Strum Away, David Schnaufer
Originally uploaded by paynehollow.
David Schnaufer, a musician who revived the use of the
dulcimer in country music and taught the instrument to many students, died Wednesday of cancer at a local hospice. He was 53.
Schnaufer recorded with The Judds, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Kathy Mattea, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Chet Atkins and many others on dulcimer, a gentle stringed instrument used in Appalachia since the 1800s, derived from zithers brought into North America by German immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries.
"Anybody can make beautiful music in five minutes of playing the dulcimer," Schnaufer often said. "It’s the simplest of all the stringed instruments, but can be as complex as anything else.
Photo from Vanderbilt University, where Schnaufer taught
4 comments:
Only 53? How sad. My thoughts are with his family.
Did you hear about Charlie Derrington, Gibson craftsman who repaired Bill Monroe's Loar after a jilted lover smashed it, who was killed recently by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle?
Only the good die young, so it seems.
Yeah. David was a semi-regular at Louisville's annual Kentucky Music Weekend and he will be missed.
On the wall, in front of me right now, is a dulcimer with a turkey feather, gathering dust. I am sorry to say that I have never been as excited about playing it as I was with my guitar and banjo, which are in other rooms also gathering dust. Where does the time go? Anyway, what I wanted to write about was a brief note about my father. When he retired, he bought a kit for making a dulcimer. Having done one, he decided to do another and another from various bits of wood that had collected in the wood shop in the basement. I think he ended up making over 50 and giving them and selling them to many people in various states and provinces. Even though I am not playing mine at present, it's neat to know that the pegs, and, I think, the fret board were made from a walnut tree that grew up in the location where my grandfather, father, and I grew up in Kansas.
That is very cool, Ontario. Thanks for sharing.
Post a Comment