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Hearts of the Dulcimer is a 2013 independent documentary film focusing on the Appalachian dulcimer, and particularly its role in the 1960s California counterculture, through interviews with builders and players of this musical instrument. The film was written and directed by Patricia Delich and Wayne Jiang. [1]
The film premiered at the 2013 Ozark Hills Film Festival. [2] [3]
The mountain dulcimer often conjures up rustic mountain life and simple traditional music from the American South in a bygone era. But that’s not the whole story. From a group of countercultural youth living in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the late 1960s to Joni Mitchell's influential Blue album in the early 1970s, the mountain dulcimer found a new voice in a "new land": California.
Hearts of the Dulcimer tells the story of the mountain dulcimer boom that started in the late 1960s in California. To provide context for those not familiar with the dulcimer, the film starts out with historical information illustrated with archival footage and stories about a few of the early builders and players in the Appalachian Mountains. [4] The main focus of this documentary is the little-known story of the California dulcimer boom. It is told through the eyes of those who lived during that era and who had a major influence on the dulcimer in California. [5]
Telling the story of the rise and fall (and potential comeback) of the mountain dulcimer in California, Hearts of the Dulcimer is illustrated by past and present musical performances, and players and builders reminiscing.
The hammered dulcimer is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more traditional styles may sit cross-legged on the floor, or in a more modern style may stand or sit at a wooden support with legs. The player holds a small spoon-shaped mallet hammer in each hand to strike the strings. The Graeco-Roman word dulcimer derives from the Latin dulcis (sweet) and the Greek melos (song). The dulcimer, in which the strings are beaten with small hammers, originated from the psaltery, in which the strings are plucked.
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments, most often the banjo, guitar, and mandolin. Together, they form an ensemble called the string band, which along with the simple banjo–fiddle duet have historically been the most common configurations to play old-time music. The genre is considered a precursor to modern country music.
The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic.
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Jean Ruth Ritchie was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way, many of which were Appalachian variants of centuries old British and Irish songs, including dozens of Child Ballads. In adulthood, she shared these songs with wide audiences, as well as writing some of her own songs using traditional foundations.
Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles, and to a lesser extent the music of Continental Europe.
Neal Hellman is an American folk musician, music teacher, and performer of the mountain dulcimer. He has been active in performing, writing, teaching and recording acoustic music for the past thirty years throughout the United States and Europe.
Grace of My Heart is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Allison Anders, and starring Illeana Douglas, Matt Dillon, Eric Stoltz, Patsy Kensit and John Turturro. The film charts the fictional music career of Denise Waverly, an aspiring singer who writes for other artists in the pop music world of the mid-1960s. It premiered at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival and went into limited release on September 13, 1996.
David Schnaufer was an American folk musician. He is widely credited with restoring the popularity of the Appalachian dulcimer.
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Homer C. Ledford
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The scheitholt or scheitholz is a traditional German stringed instrument and an ancestor of the modern zither. It falls into the category of drone zithers.
Bing Futch is a musician whose primary instrument is the mountain dulcimer. In 1986 he co-founded Christian techno-punk trio Crazed Bunnyz along with Marc "Gadget" Plainguet and Sean "Shaka" Harrison. He relocated to Orlando, Florida in 1993 and also plays the Native American flute, ukulele, and drums.
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"California" is a song written by Joni Mitchell that first appeared on her 1971 album Blue. It was also released as the second single from the album, as a follow-up to "Carey".
"The Circle Game" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell composed in 1966. One of her most-covered songs, it was originally recorded by Ian & Sylvia and Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1967, and by Tom Rush for his 1968 album of the same name. Mitchell recorded it for her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon; it also appears on her 1974 live album Miles of Aisles.