Greetings and salutations!
I may or may not have mentioned this in years past, but I used to be a medieval musician. Of a sort anyway.
It started during my freshman year at Wilmington College. I was looking for fine arts courses and found one that was called Collegium Musicum. What I learned later was that it was actually a co-curricular that you could take as a music credit because of the complexity of the music...which, as you can imagine was Renaissance and Medieval music. And so, I decided to take it in the spring semester of freshman year.
The only regret that I have is that I didn't take it a semester earlier.
The group had both wind and string instruments - fiddles, a viola de gamba, recorders, and a guitar being the majority of them. While I had experience in both, my primary instrument had been the fiddle, which placed me firmly in the string category. And since string players were quite hard to come by, I was a practical shoo-in...for a "soprano" instrument that I had never seen in my life.
It was the hammered dulcimer.
Over the next three and a half years, I learned to dearly love that instrument. It was a 15/16 hammered dulcimer, and I believe it was made by the company Songbird. We made wonderful music together, and I learned many cool pieces with it. As my time with WC was drawing to a close, I looked into purchasing my very own dulcimer.
But to the chagrin of my wallet, I discovered that I would have to plunk down over well over $500 in order to get everything I would need (stand, hammers, etc.)
So I knew I would need to wait for my dulcimer to come to me. And I had a premonition that it would come about four years after I graduated from college...because by then, my financial situation would have been a little more stable.
In the meantime, I did start a hammered dulcimer playlist on my Spotify. Cause ya know, gotta have my dulcimer fix.
And now, let us jump forward a few years...specifically to late September 2021.
Lia, Megan Chappie, and I were at the Ohio Renaissance Faire. It was close to the end of our visit and Lia wanted some alcohol. And so, we went looking for a spot.
And lo and behold, we spot a dulcimer player at one of the gazebos. Her name was Victoria Van Arman, better known by the stage name The Lady Victoria. And so, while Lia was fetching her wee draft, the rest of us sat down to listen to her play.
It was quite a nice performance, even if it was difficult at times to hear because of the lack of microphones. A few times, Victoria was joined by another woman, playing the bodhran, or Celtic drum, which brought back fond memories of when my professor would play the bodhran with Collegium.
After the performance was finished, I went up to the stage intending to tip her (and maybe sneak a peek at her instrument because I am that way), when I got distracted by the side display. How typical of me, lol.
The bodhran lady was there, and we ended up striking up a conversation. And in the midst of it, I mentioned my desire to buy a dulcimer one day.
Patina (for that was her name, I do believe), then leaned forward and said, "You know, we have a dulcimer for sale at our stand near the Swordsman's Stage. We'll be going over there in about 15 minutes. You should come down and maybe play on it a little."
You ever hear the *click* of fate? That feeling when things settle and you feel something is right? It was there in this case.
And so, I told my two friends and like little shadow, I waited for them to pack up and head down towards the stage...and dragged my two friends with me, because that's what girlfriends do. Of course, I made the mistake of following Victoia and not Patina and so we ended up in a rather awkward situation as she was conversing with several other Renn Faire people. I made the executive decision to move ahead to the stage and got there just as Patina was depositing her things on the ground.
And so I made ready myself. I had a heavy sword belt on, along with a cloak and purse. All of those had to be taken off so it wouldn't interfere with my playing. I had just finished taking those off when I noticed Patina taking out the dulcimer.
"Ah, waiting patiently, I see!" She gaily said as she hung the "for sale" sign out.
Of course, I was. I was not going to pass up getting to play a dulcimer for the first time in four years. Are you kidding?
Patina gave me the hammers, and I set to make a little music. But I did run into a small snag.
The dulcimer was a 13/12, which was smaller than the instrument I had played and had fewer notes. It was also tuned slightly differently. And...the notes were not marked (my prof had marked hers for ease of playing). And so I spent many minutes navigating around, trying to remember where all the notes were. Old muscle memories were not helping at all. Even with consulting a tuning chart, it was difficult (I think the silly thing was out of tune - dulcimers are quite prone to that).
But instead of giving up, it made me more determined. I knew there was music in there somewhere. I just...had to figure this little dulcimer out.
Photo credit: Megan Chappie
Me, with the ducimer and my fairy godmother Patina just behind me.
Also, can we note with irony that the dress I'm wearing was specifically made for my Collegium days?
Through it all, Patina was super gracious and helpful. She went over every detail - even allowing me to lift the instrument to feel the weight.
I eventually got to the point where I could play the majority of the song medieval "Grimstock", which was one of my favorite pieces from Collegium's repertoire...and one that I had memorized, lol.
My mind had not exactly formed the thought, but my face revealed how much I desired that instrument. And so I asked the fateful question.
It turned out to be $485. Now, I should say that included the case, the stand, a book, hammers, and a tuning wrench. Literally, everything I needed (well, except an electric tuner, but that's an easy purchase).
Even with the smaller instrument, I knew that was a fair price. Oh, was I tempted! And so I looked at the dulcimer. Could I deal with it being a little smaller than my ideal?
Patina then said, "You know, you've bonded with this instrument...."
She was hooking me and I knew it. I knew the sellers game all too well - my grandparents had taught me well in that regard. But...I had to admit that she was right. I loved it and I didn't want to leave it.
And so I admitted my temptation and the fact that I could afford it...but I still hesitated just a little. It was such a big purchase...
And so Patina said. "I shall tell you what, I'll throw in a turkey leg keychain to sweeten the deal."
I laughed a little interiorly. She wanted that sale as much as I wanted that dulcimer. Bless her!
And so I purchased it. I was so elated! (and yes, I got the keychain too, LOL!)
As Patina was packing up my dulcimer, I turned to search where my friends were. Turns out they were across the street, as they had gotten bored.
"Girl, you were over there for over a half-hour!" Lia had protested.
I found that hard to believe at first - 15 min maybe? But upon reflection, Lia was probably right. But it was well worth it to have my dream of owning a dulcimer come to pass.
Now, I have not tried out any of my music on it just yet. I know for sure that I won't be able to do the cool drone tones for some of the pieces that I could do on the other instrument. But, I still believe that I will be able to do the majority of the pieces from Collegium, even if it means doing a smidge of transposing. And, there are fewer strings to tune, which is a boon for my limited patience. And its smaller size does allow for easier traveling.
Once I get a couple pieces of equipment, I hope to treat you all to some music videos with my little dulcimer! Be nice to have some actual content on my YouTube channel, LOL. Stay tuned for more adventures!
Old-fashionably yours,
Catherine
