Cool words when the Eclipse of the Sun tomorrow across the USA. Do Galax leaves have a shape of ellipse? "a closed plane curve generated by a point moving in such a way that the sums of it distances from two fixed points is a constant: a plane section of a right circular cone that is a closed curve".... It's sooooooooo interesting how things are named and where. I love the history of it all. I'll have to read up more on the Galax Dulcimers and their history. aloha, irene
Neat little story...
I have a Bob Fletcher dulcimer, which he claims is a copy of the Audrey Hash original , he worked with her and her father for a while. There was a feature article about Bob in the DPN some years ago. The instrument I have (circa 1984) was originally fretted in 'an old style !' but has subsequently been refretted to equal temperament, not by me I would add, and has 'bead' fine tuners. Of course I had to make a couple just to see if they worked....... they did !
JohnH
stewart -- the Galax dulcimer is a "special case" of dulcimers designed and built in Virginia. Most of the VA dulcimers were elliptical or slightly teardrop in shape, but did not have the very deep sides and double back of the Galax regional instrument.
The museum instrument dated about 1800 is elliptical, about 1" deep, and perhaps 5-6" wide.
Galax dulcimers are elliptical, tend to be about 3" deep, almost invariably have the signature double back, and are noticeably wider -- 7-8" or thereabouts
That's an interesting story. I met Audrey's father, Albert Hash, when I interviewed for a position at their church. I never met Audrey. Her father made some really nice fiddles. My guess is that "Scottish" is a model name. It would be interesting to know how she arrived at that name. The Hashes, being of German descent (I think), probably would not have identified the dulcimer as a "Scottish" instrument.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Was it also a Galax dulcimer? The one made in 1800?
Interesting. Especially the folklore of the "Scottish" instrument which we know is not accurate -- the British Isles never had a dulcimer-relative instruments until the early 20th century. Virginia is certainly one of earliest dulcimer-producing areas -- there is a dulcimer in a museum there reliably dated to 1800.
