Articles & the Press

12th July 2022

book review: Pluck, David Schnaufer’s biography

‘Pluck – The Extraordinary Life and Times of David Schnaufer’

by Linda Paulus

an informal book review by Dan Evans

first impressions

At over £37 from Amazon UK and with over 500 pages for the main story alone, this paperback represents quite an investment of time and money. So is it worth it ?

Schnaufer’s story is written in the present tense with an ease that seems to make the pages turn more quickly than usual. I enjoy reading but I’m often put off by very long stories. Here however, I found myself on page 300 in seemingly no time, eager to read on and find out what happens next.

20th January 2022

interview in Unicorn magazine

I stumbled across this interview for Unicorn folk magazine (UK) in my files today. My wife and I met the editor: Simon Bailes, while we were on holiday in the Lake District in May 2014. Simon was working away from home nearby in Cumbria at that time, so we met up and shared a meal together. Following this acquaintance, Simon both interviewed me for Unicorn and, later, reviewed my Au Vieux Moulin CD, which was in the making at the time.

13th October 2021

my back catalogue

part 8 ~ CD albums ctnd…

inspired by a stay at an old water mill in France where the tile track was composed, Au Vieux Moulin (2014) is my favourite and most popular CD to date – with only a little guitar, this album is a showcase for the fingerpicked dulcimer, featuring pieces from medieval to modern music in a variety of different tunings – especially important are four new minimalist pieces for the dulcimer, including the title track Le Ruisseau Du Moulin (The Mill Stream)

22nd September 2021

What Is A Dulcimer ?

“What is a dulcimer ?” is perhaps the question I’m most often asked – this blog aims to answer that question and to give a little background to this charming instrument, as well as my own approach to it

the dulcimers that I play are members of the zither family, not to be confused with the hammered dulcimer, which is a trapezoid-shaped percussion instrument

11th May 2021

dulcimer strings

advice on strings for mountain dulcimers

background

I am often asked which string gauges I use on my dulcimers – this blog aims to answer that question – but I first need to explain some of the peripheral issues for my answer to make complete sense …

11th March 2021

the difference between rhythm and timing

the difference between rhythm and timing in music

In music, timing and rhythm are two completely different things. This issue has cropped up a few times on my workshops, so I created this blog post to help to explain the difference between two. Clarity for me came when I considered the difference between a timing change and a rhythm change within the same piece of music. So, as well as defining the terms, I have included in this blog examples from my dulcimer repertoire of both type of changes.

11th February 2021

Making Music

practical tips for aspiring musicians

these helpful hints are presented here as they were published in the British monthly magazines MK Pulse and NN Pulse from March 2021

5th August 2020

Dulcimer Diaries

amusing anecdotes from my music work ~ these stories are presented here as they were published in the British magazines MK Pulse and NN Pulse between March 2020 and February 2021 – they are all true

27th April 2020

amplification & effects for dulcimers ~ part 2

this article was published in the UK’s Nonsuch Dulcimer Club newsletter

amplification and effects for mountain dulcimer ~ part 2 ~ electric dulcimers

Following on from part 1, my previous article on amplifying acoustic dulcimers, this article now focuses on the electric dulcimer. Electric guitar technology is now very mature so this could have been a huge topic. My aim here however, is to offer an introduction to the technology as a starting point for aspiring electric dulcimer players and to help them avoid some of the common pitfalls.