is Hindman, location of the famous "folk school" that figures prominently in dulcimer history; suffice it to say that Bath is way out in the boonies. In the early days (before any hint of outside interest in folk music), dissemination of the instruments seems to have occurred when the makers themselves packed a few instruments from holler to holler like traveling merchants. For them it was a way of picking up a few extra dollars from time to time.
Pre-Civil-War estate surveys in SW VA conclude that out in the countryside the dulcimer -- while relatively rare -- was nonetheless the second-most-owned instrument next to the fiddle. This was before any incursion by the banjo or the guitar. To me it seems significant therefore that during the first half of the 19th century it was the chief fretted instrument in the region; as such it would've been choice of instruments for people with just a passing interest in music who just wanted to pick out a ditty every now and then without having to invest the time in learning to play the more complicated fiddle.
The individuality is such that the discussion is not so much of regions as of localities: Huntington, WV; Bath, KY; Beech Mtn., NC; Perry County, TN (the "Tennessee Music Box"). Smith gives detailed directions to Bath, in Knott County, the seat of which is Hindman, location of the famous "folk school" that figures prominently in dulcimer history; suffice it to say that Bath is way out in the boonies. In the early days (before any hint of outside interest in folk music), dissemination of the instruments seems to have occurred when the makers themselves packed a few instruments from holler to holler like traveling merchants. For them it was a way of picking up a few extra dollars from time to time.
Pre-Civil-War estate surveys in SW VA conclude that out in the countryside the dulcimer -- while relatively rare -- was nonetheless the second-most-owned instrument next to the fiddle. This was before any incursion by the banjo or the guitar. To me it seems significant therefore that during the first half of the 19th century it was the chief fretted instrument in the region; as such it would've been choice of instruments for people with just a passing interest in music who just wanted to pick out a ditty every now and then without having to invest the time in learning to play the more complicated fiddle.
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November 5, 2019Excellent book that traces the history of the dulcimer and convincingly discover its true origins and the path of its migration with the people who brought it to America. Well written, well researched. Includes many photographs and first hand accounts that add greatly to its readability and value.
February 11, 2013
Need to use this as a reference. Lots of info that I use on a weekly basis. Love Ralph Lee Smith's column in Dulcimer Players News!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews