So that the title of this blog post does not lead anyone astray, what came out of my closet was not me but a musical instrument. My dulcimer.
Let me explain. When I was pregnant with our daughter—back in 1974—my husband surprised me with a very special gift: an Appalachian mountain dulcimer made by Robert Mize. From the very first day, I thought it was the most beautiful dulcimer I had ever seen.
Let me go even farther back into the past. When I was in high school, the Olivia Rainey Public Library in downtown Raleigh, NC, had record albums you could check out. I checked out an album by Jean Ritchie multiple times. Multiple, multiple times. I loved her music and fell in love with the instrument she played.
I read and read again the book Singing Family of the Cumberlands, the story of Jean Ritchie and her family. I dreamed of one day owning an Appalachian mountain dulcimer, though I had no idea where one would find such a thing.
The dream came true. I was so excited when Tom gave me the dulcimer. It has a wormy chestnut top and walnut sides and back. I believe the fretboard and tuning pegs are rosewood. It really is quite beautiful. I played it a lot when I first got the dulcimer. In fact, when Tom and I lived in Craig County, Virginia we entered a Talent Show at the local high school and won first place. I played the dulcimer and we sang two songs that I had written—one about our little pig who grew into an enormous pig and another one about getting mail order chickens. Our competition wasn’t extremely stiff—mostly young women singing show tunes—but we were still quite surprised to win! Plus first place meant a cash prize of $ 25!
But then came one baby, then came another and work and life got busy and busier and the dulcimer got pushed to the back of the closet and I stopped playing.
I thought…someday…someday I will play again. But that someday never seemed to come out of the dark. When we lived in Memphis, my friend Lee encouraged me to play with her (check out her website—http://www.leecagledulcimers.com) and I did but rarely. Work and family were my overwhelming focus in those days. Tom and I loved going to the Memphis Dulcimer Festival each year and I just kept listening to and loving dulcimer music. But not playing.
Fast forward almost fifty years. When we retired and moved to Asheville, I found out there was a dulcimer group in the community where we live. I wanted to join but I was (a) too shy and (b) I knew my playing skills were no longer up to speed so the dulcimer stayed in the closet.
Somehow I wound up confessing to my friend Carol that I had a dulcimer and had long ago played. I swore Carol to secrecy as I did not want anyone speculating that I was a competent player. I wasn’t. I still am not. But she did offer to help me get new strings on my dulcimer, the first step to making it playable after all these years.
So finally, out of the closet came my beautiful dulcimer. Hmmm. It needed more work than just a new set of strings. Carol found the name of a luthier and the good news was that he lived less than an hour from Asheville. His name is Tom Fellenbaum and he does high quality repairs as well as builds beautiful dulcimers and mandolins. He also hosts a radio program called Celtic Winds on WNCW on Sunday afternoon. It’s worth a listen.
Tom Fellenbaum knew Robert Mize, the man who made my dulcimer back in 1974. Tom’s comment was, “Bob Mize was the old guy when I was the young guy.”
Mr. Mize lived in Blountville, Tennessee and began building instruments in the 1960s. He was featured in the Foxfire books, in Volume 3, in the chapter on dulcimers and banjos. We met him at a Crafts Fair in Blacksburg, Virginia when we lived nearby. Mr. Mize passed away in 2003, leaving a legacy of over 3800 dulcimers during his years as a maker.
My dulcimer is with Tom Fellenbaum at the moment as he works to do some repairs and improvements. Tom is extremely thoughtful about each suggested change. I like visiting him in his workshop as it feels like time slows down in the best possible way.
In the meantime, my friend Carol loaned me a dulcimer so I could start playing again while my dulcimer is being repaired.
Eventually I will find my courage and attend the weekly dulcimer group’s gathering and I will learn to find my way (no doubt with their help and kindness) into playing the dulcimer again. It doesn’t seem possible that it has been over fifty years since I was listening to those borrowed Jean Ritchie albums in high school.
Whatever you might have in the back of your closet, maybe it’s time to bring it out into the light. Life is short. Why not give it a try?
I just started piano lessons after 20 years of not playing. Those keys feel so good beneath my fingers! Good luck with your dulcimer playing! I’ll bet your muscle memory will surprise you!
I look forward to hearing what you play. I remember being so excited about buying you the dulcimer. It was my first real gift for you and I had to select and order it without you knowing I had done it. We had a lot of fun singing while you played in those early days. I have been listening to Tom Fellenbaum for many years and it was amazing to put a face to that show of his and his radio voice. His shop is a true delight. Everything in its place and everything has a place and it was so clean. And we found out that we grew up a few miles apart in Lancaster County PA before he came south to Warren Wilson College and I came south to UNC-Chapel Hill.