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Linda Paulus
Jun 20, 20223 min read
Dulcimer Boomer: Neal Hellman
Remember the old Reader's Digest recurring series, "My Most Unforgettable Character"? Well, Neal Hellman is in my Top Ten list of most...
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Linda Paulus
May 19, 20222 min read
Some Very Special Instruments at a Very Special Party (Part 1)
Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music recently held its 75th Anniversary Party, and I felt fortunate to be invited. It was a most...
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Linda Paulus
May 7, 20222 min read
Did you catch it? David Schnaufer and that famous Gram Parsons suit
If you're not sure what a "Nudie suit" is in the context of country music, you might want to read here before you start reading this...
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Linda Paulus
Apr 24, 20224 min read
Nancy Barker and Jean Ritchie
Today I want to write to you about this lovely woman, Nancy Barker. She is one of the reasons that the subtitle for Pluck reads, "The...
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Linda Paulus
Apr 18, 20222 min read
The Elusive Diana White
Crawling back from the misery of a very bad cold, I have been catching up with emails. A few in particular came from Tom Harleman who...
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Linda Paulus
Apr 9, 20221 min read
The "Devils Box"
For anyone new to the dulcimer, you may not know that much of the dulcimer music canon comes from fiddle music. I loved this brief clip...
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Linda Paulus
Apr 5, 20222 min read
David and the value of passing on tradition (with a twist)
One of David's most endearing songs is "Sarah", based on a real person named Sarah Melton. He loved the 1911 backstory so much that he...
1910
Linda Paulus
Apr 2, 20221 min read
Like things vibrate alike
In my last post, I wrote about "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood". I heard it for the very first time earlier this week. Bob Force had...
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Linda Paulus
Mar 30, 20222 min read
Fariña pops in again
The researching and writing for Pluck was a gargantuan learning experience on a number of levels. And the learning continues, thanks to...
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Linda Paulus
Mar 20, 20222 min read
Them Dirty Boys Bridgin' the Gap
Once upon a time, the scruffy, west coast hippies who called themselves the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band broached the subject of collaborating...
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Linda Paulus
Mar 9, 20223 min read
Jan Pulsford & the Twanging Dude
Jan Pulsford was one of the biggest surprises of all the people who informed the research for Pluck. She is Welsh-born, but lives and...
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Linda Paulus
Mar 6, 20221 min read
FOD: David & Butch Baldassari
Toward the end of Pluck, you'll read about David and Butch Baldassari's interview and performance on the 2005 radio program, "Wood Songs...
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Linda Paulus
Mar 3, 20224 min read
Madeline MacNeil
Writing on this project has enabled me to get to know and learn from a whole host of remarkable and talented people, some from within the...
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Linda Paulus
Feb 27, 20221 min read
Hey Little Birdie, 2022 Redux
In a recent blog post on a different topic, I shared a video of two of David's young students/collaborators performing "Hey Little...
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Linda Paulus
Feb 26, 20222 min read
"Harris Picking"
"Harris Picking" was David's first submission to Dulcimer Players News.* It appeared in 1979, and he was twenty-six years old. Allow me...
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Linda Paulus
Feb 25, 20222 min read
FOD: Guest post by Steven Stubblefield
When I started the Pluck Blog, I envisioned putting up posts that followed the chronology of Pluck, but I've made an executive decision...
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Linda Paulus
Feb 22, 20223 min read
Dulcimer Boomers: Bob Force (and Al d'Oscché)
I am struck as I type this how easy it is to fall into the trap of thinking everything is awful after reading the news. How easy it would...
790
Linda Paulus
Feb 12, 20222 min read
Yes, the dulcimer evolves, but always in full circle
A few days ago, David Beede posted a clip of Cyndi Lauper on Everything Dulcimer. The video is from her 2008 appearance on the Howard...
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Linda Paulus
Feb 6, 20224 min read
The Hunt for Brush Arbor
A story behind the song: During work on Pluck--especially with respect to the years between 1953 and 2006--I would glimpse here and there...
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Linda Paulus
Jan 31, 20221 min read
The Dulcimer Evolves (part 3)
If you're visiting this site to learn about David Schnaufer or the dulcimer for the first time, then I hope this and the two previous...
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