Historic Bibliographies and Reference Aids

A Bibliography of the Plucked (Appalachian or Mountain) Dulcimer and Related Instruments

Compiled by: Bethany Aronow
Publication Date: December 5, 1978

Adler, Tom.
"How to Make an Appalachian Dulcimer, or, What to Do With Your Spare Time and Money." Autoharp, number 30, October 20, 1967, pp. [8]-[10]. Reprinted in Folknik, volume 4, number 5. September 1968, pp. 5-6.

Apel, Willi.
Harvard Dictionary of Music. Second edition, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1969. "Dulcimer," pp. 248-249.

Bailey, John.
Making an Appalachian Dulcimer. London: English Folk Dance and Song Society, 1966.

Baines, Anthony.
Musical Instruments Through the Ages. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1961. See entries for "Dulcimer," "Hummel," "Scheitholt," etc.

Baldwin, Jim.
"Playing the Mountain Dulcimer." Bittersweet, volume 1, number 2, Winter 1973, pp. 42-50.

Bell, Red.
"Build a Dulcimer." Stray Notes, volume 1, number 6, November 1, 1965, p. 13.

Bryan, Charles Faulkner.
"American Folk Instruments: The Appalachian Dulcimer." Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, volume 18, number 1, March 1952, pp. 1-5.

"The Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer Enigma." Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, volume 20, number 4, December 1954, pp. 86-90.

Burcham, Terry W.
"Fretting a Dulcimer." Huntsville Association of Folk Musicians Newsletter, number 67, March 31, 1974, pp. 1-3.

"Joe Gambill: Dulcimer to Opryland." Huntsville Association of Folk Musicians Newsletter, number 47, June 20, 1972, pp. 2-7; number 47, July 20, 1972, pp. 4-6.

"Mountain Dulcimer." Huntsville Association of Folk Musicians Newsletter, number 49, September 20, 1972, pp. 4-5.

Burckart, Arnold E.
"Using the Appalachian Dulcimer." Keeping Up With Orff-Schulwerk in the Classroom, volume 1, number 1, September 1973, pp. 12-14; number 2, November 1973, pp. 32-33.

Combs, Jack.
"The Folk Singers of the Kentucky Highlands ... A Trip to Hindman." Spectrum, volume 1, number 2, Spring 1963, pp. 31-38.

Combs, Josiah H.
"The Highlander's Music." Kentucky Folklore Record, volume 6, number 4, October-December 1960, pp. 108-122. Reprinted in Josiah H. Combs, Folk Songs of the Southern United States, edited by D. K. Wilgus, Austin: University of Texas Press (Publications of the American Folklore Society, Bibliographical and Special Series, volume 19), 1967, pp. 85-95.

Creighton, Mildred Davidson.
"Jethro Amburgey: Dulcimer Maker." Appalachian South, volume 1, number 1, Summer 1965, pp. 24-25.

Derington, Sara.
"The Dulcimer." Huntsville Association of Folk Musicians Newsletter, number 61, October 2, 1973, pp. 2-6.

Diamond, Lucky.
"The Sweet Sound of a Dulcimer." Mugwumps, volume 4, number 6, May-June 1976, pp. 10-12, 20.

Dutertre, Jean-Francois.
"L'Epinette de Gerardmer." Gigue: Revue de Folk, number 6, 1974, pp. 8-12.

Dutertre, Jean-Francois and Claude Lefebvre.
"Epinette des Vosages et Dulcimer des Appalaches." Gigue: Revue de Folk, number 1, September 1972, pp. 10-25.

Eaton, Allen W.
Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1937. Reprint edition, New York: Dover Publications, 1973, "The Dulcimer," pp. 199-204.

Evans, H. S.
How to Play the Mountain Dulcimer: A Manual for Beginners. Lynchburg, VA: H. S. Evans, 1969.

Force, Robert and Robert d'Ossché.
In Search of the Wild Dulcimer. New York: Vintage Books, 1974.

French, Dorothy and Lynn McSpadden.
Brethren, We Have Met: Traditional Hymns and Carols for the Dulcimer. Mountain View, AR: Dulcimer Shoppe, 1970.

Gamse, Albert.
The Best Dulcimer Method Yet. Carlstadt, NJ: Lewis Music Publishing Co., 1974.

Gilfillan, Merrill C.
"Dulcimers." Wonderful World of Ohio, volume 30, number 1, January 1966, pp. 8-11. [Anne Grimes Collection.]

Glenn, Leonard.
"The Plucked Dulcimer of the Southern Appalachians." Folkways Monthly, volume 1, number 2, January 1962, pp. 63-72.

Hamer, Philip L.
"If You Like Mountain Music…" Science and Mechanics, volume 35, number 1, January 1964, pp. 100-103, 114-115.

Harris, Tim.
Notes on Dulcimer Making. Oklahoma City: Bois D'Arc, 1977.

Hart, Tim.
"The Appalachian Dulcimer." Club Folk, volume 1, number 5, July-August 1968, p. 8.

"The Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer." Folk and Country, volume 1, number 1, November 1971, pp. 12-13.

Hastings, S. E., Jr.
"Construction Techniques in an Old Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer." Journal of American Folklore, volume 83, number 330, October-November 1970. pp. 462-468.

Hellman, Neal.
Dulcimer Songbook. New York: Oak Publications, 1977.

Hellman, Neal and Sally Holden.
Life Is Like a Mountain Dulcimer. New York: Ludlow Music, 1974.

Hendrickson, George.
"The Dulcimer." Folk Tradition, volume 1, number 3, May 1972, p. 4.

Herndon, Doris Arlene.
The Appalachian Dulcimer: Its Origins and History. Unpublished MA Thesis, Grand Forks: University of North Dakota, 1967.

Hines, Chet.
How to Make and Play the Dulcimore. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1973.

Hobrough, Tim.
"The Dulcimer." Come All Ye, volume 2, number 5, July 1972, pp. 6-15.

Horwitz, Elinor Lander.
Mountain People, Mountain Crafts. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1974. "Dulcimers, Banjos and Fiddles," pp. 20-33.

Hughes, Virgil.
Mel Bay's Fun With the Dulcimer. Kirkwood, MO: Mel Bay Publications, 1972.

Jeffereys, A. W.
"The Appalachians Dulcimer." Mugwumps, volume 1, number 2, March 1972, pp. 8-9.

Tuning and Playing the Appalachian Dulcimer. Stauton, VA: A.W. Jeffereys, 1958. Revised edition, 1964.

Jong, J. L. de.
De Noardske Balke. Assen: Van Gorcum and Co., 1942.

"De Noordse Balk." Mens en Melodie, volume 12, number 6, June 1957, pp. 174-176.

Joyner, Charles W.
"Dulcimer Making in North Carolina: Creativity in a Traditional Mountain Craft." Southern Folklore Quarterly, volume 39, number 4, December 1975, pp. 341-361.

Kay, David.
How to Play the Dulcimer Today. New York: Charles Hansen, 1974.

Lawless, Ray M.
Folksingers and Folksongs in America. Revised edition, New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1965. Chapter 9: "Folk-Music Instruments."

Levin, Hank.
"How to Make an Appalachian Dulcimer." In 1973 Festival of American Folklife, Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1973, pp. 47-49.

MacEachron, Len and Su.
Play the Dulcimer by Ear and Other Easy Ways. Minneapolis: Here, Inc., 1969.

McGill, Josephine.
"The Kentucky Mountain Dulcimer." The Musician, volume 21, number 1, January 1917, p. 21.

McSpadden, Lynn.
Four and Twenty Songs for the Mountain Dulcimer. Mountain View, AR: Dulcimer Shoppe, 1970.

McSpadden, Mary Catherine.
Merrily Strum: Mountain Dulcimer for Children. Mountain View, AR: Dulcimer Shoppe, 1975.

Marais, Joseph and Miranda.
World Folk Songs. New York: Ballantine Books, 1964. "The Mountain Dulcimer," pp. 127-207.

Marcuse, Sibyl.
Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., 1964. See entries for "Appalachian Dulcimer," "Dulcimer," "Humle," "Langleik," "Scheitholt," etc.

Martinez, Patti.
"Playing the Dulcimer." Early American Life, volume 6, number 6, December 1975, pp. 80-81.

Mason, Madeline MacNeil.
Singing With the Appalachian Dulcimer. Washington, DC: Communications Press, 1977.

Mason, Phillip.
"The Appalachian Mountain Plucked Dulcimer." Old Time Music Gazette, volume 1, number 3, September 1975, pp. 8-11.

Meigs, Teresa.
"David Russell and the Dulcimore." Sparrow Hawk, volume 3, number 1, Fall 1977, pp. 6-25.

Mellon, Robert.
"Mountain Maestro of Hudson Falls." Adirondack Life, volume 3, number 1, Winter 1972, pp. 49-50.

Mercer, Henry C.
"The Zithers of the Pennsylvania Germans." A Collections of Papers Read Before the Bucks County Historical Society, volume 5, 1927, pp. 482-497.

Mitchell, Howard W.
The Mountain Dulcimer – How To Make It and Play It – (After a Fashion). Huntington, VT: Folk-Legacy Records FSI-29, 1966. [Record and Book.] Expansion of book published by H. W. Mitchell, Washington, DC, 1961.

Mitsui, Tōru.
Eikei Amerika Minzoku – Ongaku No Gakki [The Instruments of Anglo-American Traditional Music]. Japan: Traditional-Song Society, 1970.

Mize, Robert.
"Dulcimers." Foxfire, volume 3, number 1, Spring 1969, pp. 5-8.

Murphy, Michael.
The Appalachian Dulcimer Book. St. Clairsville, OH: Folksay Press, 1976.

"Musical Instruments of the American Folk: The Dulcimer." Promenade, volume 1, number 7, October 1940, pp. 1-2.

Nicholson, R. A.
"The Appalachian Dulcimer." B.M.G., volume 65, number 775, March 1968, p. 190; Performing Right, number 49, April 1968, p. 21; Spin, volume 5, number 6, 1968, pp. 29-30; Folknik, volume 4, number 5, September 1968, p. 4.

Nonesuch for the Dulcimer. London: Scratchwood Music, 1972.

Norlind, Tobias.
Systematik der Saiteninstrumente: Geschichte der Zither. Stockholm: Musikhistorisches Museum, 1936. "Trapezzither," cols. 193-210; "Hummel," cols. 253-270.

[no author]
"A Norwegian Player on the Langleik." Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, volume 2, 1935, pp. 35-35.

Odell, Scott.
"The Appalachian Dulcimer." In 1968 Festival of American Folklife, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1968, pp. 30-31.

"Folk Instruments." Arts in Virginia, volume 12, number 1, Fall 1971, pp. 31-37.

Panum, Hortense.
Langelegen: Som Dansk Folkeinstrument. Two volumes, Copenhagen: Lehmann & State, 1917.

The Stringed Instruments of the Middle Ages: Their Evolution and Development. Translated by Jeffrey Pulver. London: William Reeves, 1939. Reprint editions, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1970; New York: Da Capo Press, 1971. "The Scheitholt Family," pp. 263-291.

Pearse, John.
The Dulcimer Book. London: A. T. V. Kirschmer Music Ltd., Welback Music Ltd., 1970.

Teach Yourself the Appalachian Dulcimer. London: English Folk Dance and Song Society, 1966.

Putnam, John F.
"The Plucked Dulcimer." Mountain Life and Work, volume 34, number 4, 1958, pp. 7-13.

The Plucked Dulcimer of the Southern Mountains. Berea, KY: Council of the Southern Mountains, 1957. Revised as The Plucked Dulcimer and How to Play It, 1961. 9th printing with revisions, Silver Spring, MD: John F. Putnam (1905 Hopefield Road), 1976.

"Plucked Dulcimers Hit a High Note." Sing Out!, volume 25, number 2, July-August 1976, p. 35.

"Survey of Dulcimer Makers." Mugwumps, volume 5, number 1, July-August 1976, pp. 7-9.

Pyle, Paul W.
The Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer Book. Tullahoma, TN: Paul Pyle Studios, 1976.

How to Tune and Play the Dulcimer. Tullahoma, TN: Paul Pyle Studios, 1973.

To Build a Dulcimer: A Simplified, Economical Demonstration in the Construction, Tuning and Playing of the Dulcimer. Tullahoma, TN: Paul Pyle Studios, 1976.

Ritchie, Jean.
The Dulcimer Book. New York: Oak Publications, 1963.

Dulcimer People. New York: Oak Publications, 1975.

Singing Family of the Cumberlands. New York: Oxford University Press, 1955. Reprint edition, New York: Oak Publications, 1963.

"Robert Mize, Dulcimer Maker." Foxfire, volume 8, number 3, Fall 1974, pp. 230-240.

Rockwell, Jerry.
Chordal Explorations for 3-String Dulcimer. Essex Junction, VT: Green Mountain Horizons Press, 1978.

Schecter, Martha.
Dulcimer Tuning. Cambridge, MA: M. Schecter, 1970.

Seay, Sarah.
"Modernizing a Mountain Art." Bittersweet, volume 1, number 2, Winter 1973, pp. 36-41.

Seeger, Charles.
"The Appalachian Dulcimer." Journal of American Folklore, volume 72, number 279, January-March 1958, pp. 40-51. Reprinted in Seeger, Charles, Studies in Musicology 1937-1975, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977, pp. 252-272.

Shoemaker, Henry W.
The Music and Musical Instruments of the Pennsylvania Mountaineers. Altoona, PA: Times Tribune Co., 1923.

Smith, Ralph Lee.
"Some Pointers for Beginning Dulcimer Players." Sing Out!, volume 20, number 2, November-December 1970, pp. 11-13.

Snortheim, Olaf.
"Der Langeleik in Norwegan." Pro Musica: Blätter für Musik von Volk zu Volk, number 1, January-February 1953, pp. 6-8.

Steffens, Arlene.
"The Southern Highland Dulcimer and Its Craftsman." Music Clubs Magazine, volume 49, number 3, 1970, pp. 14-15.

Stephens, Rockwell.
"The Mountain Dulcimer." Vermont Life, volume 24, number 1, Autumn 1969, pp. 16-18.

Stradner, Fritz.
Eine Alte Scheitholz-Zither." Österreichische Musikzeitschrift, volume 21, number 9, September 1966, pp. 454-459.

"Vom Scheitholz zur Kratz-Zither: Ein Beitrag zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Zither." Jahrbuch des Österreichischen Volksliedwerkes, volume 18, 1969, pp. 66-80.

Street, Julia Montgomery.
"Mountain Dulcimer." North Carolina Folklore, volume 14, number 2, November 1966, pp. 26-30.

Sturgill, Virgil.
"The History of the Appalachian Dulcimer." Washington Folk Strums, number 1, April 1, 1964, p. 2; number 2, May 1, 1964, p. 4.

Tannen, Holly.
"Playing Dulcimer with Other Instruments." Sing Out!, volume 24, number 1, March-April 1975, pp. 17-19.

"Women and the Dulcimer." Sing Out!, volume 25, number 2, July-August 1976, pp. 19-21.

Taylor, Vernon H.
"From Fact to Fancy in Dulcimer Discoveries." Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, volume 23, number 4, December 1957, pp. 109-113.

Thomas, Jean and Joseph A. Leeder.
The Singin' Gatherin': Tunes from the Southern Appalachians. New York: Silver Burdett Co., 1939. "Mountain Instruments and Their Usage," pp. 54-57.

[no author]
"Tom Dailey." Mountain Trace, volume 1, number 1, Spring 1975, pp. 59-69.

Tucker, George H.
"A Love Ballad Needs a Dulcimore…" Norfolk Virginia-Pilot, June 22, 1969, p. C6.

Walin, Stig.
Die Schwedische Hummel: Eine Instrumentenkindliche Untersuchung. Stockholm: Nordiska Museet, 1952.

Wheeler, Pete.
"Dulcimer Making." Reel Times, number 6, January 1977, pp. 3-5.

Wigginton, Eliot.
Foxfire 3. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1975. "Robert Mize, Dulcimer Maker," pp. 185-207.

Wilcox, Lee.
"You Can Make Sweet Music on the Appalachian Dulcimer." House Beautiful, volume 104, number 10, October 1962, pp. 204, 226-228.

Wilkie, Richard W.
Playing Lead Dulcimer. Albany, NY: Three City Press, 1972.

"Your Pick of Appalachian Dulcimers." Popular Science, Volume 203, number 6, December 1973, pp. 102-106.