Mel Bay Songs and Tunes of the Wilderness Road [Paperback]

Ralph Lee Smith; Madeline Macneil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 1999

This collection of traditional music for the mountain dulcimer seeks to reunite this beautiful instrument with the people, the music, and the world from which it came. It tells the story of the Wilderness Road, a trail through the Appalachian Mountains from Gate City, Virginia, to Fort Boonesboro, Kentucky, blazed by Daniel Boone, and links it to the history and heritage of the mountain dulcimer. Numerous photographs and maps help tell the story, and each tune in the book includes a historical anecdote describing its origin. This book is a must for anyone interested in the history of the Appalachian Mountain region and its music. The sixteen tunes in this book are written in notation and tablature for the standard three-course mountain dulcimer (without the 6 1/2 or 1 1/2 fret in the fretboard), with chord symbols and complete lyrics. A knowledge of simple chording techniques is all that is needed to play the tunes. The tunings used are Ionian (DAA), Aeolian (DA! C), and Dorian (DAG).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ralph Lee Smith was introduced to Appalachian music when he lived in Greenwich Village in the 1950s and 1960s and participated in the folk revival. He acquired a dulcimer, played with old-timey groups, and became interested in the instrument's history. Beginning in the 1970s, he made many Appalachian field trips, meeting old-time dulcimer makers and players in Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. He also acquired a number of antique and traditional dulcimers, which he uses in demonstrations and displays. Ralph has given dulcimer performances/demonstrations at the White House, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and colleges, folk festivals, civic groups, and historic sites. Ralph holds a BA from Swarthmore College and an M.Ed. from the University of Virginia. He lives with his wife Shizuko in Reston, Virginia. Madeline Macneil is well known for her talents as a singer and performer on the hammered and fretted dulcimers. She is equally well known for the warmth and generosity with which she shares her music and encourages others to play and sing. The silver-haired woman with the golden voice has won the admiration of countless fans across the country, performing in concerts and festivals throughout the United States. Maddie's twenty-five years as a professional musician have produced many recordings as well as two books for Mel Bay Publications. She arranged the music for Ralph Lee Smith's book from Mel Bay, Songs of the Wilderness Road. Maddie publishes Dulcimer Player News, which reaches dulcimer enthusiasts throughout the United States and in many other countries. Her recordings include All Through the Night, A Place Apart, The Lone Wild Bird, The Crowning of the Year, and Heart's Ease, which won an Indie from the National Association of Independent Record Distributors.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Pubns (December 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078662972X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786629725
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dulcimer roots, February 27, 2001

By 

Mary Z. Cox (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mel Bay Songs and Tunes of the Wilderness Road (Paperback)

I bought this book because it traces the history of the mountain dulcimer westward on the wilderness trail. Madeline MacNeil offers a map and directions and black and white photos to direct you on a modern pilgrimage of this trail, if you would like to experience the modern trail first hand. This is a trip I would like to take in the future. The history is straightforward and clear, and dulcimer tabulatures are given for tunes that came from different locations along the trail. Fascinating material to be used for entertainers, reenactors, storeytellers and dulcimer players. Audiences enjoy knowing brief histories and how tunes fit them. There are many early tunes in this instruction manual. The tab is clear and many early appalachian tunings are used. The only recommendation that I would make, is it would be nice if Madeline MacNeil and Ralph Smith had made an accompanying CD of all the tunes in the book. I would buy it!