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Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009
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Joined by music: Three Rivers Dulcimer Society gathers twice to jam
By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer
The Three Rivers Dulcimer Society meets twice a month for jam sessions.
PASCO -- A sweet sound filled a community room in a west Pasco neighborhood as about a dozen musicians gathered for an unusual jam session.
The session featured instruments that may be unfamiliar to many: Mountain dulcimers (also known as Appalachian dulcimers), hammered dulcimers and an Irish frame drum called a bodhran.
Musicians who played a penny whistle, mandolin and fiddle also joined in, but the dulcimers were the main attraction.
Mountain dulcimers are wooden stringed instruments, typically in a hourglass or teardrop shape, which are set across the lap and plucked, strummed or picked.
Hammered dulcimers are typically trapezoidal in shape and are set on a stand in front of the musician. Small wooden mallets -- called hammers -- are used to hit the strings.
"It has a such sweet and soft little sound," said mountain dulcimer player Rebecca Hoffmann.
In fact, the word dulcimer is derived from the Latin words dulce and melos, which mean sweet melody or sweet song.
Hoffmann and the dulcimer players are part of the Three Rivers Dulcimer Society, which was formed about six years ago. The group meets twice a month for jam sessions and any acoustic instrument can be played during the jam.
The Dulcimer Society also plays their mostly Celtic music at events around the Tri-Cities, including the Scottish Fest in Prosser and the Tumbleweed Festival in Richland.
"We're always trying to find something interesting," Hoffmann said. "There's a lot of room for innovation. We never play the same thing twice."
Hoffmann formed the group, almost by accident, after she became interested in mountain dulcimers, she said.
She found a mountain dulcimer and bought it, but didn't know how to play it and didn't do anything with it for a few years.
Then she found a friend who taught her to play and was hooked. As a member of the Three Rivers Folklife Society, she decided to put a notice in the group's newsletter seeking dulcimer players.
"We had seven people show up the first time," the Richland woman said. "I didn't know that there were that many mountain dulcimers players in the Tri-Cities."
They had such a good time, they decided to meet on the first and third Saturdays each month to play and the Three Rivers Dulcimer Society was born.
There's a wide mix of musical expertise in the group. Some are newcomers, while others have been with the group since its beginning.
Karen Baker and Lawrence Huntley performed with the hammered dulcimers at the session. Huntley played the hammered dulcimer professionally from 1982 to 2006, and has recorded 10 solo albums.
The 54-year-old Pasco man said he didn't know anything about hammered dulcimers before he started playing them.
"I liked the sound of it ... and was able to make a lot more money with it at that time," said Huntley, who also played in a folk quartet. "We had quite a cult following around the Northwest."
The sound from the hammered dulcimer changes based on what side of the hammer is used, or by a foot damper that soften the sounds.
There are at least a dozen strings stretched over the sound board on the hammered dulcimer, but it also varies based on the size of the instrument.
Mountain dulcimers are easier to learn to play with just three or four strings running along a fret board the length of the dulcimer.
Hoffmann, who also knows how to play the piano and pipe organ, says it's refreshing to be able to use a simple instrument like the mountain dulcimer.
"I like to tell people I went from the hardest instrument, which I think the pipe organ is, to probably the simplest one to play," she said.
Players with the Three Rivers Dulcimer Society often have extra mountain dulcimers that they bring to the jam sessions so newcomers can use them.
"It's very simple to learn how to play," Hoffmann said. "They at least know four tunes after the first hour. It's like instant gratification and the sound is so pretty it keeps them coming back."
Bill McKenna, a 72-year-old from Benton City, said he likes the mountain dulcimer because he doesn't have to know how to read music.
"I don't read a note of music," McKenna said. "All you have to do is count to 10 and you can play the dulcimer."
McKenna, who began playing the mountain dulcimer 10 years ago, said he also likes that the instrument lies on his lap, which makes it easy to see exactly where his fingers are going.
"I took a workshop one time and the fellow said the first rule of dulcimer playing is there are no rules," he said. "I thought, 'Well, I can do that.' "
McKenna also taught himself to play the bodhran after making his own Irish frame drum in 1988.
"There are no bodhran players in the desert," he said. "They're all on the coast."
The bodhran is a shallow, one-sided drum covered with a rawhide skin. It's played by putting a hand inside the drum, pressed against the skin and typically set on its side, anchored under the arm and against the chest.
A double-ended tipper is used to beat the drum. McKenna said the rawhide can get dry and tight, creating a high pitch that "drives you crazy." So he occasionally sprays water on the drum, rubs it in his with hand and then starts beating in rhythm with the dulcimers.
"They're fun to play," McKenna said of the dulcimer and bodhran.
Mountain dulcimers are also fairly affordable. A decent, well-made one runs about $250 to $300, Hoffmann said. The more elaborate they are, the more expensive they are.
No stores in the Tri-Cities sell dulcimers, she said, but they can be found online or at stores in Seattle or Portland.
The Three Rivers Dulcimer Society has no dues or officers. Participation is voluntary and anyone is welcome to join. The group's next jam session is Feb. 28.
Information about the group and location of the jam sessions can be found at www.threeriversdulcimersociety.net, or e-mail Rebecca Hoffmann at rshoffmann@charter.net.
* Paula Horton: 509-582-1556; phorton@tricityherald.com
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