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A Little History Playing the mountain dulcimer with a bow has a long history that goes back to its European origins. In this country, we know it was played with a bow at least back to the 18th century. There are several examples of "bowed zithers" as they are classified in the collection at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The mountain dulcimer seems to be the last of those instruments which could be bowed or plucked depending on your own taste. Most of us have seen that picture of Leah Smith bowing her dulcimer in the Jean Ritchie's first book. I am finding more examples all the time, but it seems clear now that bowing the dulcimer was more common than one might think given this technique's rarity now. Getting Ready OK. You've made the decision. You are going to wade into the refreshing waters of the bowed world. Now what? For getting into the bowed dulcimer you have two choices. First, you can take an existing instrument and set it up for bowing. This is simple and inexpensive. I strongly recommend that you do this with a teardrop shaped instrument. It will be easier to hold and will give your left hand much easier access to the fretboard. 
You will only need three strings. Doubling the first string will make it harder to bow. Remove that one. You will need to elevate the middle string. You can just prop a small piece of wood under it to raise it the necessary 1/8"-3/16", or you can replace the saddle (bridge) with a new one that will leave the two outside strings at the same height but raises the middle one. Bowing will be much easier and sound better if you use heavier strings. I recommend .013 for the first, .017 for the middle and .026 wound for the bass. Your second choice would be to get one of my bowed dulcimers. Regular dulcimers are designed to sound great when you pluck them. Bowed they often are rather disappointing in tone and usually rather quiet. The bowed dulcimers I build are specifically designed to be bowed instruments and follow all the standard design principles of bowed instruments. They have a sound post and bass bar and are designed for a rich tone and good volume. So much for the commercial. Now back to our regularly scheduled program. You will need a bow. In a pinch you can use any bow that you can lay your hands on. I started with a half size cello bow that was terrible but it made sound. Here is something that most people find surprising ... The bow itself is more than half of your sound. There is a reason why good bows are so expensive and why serious players pay large sums for a stick. The denser and stiffer the bow is, the better the tone. If you have a choice between various inexpensive bows choose the one that is the stiffest. It will play the best and sound the best. I prefer a cello bow for its additional weight. It makes playing much easier. Fiddle bows work but you have to use more pressure. Get a full size bow if you can. A longer bow means a longer note. Let's Play Set the dulcimer upright between your thighs and rest the peghead end on your left shoulder as close to your neck as you can. The nut should be about even with your shoulder. Bring your left hand up to the lower end of the fretboard and use your index finger for the first fret, your ring finger for the second fret, and your little finger for the third fret (that's right, the LITTLE finger). Using these fingers means you don't have to do any untoward stretches. You can hold the bow two ways, overhand or underhand. If you have previous experience with a bow then do the overhand hold. You basically hold it between the thumb and middle finger, using the index finger to apply pressure and the other fingers for a counterbalance. Most people do not catch on to this way of using bow quickly. The underhand hold is much easier to master and used by bowed players worldwide. This is the way you hold a bow if you play the erhu, the gadulka, the kemache, the lyra.......I think you get the idea. It is most familiar to Western players as the bowhold for the viola da gamba. With you right hand facing palm up, lay the frog on fingers with the hair faced toward you. Place your middle and ring fingers between the hair and the stick so that the tips of the finger can apply a little pressure on the hair. Place the index finger on top of the stick and lay your thumb on the frog right in the curved area. Most people find this an easy way to hold the bow and you can be secure without getting tense. 
Using DAd tuning, start with low D on the bass string. Lay the hair on the string. Give it a little pressure and draw the bow steadily from the frog to the tip. If it squeaks, move the bow faster. You will soon get the knack. Then add your index finger on the first fret and try again. Try playing a scale starting with the low D and going up to the third fret on the bass string, then moving to the middle string open, then the first and second frets, and finally end up on the first string open. Practice this up and down until it feels natural. The one concept that dulcimer players need to think about is the fact that you have to keep your concentration up for your entire bow stroke. When you pick a note, once the string is in motion, you're done until the next note comes up. With a bow, it's possible to start the note quietly, make it louder and then taper off all in the same bow stroke. This is far too complex a subject to go into in depth here but if you want to contact me personally I'll be glad to help in any way I can. The Tune From Saint Andrews This is a wonderful tune who's actual name I do not know. I learned it from my friend Jane Peppler. She got it from a student who had it on an old reel-to-reel tape with no indication as to the names of the tunes on the tape. I think the music and tablature are fairly clear, but let me just make a few comments. I have written it out for the purposes of this article in the low octave. It is easy to play down there and has enough challenges I think for the fledgling bowing student without getting into playing upper positions. You will notice that I often use the middle string third fret instead of the first string open. I do this for two reasons. If the upper D follows a note on the bass string, it makes it easier and smoother if the bow doesn't have to jump a string to get to the note. It is also possible to do a little vibrato by fretting the note, keeping up the fretting pressure and moving the string back and forth like a rock and roll guitar player would do. I have not marked in any bowings. If you single bow it, using a separate bow stroke for each note, it will sound fine. As you play it and get more familiar with the technique, you find yourself often taking more than one note with a single bow stroke, similar to doing a hammer-on in standard dulcimer technique. It's a lovely tune. Play it the way you feel it. I try to never play it exactly the same way twice. A Bowed Dulcimer Piece - "Tune from Saint Andrews"
Listen to "Tune from Saint Andrews"
ConclusionI have found a new musical life in bowing the dulcimer. In pursuit of that I have built and played bowed dulcimers with sympathetic strings, with bass strings, with over-the-top decoration and with severe artistic restraint. I love the sound. In a way, the bowed dulcimer is the modern viola da gamba. It has frets but you can play notes that you don't have frets for. As my skill with the bow has improved I find that I can now play some of the Baroque music that I love, as well as spirited fiddle tunes at fiddler's conventions. Since I am playing an octave lower than the fiddle player, it is a welcome addition to an old -time session. I have flirted with playing jazz on it and it works beautifully. Klezmer music is a natural. In short, it's just an instrument and you can play any music on it you want. If you want to sample a wonderful technique and join me in the forefront of the "bowed dulcimer revival" then I hope you try this. If nothing else, it will greatly expand your dulcimer vocabulary. If you have any problems with any of the above or have any questions about the technique or the instrument please feel free to e-mail me. Kenneth BloomKenneth Bloom plays guitar, bandura, concert zither, banjo, mandolin, domro, balalaika, fiddle, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, Irish flute, Northumbrian Pipes, with vocals. He has given solo concerts all over North America since 1974. These have included appearances at many major folk festivals and clubs in the U.S. and Canada. In the past he has been a regular performer at the Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Owen Sound, Philadelphia, and Mariposa Festivals as well as appearing in major venues across the country and appearances on "A Prairie Home Companion." More recently, his appearances have been closer to home. His North Carolina presentations include: performances and classes at Western Carolina University Mountain Dulcimer Week (where he teaches and performs and will be presenting a week-long course in 'Bowing the Dulcimer' June 19-25, 2005 - to enroll visit http://cess.wcu.edu/dulcimer), the Stokes Stomp, Hiddenite Center, Turkey Festival (Raeford), Red Springs Highland Games, Mt. Airy Storytelling Festival, and many others. These programs include the traditional music of this country as well as Celtic and Eastern European selections. He usually uses Concert zither, Northumbrian-smallpipes, guitar, clarinet, bowed dulcimer and Minstrel banjo, but he will often include other instruments and traditions as well. He tries to introduce audiences to unfamiliar sounds in an entertaining way and expand their musical view of our ever-shrinking world. Kenneth has also organized a new weekend event (1st weekend in April 2005) called the Pilot Mountain Bowed Dulcimer Festival. For the last twenty-two years, Kenneth has been building a wide range of instruments for people. These include those instruments not commonly available from other sources. He has done a tremendous amount of research on these and, wherever possible, has consulted with native builders and players. He also participates in 18th century Living History events, providing period music on period instruments, as well as acting as Sergeant for the Royal Highland Emigrants, 84th Foote. Kenneth Bloom's recordings include "The Bowed? Dulcimer." He can be reached at http://www.boweddulcimer.com or kgbloom@advi.net. |
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