My Mom the Dulcimer Player
My mother, Mary Negris, is an amazing person. Once she sets her mind to learning or doing something, there is no stopping her. While working full-time as an educator and raising three great kids she somehow found the time to master painting, stained glass, and other arts and crafts. Then, after we were out on our own, and she was still working full-time, she went back to school and got a master's degree at age 43, and then a doctorate at 62.
So, we always knew she was smart and creative. She also had a lovely singing voice and performed in numerous annual community productions of Handel's Messiah and was a frequent soloist in church, accompanied by my father, Dan, a gifted pianist. But, while she enjoyed singing and listening to music, and encouraged us kids to learn and play instruments, she never showed much interest in playing an instrument herself.
That is, until six years ago, when she turned 75. That was when, with her trademarked gusto, she took up the mountain dulcimer and added "musician" to her many honorifics.
It started with the newspaper. She read about a local dulcimer group and decided that she wanted to learn more about the instrument. So, she visited the next meeting of the group, where there was an extra dulcimer. A group leader encouraged her to "just strum along." When she saw how easy and fun it was to play, she was hooked. Pretty soon she was "tabbing" and shopping for a dulcimer of her own.
Like most newcomers to the instrument, she started by learning two familiar mountain music classics, "Boil Them Cabbage" and "Old Joe Clark." And, just three months later, she was performing live with the group at a local retirement home. The audience was encouraged to sing along and their smiling participation just added to Mom's growing enthusiasm for making music. Since that first performance, she has played all kinds of "gigs," including lodge meeting, antique shows, fairs, rehab centers, and even a fish fry or two.
Her repertoire has expanded to include more difficult tunes, with some of her favorites including "There Is a Happy Land," "When It's Lamp Lighting Time in the Valley," "Black Mountain Rag," and "Amazing Grace."In addition to the many songs Mom has mastered, there are some tougher ones that keep her practicing, like "Ashokan Farewell" and the humorously titled "Nut Factory Shuffle."
She has also graduated to owning two dulcimers. She explains that there is just one drawback to playing the mountain dulcimer, it must be tuned and played in one key. Most performers will have two dulcimers on stage, each tuned to a different key so that if the performance calls for songs in different keys they don't have to retune between numbers.
When asked what advice she might have for people her age who are interested in possibly taking up an instrument, with a youthful twinkle in her eye that is very familiar to our whole family, she replies, "Do not allow age to be a factor in your decision. Desire is the key. You will never know the personal joy, blessing, and enjoyment unless you begin."
She continues, "When someone says, 'I wish I could, but I am too old to begin,' I hand them the dulcimer, show them how to hold it, explain the frets and how to read tab, and in no time, they are reading the tab and strumming out a simple old tune, much to their amazement. Don't get me wrong, many hours of practice are needed in order to become a proficient player, but you will enjoy the ride and the feeling of accomplishment from the very first day that you begin to play."
So, no matter what your age or experience, the next time you find yourself glancing in the window of a music store and wondering what it would be like to start making music, think of my mom, the dulcimer player. You can do it! As we all know, Mom is never wrong.
