Posted on June 30, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Dulcimer 101 Dulcimer 101 by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #98, 2009 There's a good reason why dulcimers get no respect. They are most often judged by their worst players. No one faced with a no-talent, beginner guitarist says, “That instrument isn’t worth a damn.” But when confronted by someone trying to strum the dulcimer and warble through “Amazing Grace,” that’s exactly the attitude that most of us adopt — “That instrument isn’t worth my time.” But if you’ve ever heard the likes of Marks Biggs, Leo Kretzner, Harvey Reid, or Janita Baker, just to name a few, you know that the instrument is only limited by the ability and imagination of the player. So please leave your attitude at the door. I quit building dulcimers after about eighty pieces. When I ran out of market I moved on to other instruments. Guitars and banjos may be more complicated, but I never felt that I had outgrown dulcimers. Recently I met dulcimer teacher Dinah Ansley. Teachers of obscure instruments often become hubs of like-minded people. After examining and playing a couple pieces I had left after a decade of nonbuilding, Dinah told me that if I would make dulcimers again she would recommend them to her students. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Blackshear/Nagyvary Guitar Blackshear/Nagyvary Guitar by John E. Philpott Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly Volume 12, #2, 1984 Anybody that has heard a guitar built by Thomas Blackshear is already aware that he builds world-class instruments, but this time it was something special. I was asked to be the Master of Ceremonies at a concert that would introduce to the world a guitar built by Tom, in collaboration with Dr. Joseph Nagyvary, a biochemist who had recently gained a great deal of attention by claiming, then demonstrating, that he had rediscovered the processes of the Cremona Masters. This, I was told, would be a Stradivarius guitar! Naturally, I approached the matter with a mixture of enthusiasm and hardboiled scientific skepticism. My introduction to the guitar was over the telephone (yet!) and I was already quite impressed. A subsequent call from guitarist Terry Muska who told me that we would not be needing a microphone at the concert whetted my appetite further, and when I heard a preview of the instrument, all of my reservations were gone. The story really began about a year ago when biochemist, Joseph Nagyvary (Professor of biochemistry and biophysics, Texas A&M University) discovered that the wood from the Stradivari and Guarnari instruments was remarkably different from that of the more modern instruments, in that the tubes that comprise wood (xylem) were not plugged with dried pectin. Furthermore, the chemical composition of the open-tubed Cremona instruments was very different, and that the wood was much stiffer and less elastic than more modern instruments that have been built in the last 350 years. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Guitar Evaluation at Carmel Guitar Evaluation at Carmel by David Russell Young Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly 6, #2, 1978 The success of violin competitions, like the Southern California Association of Violin Makers’ annual event in L.A. at the Musicians’ Union Hall (well over 100 entries) has led me to promote something to the many serious musicians who attend the Carmel Festival, and as impartial as possible with many instruments being compared together, thus providing a good basis for determining the string and weak points of each individual instrument. Long-term benefits would include forging a stronger link between builders and players, and pointing the directions in which the technology needs development. (For example, how much of a premium do professionals put on sheer power for playing in large halls, and how much sacrifice of complexity or warmth would be accepted for the sake of a very loud instrument?) Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Balalaika Measurements Balalaika Measurements by James H. Flynn, Jr. Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #284, 1984 The balalaika is a Russian folk musical instrument. It is relatively young, the first mention of it in written sources going back to 1715 (I.I. Golikov, “Supplements to the Works of Peter the Great”, 1792, p. 242). The instrument was perfected in its present form by V.V. Andreyev in the 1880s. The first performance of a “balalaika club” took place in Petersburg (Leningrad) in 1888. Since then, the instrument became extremely popular and remains so in the Soviet period. Today, balalaikas are common in five sizes as follows: prima, secunda, alto, bass and contra-bass. Figure 1 shows the musical range of these instruments. Figure 2 illustrates the conventional shape of the balalaika and identifies its componnets. Figure 3 provides the side and end profiles of the instrument. Essential dimensions for all sizes of the instrument are shown in Table 1. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 16, 2025 by Dale Phillips Octet 2005: First Convention of the New Violin Family Association Octet 2005: First Convention of the New Violin Family Association by Alan Carruth Originally published in American Lutherie #85, 2006 The New Violin Family, also known as the Violin Octet, began more that fifty years ago with a request by composer Henry Brandt to Carleen Hutchins for instruments with the timbre of the violin in other tuning ranges. It has continued to be a collaborative effort between luthiers, scientists, composers, and musicians. The first convention of the New Violin Family Association was intended to extend that collaboration into new generations. The meeting was smaller than a GAL Convention, and this proved to be a plus. Many participants were already acquainted, and the rest soon got to know each other informally. Convention organizing committee chair and NVFA newsletter editor Robert Spear, along with the other organizers, provided ample opportunities for musicians, builders, and “techies” to get together. A good example was a comparison of Octet instruments with their conventional counterparts, where musicians offered critiques of the new instruments. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
