Mountain music soothes the soul and lifts spirits

Dulcimer player and teacher Bobbi Logan calls herself "the leader of the pack" for the Mountain Strings group. Every Tuesday morning, the Riverbend hall fills with the bright sounds of mountain and hammered dulcimers, banjo, fiddle, bass, Dobro, guitar, and mandolin as the players pick, strum, and sometimes sing bluegrass, Celtic, gospel, folk, and "old timey" favorites.

Dulcimer comes from Greek and Latin and means "sweet sound." The instrument is thought to have originated more than 2000 years ago in Persia and is played in traditional music in parts of the UK, Asia, and Austria as well as in the US. The three- or four-stringed instrument can be strummed, flat- or finger-picked, hammered, or bowed.

"This is the easiest instrument in the world to learn to play," Logan enthuses. "You don't need to read music because we use tablature. As long as you know your numbers up to 13, you can play this instrument."

Group member Martha Spencer has only played dulcimer since last fall; though she'd had an instrument for years, she'd never before had an opportunity to play it or anyone to play with.

Two years ago, Logan learned to play dulcimer from her mother, who herself hadlearned to play at age 74, and ten years later heads an all-dulcimer group in Florida. "My mom got me started playing when my dad was dying of cancer. He loved to hear her play," Logan says. When Logan came back from her mother's, she felt like she "wanted to keep strumming."

The Mountain Strings began two years ago with two people, and as the group grew, they applied to be part of the Music Guild. In February, they got the Riverbend space and by May, they had 17 people in the group. They can be seen in Sun City playing at the Volunteer and Club Fairs.

"We have so much fun jamming together," Logan says.

That's why Wayne Zernel joined the group last December and started taking dulcimer lessons from Logan. Also in the Sun City Strummers, Zernel heard the Mountain Strings play and decided he wanted in. "When I saw them, they were having a good time...and it seemed like a way to improve my music."

Though he'd taken guitar lessons as a kid, he didn't play for another 40 years until he retired and joined the Strummers. Like Logan, he notes how easy the dulcimer is to learn, but adds, "If you want to get into it and be good, you have to practice every day. You only get back whatever effort you put into it, like with anything else."

Vinnie Izzo plays the fiddle and the banjo and estimates he's been making music for more than 40 of his 74 years. He's especially fond of "old timey" music and enjoys Arthur Godfrey, the Kingston Trio, and The Weavers, laughing that he is clearly "a product of the folk scare of the 60s."

Dave Hoffman, a charter member of the Strings, is a self-taught musician who has played music off and on all his life. "I'm pretty much a singer and guitar player," he says, "but I picked up the mandolin and I play that and the banjo, too. Since I've been down here, I've fallen in love with bluegrass music. I'm sort of partial to gospel, and we play things like 'I'll Fly Away' and 'Down to the River to Pray,' so I really enjoy that and singing harmonies, too. This group is just fun."