Read Appalachian Dulcimer Traditions Online
Authors: Ralph Lee Smith
Appalachian Dulcimer Traditions (24 page)
1,551 B1: “The Girl I Left Behind Me.” Played on dulcimer by McKinley
    Craft of Cody, Kentucky. Recorded in Cody, Kentucky.
3,942â4,087
One hundred forty-six 12-inch disks recorded by John A. Lomax and others in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
3,950 A1: “I'm Climbing up Jacob's Ladder.” Sung with dulcimer by Josiah Combs. Recorded by John A. and Bess Brown Lomax in Fort Worth, Texas, September 1940.
3,950 A2: “Corn Likker.” Same as above.
3,950 A3: “Cluck Old Hen.” Same as above.
3,950 A4: “Slago Town.” Same as above.
3,950 B1: “William and Dina.” Same as above.
3,950 B3: “Barbara Allen.” Same as above.
3.950Â B4: “Jack Wilson.” Same as above.
3.951Â A1: “Lord Thomas.” Same as above.
10,882â10,895
Fourteen seven-inch tapes of fiddle, banjo, and dulcimer music and songs recorded by Wyatt Insko in eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio in July 1954.
10,887: Fragment, unidentified. Played on dulcimer by Balis Ritchie. Viper, Kentucky, July 20, 1954. 10,887: Same fragment. Same as above.
10,887: Religious piece. Same as above.
10,887: “Lonesome Creek.” Same as above.
10,887: “Skip to My Lou.” Same as above.
10,888: “Red River Valley.” Played on dulcimer by Jethro Amburgey, Hindman, Kentucky, July 1954.
11,307â11,309
Three 10-inch tapes. Anglo-American songs and ballads from New England and California; English and Gaelic songs and ballads from Cape Breton Island, Canada; and Spanish-American songs from southern California. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell.
11,307: “I Wonder Where Moria's Gone.” Sung and played on dulcimer by Jean Ritchie. 11,307: “The May Carol.” Same as above.
15,571â15,576
Six 10-inch tapes. Copy of 23 seven-inch tapes of Kentucky folk music and lore, recorded by Frank Trficanti and students at the University of Kentucky, 1972.
Includes Buell Kazee, Pleaz Mobley, Lily Mae Pennington, Edna Ritchie, and a church service. LWO 7284.
15,573: “Goodbye Liza Jane.” Played on dulcimer by Mrs. Edna Ritchie Baker. Winchester, Kentucky, March 11, 1972.
15,573: “Liza Jane” and “Groundhog” played on “sweetheart dulcimer” (dulcimer with double fret board) by Mr. Floyd and Mrs. Edna Ritchie Baker.
15,573: “Little Reckless Boy.” Played on duet. Same as above.
15,573: “Hymn No. 99.” Same as above.
15,573: “Turkey in the Straw.” Same as above, with dancing doll.
15,573: “Sourwood Mountain.” Same as above.
The Library of Congress has no recordings of Homer Ledford, nor of Leonard or Clifford Glenn. Ledford made a number of recordings as a player of various instruments with the Cabin Creek Band, however, and the Glenns play banjo and dulcimer on several cuts on the recording
It Still Lives
, issued by Foxfire in 1980.
Nettie Presnell was rarely recorded. Her sole appearance on a commercial recording, consisting of three tunes, is listed on pg. 127 of this book. The Library of Congress Archive has two more, made by Frank and Anne Warner, for a total of five. Note that Buny Hicks sings with Presnell on “Johnson Boys.”
15,261â15,384
One hundred five discs of various sizes and 19 tapes (17 seven-inch and two five-inch). Folk music recorded by Anne and Frank M. Warner in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, the Middle West, and the Bahamas, 1940â1966.
Appendix B Measurements of Instruments15,367: Unidentified. Played on dulcimer by Mrs. Edd (Nettie Hicks) Presnell. North Carolina Mountains, 1951.
15,367: “Johnson Boys.” Played on dulcimer by Mrs. Edd Presnell with Roby Hicks on vocal and fiddle, and Buna (Mrs. Roby) Hicks on vocal, 1951.
Measurements of Instruments
Measurements of a number of instruments described and illustrated in this book are provided in this appendix. These measurements will enable the reader to compare instruments, traditions, and patterns. The instruments can also be compared with the larger selection of instruments and measurements that can be found in my book
The Story of the Dulcimer
and in Allen Smith's book,
A Catalogue of Pre-Revival Appalachian Dulcimers.
In these measurements, the abbreviation VSL stands for vibrating string length, that is, the length of the strings from the top bridge, called the
nut
, to the lower bridge. The reader knows from the text that the usual VSL of scheitholts is 24 to 26 inches, the usual VSL of Virginia-style dulcimers is the same, and the usual VSL of hourglass-shaped dulcimers is about 28 inches.
Since the principal subject of the book is the Appalachian dulcimer, only the overall length and the VSL are provided for scheitholts. These two dimensions, as well as the width and the height of body exclusive of the fretboard, are provided for dulcimers.
  
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For variations in the measurements of instruments that were “copied” from other instruments, see the comments under the Amburgey dulcimer below. In my opinion, the variations in the measurements of the Prichard and Eli Presnell dulcimers that are provided here fall easily within the range of variations that makers were likely to introduce in making “copies.”
