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Dulcitar
The dulcitar is a variant of the Appalachian dulcimer, which retains the dulcimer's diatonic fret layout yet features a long neck that is intended to be played upright in the guitar style rather than flat across the lap. Luthier Homer Ledford coined the word dulcitar as a portmanteau of dulcimer and guitar, building his first model of the instrument around 1971. One of Ledford's dulcitars was accepted into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ..., as well as displayed in a traveling exhibit on American craftsmanship. The term "dulcitar" was trademarked by Ledford in 1976 (#73075051), and other luthiers have developed conceptually similar instruments under other names such as " strumstick" and "pickin' stick". See al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appalachian Dulcimer
The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) 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. Name The Appalachian dulcimer has many variant names. Most often it is simply called a dulcimer (also rendered as "dulcimore", "dulcymore", "delcimer", "delcimore", ''etc.''). When it needs to be distinguished from the unrelated hammered dulcimer, various adjectives are added (drawn from location, playing style, position, shape, etc.), for example: mountain dulcimer; Kentucky dulcimer; plucked dulcimer; fretted dulcimer; lap dulcimer; teardrop dulcimer; box dulcimer; etc. The instrument has also acquired a number of nicknames (some shared by other instruments): "harmonium", "hog fiddle", "music box", "harmony box", and "mountain zither". Origins and history Although the Appalachia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Strumbly Dulcitar
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diatonic Scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is any heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps, depending on their position in the scale. This pattern ensures that, in a diatonic scale spanning more than one octave, all the half steps are Maximal evenness, maximally separated from each other (i.e. separated by at least two whole steps). The seven pitch (music), pitches of any diatonic scale can also be obtained by using a Interval cycle, chain of six perfect fifths. For instance, the seven natural (music), natural pitch classes that form the C-major scale can be obtained from a stack of perfect fifths starting from F: :F–C–G–D–A–E–B Any sequence of seven successive natural notes, such as C–D–E–F–G–A–B, and any Transposition (music), transposition thereof, is a diatonic scale. Modern musical keyboards are des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homer Ledford
Homer C. Ledford (September 26, 1927 – December 11, 2006) was an instrument maker and bluegrass musician from Kentucky who specialized in making dulcimers. Born in Alpine, Tennessee, he started building instruments at an early age. When he was 18, Ledford was given a scholarship to attend the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. He later attended Berea College, where he met his wife Colista. Ledford eventually transferred and graduated from what is now the Eastern Kentucky University in 1954. Ledford worked as a high school industrial arts teacher at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester, Kentucky before becoming a full-time instrument maker. Musicians from all over the world have sought after his dulcimers, banjos, mandolins, guitars and ukuleles. Some of his works are on display in the Smithsonian Institution. According to his website, he made over 5,776 dulcimers and over 475 banjos in his lifetime. He is also the inventor of the dulcitar, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsGarner's Modern American Usage , p. 644. in which parts of multiple words are combined into a new word, as in ''smog'', coined by blending ''smoke'' and ''fog'', or ''motel'', from ''motor'' and ''hotel''. In , a portmanteau is a single morph that is analyzed as representing two (or more) underlying s. When portmanteaus shorten es ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A plectrum or individual finger picks may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant chamber on the instrument, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier. The guitar is classified as a chordophone – meaning the sound is produced by a vibrating string stretched between two fixed points. Historically, a guitar was constructed from wood with its strings made of catgut. Steel guitar strings were introduced near the end of the nineteenth century in the United States; nylon strings came in the 1940s. The guitar's ancestors include the gittern, the vihuela, the four- course Renaissance guitar, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967. Called "the nation's attic" for its eclectic holdings of 154 million items, the institution's 19 museums, 21 libraries, nine research centers, and zoo include historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in the District of Columbia. Additional facilities are located in Maryland, New York, and Virginia. More than 200 institutions and museums in 45 states,States without Smithsonian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resonator Dulcimer
The resonator dulcimer is an Appalachian dulcimer which features a metal resonating cone inset in the body, which receives and acoustically amplifies the vibration of the strings. The first instrument was conceived in 1977 and completed in 1979 by dulcimer luthier Homer Ledford, who called it a "dulcibro" (portmanteau of "dulcimer" and "dobro").Alvey, R. Gerald. ''Dulcimer Maker: the craft of Homer Ledford''. University Press of Kentucky, 2003. . Pg 48-51 Unlike resonator guitars, resonator ukuleles, and resonator mandolin A resonator mandolin or "resophonic mandolin" is a mandolin whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones (''resonators'') instead of the customary wooden soundboard (mandolin top/face). These instruments are sometimes referred to as "Dobro ...s, the resonator dulcimer was never commercially produced on a large scale. References Fretted zithers Resophonic instruments Experimental musical instruments {{zither-instrument-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banjo Dulcimer
A banjo dulcimer is an Appalachian dulcimer modified by adding a vibrating membrane to the body of the instrument. This changes the tone and volume of the instrument, operating on the same principle as the banjo. Homer Ledford, a luthier during the early part of the revival of the dulcimer, built several banjo dulcimers, which he called the ''dulcijo'' (a portmanteau of dulcimer and banjo).Alvey, R. Gerald. ''Dulcimer Maker: the craft of Homer Ledford''. University Press of Kentucky, 2003. Makers of banjo dulcimers *Doug Thomsonbanjomer.com has been producing banjo dulcimers since 1980 - called "Banjo-Mer" * McSpadden Dulcimers began producing banjo dulcimers in the early 2000s. *Mike Clemmer produces a banjo dulcimer called "ban-jammer" *Dennis DenHartog (folknotes.com) has been building a solid frame banjo dulcimer called the "Banj-Mo" since spring, 2001. See also *Banjo mandolin *Banjo ukulele *Banjo guitar Banjo guitar or banjitar or ganjo (Australia) is a six-string banj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
String Instruments
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the String (music), strings with their fingers or a plectrum—and others by hitting the strings with a light wooden hammer or by rubbing the strings with a bow (music), bow. In some keyboard (music), keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord, the musician presses a key that plucks the string. Other musical instruments generate sound by striking the string. With bowed instruments, the player pulls a rosined horsehair bow across the strings, causing them to vibrate. With a hurdy-gurdy, the musician cranks a wheel whose rosined edge touches the strings. Bowed instruments include the string section instruments of the orchestra in Western classical music (violin, viola, cello and double bass) and a number of other instruments (e.g., viols and V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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