We feature the music and our conversation with Aaron O’Rourke, one of today’s most innovative dulcimer players and composers. At the age of 31, Aaron has already produced an amazing amount of work in solo and ensemble recording and instruction.

Guest:
Aaron O'Rourke

Listen Now (Duration 51 min.)

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For this Mother’s Day, we’d like to celebrate all mothers who play dulcimer. We especially appreciate the dulcimer mothers who teach dulcimer to their children and to others. To honor all dulcimer mothers, we’re presenting the heartwarming story of a special dulcimer mother: Margaret Wright and her daughter Cassandra Damper.

Guests:
Margaret Wright
Cassandra Damper

Listen Now (Duration 36 min.)

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Ed Freeman was part of the Cambridge folk music scene in the early 60s and interviewed Richard and Mimi Fariña on his radio show in 1965. We spoke with Ed about this and much more.

Guest:
Ed Freeman

Listen Now (Duration 34 min.)

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The well-known luthier Rick Turner shares personal stories about Richard and Mimi Fariña and how his luthier skills led him to become part of dulcimer history that was almost forgotten.

Guest:
Rick Turner

Listen Now (Duration 37 min.)

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With the unusual combination of two American and one Chinese instrument, the trio AppalAsia bridge the Appalachian and Chinese music traditions to create music that is soulful, sophisticated, and genre bending.

Guests:
Jeff Berman
Susan Powers
Mimi Jong

Listen Now (Duration 35 min.)

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From a contemporary jazz folk original to holiday staples and medieval music, we present tunes that are joyous, reflective, and capture the essence of winter. With music by Linda Brockinton, Heidi Muller and Bob Webb, Lance Frodsham, Jack and Mary Giger, Mark Gilston, Jessica Comeau, Bing Futch, and AppalAsia.

Listen Now (Duration 30 min.)

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One of the best places to hear new talent in the mountain dulcimer world is at the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship. This annual event takes place at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. We spoke with 2016 winners Mark Gilston, Cassandra Damper, and Wendy Songe, as well as Jim Woods from McSpadden Dulcimers.

Guests: 
Jim Woods
Mark Gilston
Cassandra Damper
Wendy Songe

Listen Now (Duration 29 min.)

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Correction note: Cassandra Damper was 24 years old when she competed at the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship. She played Whiskey Before Breakfast and John Stenson's #2.

Singapore seems to have only one performing mountain dulcimer player. He’s a 24 year old busker named Ivan Ng Sheng Kai. Hear what it’s like to be the lone dulcimer performer in Singapore, and the extraordinary measures he’s had to take to find and learn how to play it.

Guest: 
Ivan Ng Sheng Kai

Listen Now (Duration 17 min.)

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This episode features stories told by Neal Hellman about celebrities who encountered the dulcimer at the Renaissance Faire.

Guest: 
Neal Hellman

Listen Now (Duration 17 min.)

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On the surface, it seems that the mountain dulcimer is not an instrument created for playing the Blues. The impression of the dulcimer’s sweet simple sound seems that it would be too gentle to express the raw feelings evoked with the Blues. Additionally, the dulcimer’s diatonic fret pattern often doesn’t have the notes that are in the pentatonic Blues scale. Needless to say, it takes creativity and persistence to play the Blues on the dulcimer.

Guests: 
John Keane
Christine Shoemaker
Bing Futch

Listen Now (Duration 28 min.)

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Steve Eulberg is a multi-instrumentalist who plays and sings traditional songs and fiddle tunes; weaving together Celtic, Old-Time, blues, and jazz on both the mountain dulcimer and hammered dulcimer. He runs the website Dulcimer Crossing, which provides hundreds of online video dulcimer lessons by several known dulcimer teachers.

Guest: 
Steve Eulberg

Listen Now (Duration 28 min.)

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Neal Hellman has played the mountain dulcimer for more than 40 years and is the founder, director, and one of the primary artists on the Gourd Music record label. Gourd Music recordings are known for lush arrangements often pairing the dulcimer with folk and classical instruments. With music by Gourd Music artists.

Guest: 
Neal Hellman

Listen Now (Duration 37 min.)

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Linda Brockinton is known for playing a full chord fingerpicking style on the mountain dulcimer. In 2001, she was the first woman to win first place in the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship as well as the first to win playing a full chord fingerpicking style.

Guest: 
Linda Brockinton

Listen Now (Duration 27 min.)

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The second in the two part celebration of Judy Klinkhammer’s life. She was a well-loved dulcimer player and teacher who lived in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. Many people credit Judy for introducing the dulcimer to that part of Arkansas in the early 60s. She truly lived with the dulcimer in the center of her life.

Guests: 
Judy Klinkhammer
Sheryl Myers
Rita Drake
Jim Woods
Mary & Jack Giger
Duane Porterfield
Judy’s Fingerpicking Group

Listen Now (Duration 38 min.)

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Correction note: Around 28:12, Eileen Hinkle was called Elaine Hinkle. We meant to say Eileen Hinkle.

The first of a two part celebration of Judy Klinkhammer’s life. She was a well-loved dulcimer player and teacher who lived in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. Many people credit Judy for introducing the dulcimer to that part of Arkansas in the early 60s. She truly lived with the dulcimer in the center of her life.

Guests: 
Judy Klinkhammer
Sheryl Myers
Jim Woods
Mary & Jack Giger

Listen Now (Duration 28 min.)

Episode Resources (photos, articles, videos, music info, etc.)

Howard Rugg is the master luthier behind the well-known CapriTaurus and early Folk Roots Dulcimers. The thousands of dulcimers built in his workshop are being played all over the world by amateur to accomplished musicians. Howard has recently started making dulcimers again under the name CapriTaurus. With commentary by Lance Frodsham and Laura Devine Burnett. All the music in this episode was played on dulcimers created in Howard’s workshop.

Guest: 
Howard Rugg

Listen Now (Duration 32 min.)

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Singer and multi-instrumentalist Bing Futch has embraced the mountain dulcimer as his first and foremost instrument. Known for touring around the US in his RV, Bing plays many diverse styles from traditional folk to rock to original compositions to the blues -- all on the dulcimer.

Guest: 
Bing Futch

Listen Now (Duration 22 min.)

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Holly Tannen is a singer, songwriter, and dulcimer player who lives on the edge of a primeval forest in Mendocino, California. Holly is known for writing contemporary folk songs about personal stories and current events using the melodic and lyrical structure of Appalachian and British Isles folk tunes.

Guest: 
Holly Tannen

Listen Now (Duration 33 min.)

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Erin Mae is a young, innovative mountain dulcimer performer and teacher from Kansas who gives old time music a fresh spin on her chromatic dulcimer.

Guests: 
• Erin Mae  
• Amber Rogers

Listen Now (Duration 33 min.)

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Dulcimer player, storyteller, actor, and singer songwriter Rick Scott has been playing the dulcimer for more than four decades. Rick has received several awards and honors for his work with children’s music.

Guest:
Rick Scott

Listen Now (Duration 36 min.)

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Guests:
• Joellen Lapidus
• Owenie Crozier (Fariña’s uncle)
• Jim Crozier (Fariña’s cousin)
• Terry Hennessy (luthier who made Fariña’s dulcimer)
• Neal Hellman
• Omar Lugones (Fariña’s cousin)

Listen Now (Duration 39 min.)

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We begin our tribute to Richard Fariña with Jerry Rockwell and John Blosser, two dulcimer players influenced by Fariña’s dulcimer playing. With music from two Fariña tribute albums: one released in September, 2015 from Plainsong called Reinventing Richard: The Songs of Richard Fariña, and Caroline Doctorow’s 2009 tribute album called Another Country … The Songs of Richard and Mimi Fariña. Richard’s cousin Omar Lugones shares insights into Fariña’s music.

Guests:
• Jerry Rockwell
• John Blosser
• Omar Lugones

Listen Now (Duration 27 min.)

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We continue the exploration of the scheitholt, the predecessor of the mountain dulcimer:
What kind of music was played on the scheitholt?
Why did it fade into obscurity?
And why is there a surge of interest in the scheitholt?

Guests:
• Ken Koons and Ryan Koons
• Ken Longfield

Listen Now (Duration 23 min.)

Episode Resources (photos, articles, videos, music info, etc.)

Correction note: Around 03:43, Ryan Koons was described as an "endomusicologist." We meant to say "ethnomusicologist."

In this episode we have two stories about Joni Mitchell's dulcimers. In the first story Joellen Lapidus recounts selling a dulcimer to Joni at the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival. In the second story Rick Scott recalls being picked up by Joni while hitchhiking in Canada in 1971.

This episode has been featured and transcribed on Joni Mitchell's website!

Guests:
• Joellen Lapidus
• Rick Scott

Listen Now (Duration 29 min.)

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In this episode we talk about the mountain dulcimer's predecessor, the German scheitholt with folklorist Lucy Long and luthier Ben Seymour. Plus, Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas in Oregon.

Guests:
• Lucy Long, folklorist
• Ben Seymour, luthier
• Heidi Muller, festival organizer