Page 58 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2016

Bing

Futch:

The

Dulcimer

Pimp

By Bing Futch

Bing Futch on Beale St. in Memphis, TN, where
he won "Best Solo Guitar" at the 2016 IBC
Photo by Jae Futch

When I take one of my mountain dulcimers out of its case, the note major scale, the traditional mountain dulcimer is missing five
first question people usually ask is, “What the heck is that?” Folks notes that are normally found on guitars, mandolins, banjos and
who haven’t spent time journeying the highways and backroads other chromatic fretted instruments. Due to a scarcity of written
of the Appalachian region probably wouldn’t be familiar with the records on the instrument, historians have had to try and fill in the
traditional lap instrument that can be found hanging just about gaps regarding its development.
everywhere you look. The Appalachian mountain dulcimer, also The mountain dulcimer first appeared in the early 19
th
known as mountain dulcimer, dulcimore or hog fiddle, is a fretted century where Scottish and Irish immigrants had settled in the
string instrument related to the German zither and scheitholt. It Appalachian Mountains. Lacking the tools and skills to build
also shares possible origins with the Norwegian langeleik, the the more popular violin, researchers theorize that the mountain
Swedish hummel and the French epinette des vosges. It usually dulcimer was a blend of old world memories and designed in
has three or four string courses that stretch along a fretboard the easiest way possible. Often called “a bagpipe with strings,”
running the length of a traditionally hourglass or teardrop-shaped players would sit the dulcimer on their lap and strum using a
body. The unusual fret pattern, featuring wide and narrow spaces, feathered quill. The other hand held a small piece of wood called
comes from its diatonic configuration. Based on a basic seven- a noter, sliding it up and down the string closest to the player.

56 Blues Festival Guide 2016