The Denton Dulci-Doodlers - Mountain Dulcimer Group
The Denton Dulci Doodlers meet every third Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Denton County Historical Museum. Join us for learning and jam sessions! Cost is $3.00 per meeting, otherwise all that is required is a desire to learn, play, jam, share music and ideas.For more information, e-mail us at: dulci-doodlers@charter.net or contact the museum at: 940.380.0877
History of the Dulcimer
The fretted dulcimer is one of America’s major contributions to the world of music. It was handed down to us anonymously by the people of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. It does not exist as we know it in any other folk culture in the world.
This hand crafted instrument belongs to the family of instruments known as the plucked zither. The oldest direct ancestor seems to have been the German ‘Scheitholt’ or log zither.
During the early years of settlement in this country, virtually the only musical instruments on the frontier were fiddles and sheitholts. The dulcimer seems to have originated in the late eighteenth century. The banjo appeared after the Civil War and the guitar came into the picture about 1900.
The usual traditional method for playing the dulcimer was to place it on one’s lap and strum across the three or four strings with the finger or a small willow switch or a feather. The player created the tune by depressing the nearest string with a finger or a small stick, and sliding it up and down the fretboard, while the other strings sounded as continuous drones. Sometimes the instrument was bowed.
Music performed by traditional players included old fiddle tunes, dance tunes, ballads and religious music of the English and Scottish traditions. There was no hint in the traditional player’s music of tunes from any other folk heritage or culture.
The dulcimer is diatonically fretted and will produce with perfect accuracy the scales of all seven traditional musical modes by simply starting the first note of the scale at the correct fret.
The word dulcimer means sweet song from the Latin ‘dulce’ sweet and Greek ‘melos’ song or sound. (Source Unknown).
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