How lucky you were if you had the chance to meet/hear Larkin in person! After hearing Larkin's CD "A Lark in the Twilight", I was able to find and buy a copy of it. It's absolutely wonderful, and I play it all the time -my favorites are two original songs that Larkin wrote herself. I also have a copy of Larkin's Dulcimer book. I was wondering if she ever put out any other CD's, books, or tabulature. Anyone know??
Rest in Peace, Larkin Bryant
@varedschoolhouse
6 months ago
2 posts
@dulcimerbob
8 months ago
3 posts
She will be missed . I sold literally hundreds of her book Larkin's Dulcimer Book which I still consider the best dulcimer primer out there. I used to include a copy with my dulcimers . Lovely woman.
Strumelia
@strumelia
8 months ago
2,303 posts
@robin-thompson - thank you for posting Kim's lovely description of her times with Larkin Bryant. So nice to read it.
--
Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
Jon W Harris
@jon-w-harris
8 months ago
5 posts
I still miss Larkin. She was a staple in many of larger dulcimer festivals and her classes were warm and helpful. My copy of her book, which was part of my first dulcimer purchase, usually went with me to festivals. While at the Memphis festival in 1996 she signed my copy which has made it more valuable to me.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
3 years ago
1,459 posts
@carla-maxwell It wonderful you got to meet Larkin! I imagine her book and accompanying recording have been a help for many on their journey of playing mountain dulcimer
Carla Maxwell
@carla-maxwell
3 years ago
13 posts
My apologies for the odd spacing on the posting! I have tried to compact things yet have not been entirely successful. I hope you like reading the tribute to Larkin!
That was lovely. I didn't know her very well but appreciated Larkin's talent and kindness. Larkin was my first dulcimer teacher. Her beginner dulcimer workshop at the Memphis Dulcimer Festival was perfect for me, and I learned from her beginner book and accompanying cassette tape after that. I was very sorry to hear the sad news.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
3 years ago
1,459 posts
My apologies for the odd spacing on the posting! I have tried to compact things yet have not been entirely successful. I hope you like reading the tribute to Larkin!
updated by @robin-thompson: 05/05/21 01:37:19PM
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
3 years ago
1,459 posts
Here is a lovely and lovingly written tribute to Larkin posted on facebook by a dear music friend of mine, Kim, and used with permission here:
Most everything I know about the dulcimer I learned from Larkin Bryant. Almost every Friday afternoon for five years, I would go to her house for a dulcimer lesson (with an old-time fiddle lesson thrown in occasionally). We'd sit in straightback chairs in her front room across from her piano with our backs to the windows so the sunlight could shine in onto our sheet music. The sheet music was for me, as Larkin could play anything from her heart and memory. Her elderly black and white cat, Sweetie Pie, would snuggle in on Larkin's lap in the space between her dulcimer and stomach. Ariel, Larkin's beloved Weimaraner, would sit directly on top of my feet, chewing her heavy-duty blue rubber dog bone until she fell asleep. Mr. Kitty and Hannah, her two other cats, usually found spots in our instrument cases to curl up and snooze. We'd usually start our lessons catching up with news in each other's lives. Larkin always took time to ask and genuinely cared about what was going on my life. She was a fantastic listener and always spoke carefully and with wisdom.
After talking a bit, we'd play music! She was a wealth of repertoire and music history, and she loved telling me the stories behind the songs. I soaked up everything I could. She would often walk me out to my car after my lesson and we'd talk about the many beautiful plants and flowers she had growing in her front yard. It seemed she even knew everything about those as well! A couple times, when I'd go back to my next lesson, she would have a clipping of one of the plants or a cutting of some of the flowers I had admired to give to me.
updated by @robin-thompson: 05/05/21 01:14:55PM
@ocean-daughter
3 years ago
46 posts
I'm sorry to hear this. I have Larkin's book. I didn't know much about her beyond that, but have always had a friendly feeling toward her. Peace to her and to her family and friends as they mourn.
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
3 years ago
1,459 posts
I have been unable to find a public obituary for Larkin to post. Here is a link to the webpage she shared with her husband, Andy Cohen:
http://www.riverlark.com/about.html
I treasure Larkin's dulcimer instruction book and her Lark in the Twilight cd-- I wish I had more of her music!
Richard Streib
@richard-streib
3 years ago
244 posts
So sad to lose another in our greater dulcimer family.
Dusty Turtle
@dusty
3 years ago
1,765 posts
Sad news indeed. Larkin Bryant's book has had a great and long-lasting influence on dulcimer players. She will live on in the playing of many others.
--
Dusty T., Northern California
Site Moderator
As a musician, you have to keep one foot back in the past and one foot forward into the future.
-- Dizzy Gillespie
Ben Barr Jr
@benjamin-w-barr-jr
3 years ago
64 posts
Sorry to hear of this. I had never met Larkin, but knew of her and a reputation in the dulcimer world. RIP.
Strumelia
@strumelia
3 years ago
2,303 posts
Sad news indeed, Robin. Thanks for letting us know.
She certainly gave a lot of people joy through her own music, and through helping others to find their personal music as well.
--
Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
Ken Longfield
@ken-longfield
3 years ago
1,159 posts
Thank you for sharing this, Robin. This is sad news. Many people learned to play using her instruction book and cassette tape. I still have mine. My sympathy goes out to her husband, her family, and friends.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Robin Thompson
@robin-thompson
3 years ago
1,459 posts
Musician Larkin Bryant has died. Larkin's mountain dulcimer instruction book is a treasure I enjoy. I also have Larkin's last mountain dulcimer cd and it is one of my favorites. I post the following video in memory of Larkin-- in it, Larkin and Bonnie Carol are playing music together.
updated by @robin-thompson: 04/23/21 08:02:25PM