• Our first Monday night meeting, held at the Cohn Adult Learning Center, was great! Despite the wet, messy weather, ninenteen dedicated dulcimists braved the elements, and it was worth it. We worked on a great arrangement of Spanish Hymn including melody in two octaves, chords, counter melody, and single string melody! When it all came together, it sounded awesome!!! We'll work on it more at the March meeting so be sure you come to the meeting and add your musical voice to this arrangments. In March, we'll work on all of the Dulcimer Day tunes! Spanish Hymn, Amazing Grace, Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm/Back to the Farm (salute to Uncle Dave Macon), Give Me the Roses/Wildwood Flower (salute to the Carter Family).
• Dulcimer Day planning is on the agenda for the March meeting. We need everyone's help and there will be jobs for all!
• It's official!!! Banana Pudding is back for Dulcimer Day!! The Loveless Cafe will be the food vendor at this year's festival. If you aren't familiar with the history of the Loveless, check their website. The Loveless sign has become a part of Nashville folk art, and their biscuits and country ham are world famous. Look for great food at Dulcimer Day...plus a touch of history.
• The club has been invited to play at the Tennessee State Museum on June 1 for the annual conference of the Genealogical Society. It is a national meeting hosted by the Middle Tennessee society. We'll talk more about it at the March meeting.
• Although there's no dulcimer competition, you'll hear plenty of old-time music in Clarksville this Friday and Saturday night at the State of Tennessee Championships in dancing, banjo, harmonica, guitar, dobro, mandolin, fiddle and band competitions. Information is listed below.

At the end of the Middle Ages, the roots of our beloved dulcimer makes its first apearance in Denmark. At the church of Rynkeby on the island of Fyn, a frescoe painted in 1560 shows thirty-one angel musicians, one of whom is plucking a three-stringed, straight-sided zither. It looks like she's playing a D7 chord to me! "Amazing Grace?" "Tennessee Waltz?'.... this instrument known as a "langeleg" spread throughout northern Euripe, and it is the German version, the scheitholt, that made its way to Seventeenth Century America. Our friend Ken Bloom informed me that the word "scheitholt" refers to a log of specific dimensions to fit the fireplace. The Mercer Museum in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has a number of these instruments, some bowed and some played with the fingers or a plectrum.

As the Scots, English, and Irish adopted and adapted this zither on the frontier, its shape took on various forms such as the teardrop and hourglass, but the older form never died out and is quite prevalent here in Middle Tennessee. In 1951, Nashville's own Carl Cutrell won a spot on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour playing "Under the Double Eagle" on his father's "fencepost dulcimer" (scheitholt).... But that's another story!! Come and see some scheitholts at this year's Grand Old Dulcimer Day and keep playing that angelic music!

• March 18-19, State of Tennessee Old-Time Fiddlers' Championships, Rossview High School, Clarksville, TN. Begins at 7 p.m on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday. For more information go to www.tnfiddlers.com
• April 1, Appalachian Celebration, Blair School of Music, Ingram Hall - featuring David Schnaufer, Butch Baldassari, Bobby Taylor and the Cluster Pluckers.
• April 2, Dulcimania, MTSU, 7 p.m. - State Farm Lecture Hall in the Business and Aerospace Building across from the Walker Library - featurning Gary and Les Gallier, David Schnaufer, and the Nashville Dulcimer Quartet, 7 p.m., free and open to the public
• April 17-23, Elkins College Spring Dulcimer Week at Augusta Heritage Ctr. 800-624-3157, ext. 1209
• May 20-22, White River Folk Festival, Conner Prairie Museum, Fishers, IN
• Aug 19-21 Dulcimer Daze, Vermont, Contact George Haggerty at swewater@sover.net Aug
• Oct 14,15,16 New Harmony Festival

That following winter, I was quilting with the TV tuned to Channel 8. Some of the sweetest music I had ever heard started playing. I put my needle down; turned to see what group was playing that music. It was three or four people with dulcimers. I immediately went upstairs, told my husband we had to go back to Berea, Ky because I was going to buy myself a dulcimer. A couple of days later, we were in Berea and I was buying my first dulcimer. Mr. May assured me I could easily find a teacher in this area. After calling several music stores, the music department at Vol State, a couple of music teacher friends, I could not find anyone who taught dulcimer --some did not even know what a dulcimer was! Another trip to Berea. "Mr. May! I can't find anyone to teach me how to play my dulcimer!" Eventually a Mr. Jackson from Berea called me and told me I should attend the up-coming Yellowbanks Dulcimer Festival. I followed his advice.

At the Yellowbank Dulcimer Festival, the mountain dulcimer teachers were Stephen Seifert, Larry Conger, and David Schnaufer. After observing some of the activities, another lady, as intimidated as I was, and I got our dulcimers and participated in some of the beginner classes. From this festival I made contact with Stephen Seifert and he began teaching me the dulcimer. Stephen had to begin with, "This is a fret; they are numbered, etc.; this is a quarter note, etc." I did not have any music background. Stephen was very, very patient with me. Thanks Stephen! Thanks also for letting me know it was time for me to fly on my own. Through Stephen, I learned about the Grand Old Dulcimer Club and also other clubs.

In White House, we now have small group formed. We are known as The White House Dulcimer Players. I have a great deal of fun playing fiddle tunes. However, my favorite is hymns. I am enjoying learning to flatpick and do something called arpeggio.

In partnership with Metro Parks, The Grand Old Dulcimer Club sponsors Grand Old Dulcimer Day each year in May at Two Rivers Mansion. Don't miss our seventh annual Grand Old Dulcimer Day, May 15, 2005

The club and its members perform at festivals and civic events and often take their music into special needs facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities.

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