The Story of the Dulcimer
This book was published in 1986 and is out of print. It played a
major role in stimulating interest in the history and traditions of
the dulcimer. There is a steady demand for the book. Copies are
scarce and prices in the second hand book trade are high. A number of
libraries in the U.S. and Canada have copies. To read it, go to your
local library and request a copy on interlibrary loan.
By Ralph Lee Smith
Appalachian Dulcimer Traditions
This is a first-hand report on the effort to enlarge our knowledge of the dulcimer's history through field work in Appalachia, looking for old instruments and listening to the tales of old folks. The book describes three major design traditions of the dulcimer, each centered in its own geographical area, and focuses on key makers in each of three traditions, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. Scarecrow Press, New Edition forthcoming 2010.
By Ralph Lee Smith
Songs and Tunes of the Wilderness Road
This collection of traditional music seeks to unite the dulcimer with the people, the music, and the world from which it came. It tells the story of the Wilderness Road, most famous of all American trails, with many photos, and links it to the history and heritage of the dulcimer. Sixteen old tunes with simplified musical notation, guitar chords, and dulcimer tablature. Tunings are DAA, DAC and DAG, with no 6 ½ fret. 80 pp. $14.95. Available online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
By Ralph Lee Smith
With musical arrangements by
Madeline MacNeil
Folk Songs of Old Kentucky: Two Song Catchers in the Kentucky Mountains
Provides 20 beautiful Anglo-American folk songs, field-collected by two real-life 'song catchers,' Josephine McGill and Loraine Wyman, in the Kentucky Cumberlands, 1914 and 1916. Includes exciting first-hand accounts of their adventures in the isolated mountain world, before radios, roads and cars. Rescued from arrangements in rare books, and presented with simplified musical notation, guitar chords, and dulcimer tablature. 80pp. $14.95. Available online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
By Ralph Lee Smith
With musical arrangements by
Madeline MacNeil
Greenwich Village: The Happy Folk Singing Days, 1950s-1960s
Based on Ralph's own experiences in the Village, this book includes a 40-page essay on the Village scene during the Folk Revival, with accompanying photos and illustrations, and 20 songs sung by Ralph and his friends in Allan Block's Sandal Shop, Washington Square, and the Folklore Center on Macdougal Street. If you weren't there, this book will take you there! An unforgettable voyage into a magical time. 96 pp. $12.95. Available online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
By Ralph Lee Smith
With musical arrangements by
Madeline MacNeil
Across the Blue Ridge: Songs with the Mountain Dulcimer,
Sung and Played by Madeline MacNeil and Ralph Lee Smith
On this CD, Maddie and Ralph play dulcimers and sing old-time tunes that they have especially loved and have often performed over the years. Versions of all the songs have been known in the Shenandoah Valley and the Appalachian Mountains for as long as anyone can remember. Available from Ralph, $15 + $3 postage and shipping. See Contact Page.
The Songs:
1. Waterbound
2. Somebody's Tall and Handsome
3. Scarborough Fair
4. The Old Woman and the Pig
5. The Storms are on the Ocean
6. Who's Going to Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot?
7. Going to Boston
8. When Are You Coming to See Me?
9. Land of Promise
10. The Colorado Trail
11. Chickens are a'Crowin
12. Shenandoah
13. Old Man at the Mill
14. Pretty Little Turtle Dove
15. My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains