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My Dulcimer Life
by Neal Hellman
Editor’s Note:
Neal Hellman began playing mountain dulcimer during the 1970s - a time often referred to
as the “Mountain Dulcimer Renaissance.” Many talented and creative musicians came to the
instrument in this period and greatly expanded the mountain dulcimer’s playing techniques
and musical possibilities for generations that have followed. Neal has been at the forefront
of many of these developments.
Neal has performed and taught throughout the U.S., Europe and New Zealand, and is
founder and president of the highly-successful Gourd Music recording label. He is author of
several books on the mountain dulcimer, including Celtic Songs & Slow Airs for
Mountain Dulcimer (Mel Bay Publications 99700 - book & CD), The Dulcimer Chord
Book (Mel Bay Publications 94662), and The Music of the Shakers for Mountain
Dulcimer (Mel Bay Publications 96468).
When asked if we could interview him for DulcimerSessions.com, Neal responded with this
colorful, adventurous article...
I see the beginning of my dulcimer career as the year I was born. For it was in 1948 that
Jean Ritchie came to New York City as a social worker and worked at the Henry Street
Settlement on the lower east side. My dad had a store just a few blocks away on Pike
Street and was a member of the Henry Street Settlement. I’m sure after a night of singing
folk songs he brought the dulcimer bug home with him and I caught it.

My folks were very political and my first encounter
with folksongs was at the “leftist” summer camps I
attended. Every day we would raise our voices and
sing — “If I Had a Hammer,” “The Sloop John B,”
“Children, Go Where I Send Thee,” and “This Land Is
Your Land.” There were a few hundred kids all
clapping as they sang and usually one lone guitar
player slapping the chords and singing as loud as he
or she could.
In my parents’ home we mostly listened to classical
music, jazz and Broadway show tunes. My mom
always played Chopin and Beethoven on the piano
since my folks were of Polish and German extraction.
I had a brother who was five years older than me, and
when he wasn’t around I’d slip into his room and listen
to his records. The first time I heard the dulcimer was
on the “Judy Collins #5” album, and it was Richard
Fariña backing her up on “Pack Up Your Sorrows.” I
remember picking up the needle and playing the cut
over and over again. Neal Hellman at 16.
I attended Lynchburg College in Virginia from 1966-1970. Sometime during my last year
there we all made a pilgrimage to the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention, and I grew to love
the music and just the whole fun-filled folk scene.
Also during my last year at Lynchburg College I began to live what folks called back then
an “alternative lifestyle,” deciding that I did not want to continue my studies in Behavioral
Psychology. I opted help out on a farm in Celo, North Carolina, run by a medical doctor
named Fergus Pope. The idea was to provide fresh air therapy and work for abused
children. It was a great notion but it just didn’t fly. So it’s July of 1970, and I have no idea
what to do with my life, so I asked Dr. Pope if I could just live in the barn for a few months.
One of the folks who lived on Fergus Pope’s land was a wonderful weaver (who had studied
at The Penland School of Crafts) named Barbara Grenell. She owned a cherry and spruce
dulcimer made by Edd Presnell and would let me play around on it. I was inspired enough
to get into my little powder blue VW bug and drive up to Banner Elk to order a dulcimer
from Mr. Presnell. I was truly one to be “in the spirit of the times,” and when I first laid
eyes on Edd Presnell with his big old cap and long gray beard and the Blue Ridge Mountains
all around his home I was awestruck. It was like Bilbo Baggins meeting Gandolf for the first
time. I knew right then I was on a mission. Edd took my order and told me it might be a
while and to stay in touch.
I then decided to go to the state of Maine and learn how to build geodesic domes. I just had
no luck with all these “alternative” projects, for this one was called off as well. So I took the
ferry to Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada, and lived with nature for a month or
so. After I left the island I began hitchhiking across Canada, and one magic bus and 3,000
miles later I found myself in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1971.
And there on the street in Gastown, Vancouver, was a trio playing dulcimer, guitar and tub
bass, singing one old-time song after another. The dulcimer player was John Prisland,
originally from Chicago. As I took a lesson from John I wrote everything down. I decided I
had found my master, and just at that time my dulcimer arrived from Edd Presnell. It was a

six string with friction pegs. It looked great, and boy was it ever hard to keep in tune.
In time my girlfriend and I moved up to Squamish, British Columbia, where I wrote my first
book, Life Is Like A Mountain Dulcimer, (under the light of an oil lamp) in colored pencil and
crayons, in an abandoned hiker’s cabin. In arranging the music for the book I used the D-
A-A, E-A-A, D-A-G, and E-A-G tunings that John Prisland had taught me.
In 1973 I was deported for working without a visa and I packed up my girlfriend, large dog,
dulcimer, guitar, and my manuscript and headed back to New York City. I then proceeded
to blow my VW’s engine in Winnemucca, Nevada. Here’s an amazing tidbit of dulcimer
minutia—when Richard and Mimi Fariña were driving from New York to California their car
blew up in Winnemucca as well.
In 1974, after much-to-much research, The Richmond Organization (TRO) published Life Is
Like A Mountain Dulcimer. It had a little plastic “pull out” record in the back. Just before we
left New York to go back to Canada, I noticed there was an ad in The Village Voice for
another new dulcimer book entitled In Search of the Wild Dulcimer. As fate would have it, I
soon met up with Robert Force and Albert d’Ossché, and that led to the wild and crazy
Pacific Rim Dulcimer Festivals. At them I met Bonnie Carol and soon Michael Rugg, who to
this day is still one of my greatest dulcimer inspirations. There was also great dulcimer
scene happening in Canada—Rick Scott, Randy Rain, Walker Fanning, just to name a few.
Neal Hellman teaching Robert Force & Albert d’Ossché
Rick Scott’s “Lotus Eater Blues,” 1977. Photo by Bonnie Carol.
Many of their arrangements appeared in my second dulcimer book, The Dulcimer
Songbook, published by Music Sales (Oak Publications) in 1977. Somewhere during that
period of time I got together with Robert, Albert and Bonnie in Denver, Colorado, where we
recorded “The Pacific Rim Dulcimer Project” album.

My favorite story from that recording is when Albert and I went up to Fort Collins with the
sound engineer and we sat in with his rock band at a rock joint called “The Merry Axe.”
Albert and I took the stage with the band and played a Rick Scott song called “Lotus Eater
Blues.” Halfway through the tune we noticed no one was dancing. They all just stared. (I
guess they were so taken with the sound of two rocking dulcimer guys that they were
frozen with awe.)
Albert d’Ossché, Robert Force, Michael Rugg & Neal Hellman, 1981.

Michael Rugg & Neal Hellman, 1980s
In 1981 I went to the Santa Cruz Mountains for a dulcimer festival and I decided just to
stay. I worked the Renaissance Fairs with Michael Rugg and we would just play standing up,
our dulcimers on a counter, for many hours day. I’ve never seen anyone play Irish jigs and
reels a cleanly and succinctly as Michael Rugg could.
The fair was so noisy that it was hard to retune and it was during this time that I learned
(mostly form Michael Rugg) how to play in D, Em, Bm, G and A out of the D-A-D tuning. A
capo back then was a chopstick and a rubber band. This led to the publication of The
Dulcimer Chord Book in 1981, which I’m happy to say, is still in print with Mel Bay
Publications.
Neal Hellman & Michael Rugg at Renaissance Fair, 1981.
Around this time we all did recordings for Kicking Mule Records. Through Kicking Mule and

the Renaissance Fair I met West Coast mountain dulcimer players Janita Baker, Lance
Frodsham, Randy Wilkinson, Ruth Barrett & Cynthia Smith, Holly Tannen, and Baila
Dwosky.
I then hit the dulcimer trail and toured around in my big green Dodge van (‘Mr. Pickle’)
from 1981 – 1988. During this time I did some dulcimer books for Hal Leonard Publications
and self published a number of titles as well. During my first tour in 1981 I traveled around
with Alan Freeman, David Schanufer and Alan Darveaux. I also first met Lois Hornbostel
during that time. I learned a lot from just watching all these folks play. I’m constantly
telling my students that you can learn a lot just by being inspired by other folks’ technique.
I would always make it a point to play at Jean and Lee Schilling’s dulcimer festivals. Both
Jean and Lee were instrumental in promoting both the dulcimer and old-time music through
their Folk Festival of the Smokies and their Mountain Dulcimer Festivals during the 80’s. I
met many folks through Jean and Lee including Kim Walker, Daron Douglass and a great
flatpicker dulcimer player named Nick Hallman, who taught me how to play “Fiddlin’
Bagpipes.”
Neal (far right) leading a parade of dulcimer players after they learned “Teddy Bears’ Picnic”
from Baila Dworsky. Pacific Rim Dulcimer Kindred Gathering, Orcas Island, WA, 1985.
In 1987 I decided to do an all instrumental recording entitled “Oktober County,” which in
turn led to my establishing my recording label, Gourd Music. Twenty-one years and forty
titles later I’m still living my life as a “mini-mogul.” I’ve learned a lot about music from my
artists — William Coulter, Kim Robertson, Barry and Shelley Phillips, Joe Weed and Robin
Petrie.
I enjoy utilizing the dulcimer as a textural instrument; that’s why one will always find harp,
oboe, English horn, cello, and guitar on all of my recordings. I love when I can blend the
dulcimer, as I did on my latest recording “Emma’s Waltz,” with Swedish nyckelharpa and
cello. I like to create an entire landscape of music so each time the listener experiences it

he or she might hear something different.
I never try to push the instrument beyond its natural voice. For example, lately I’ve really
enjoyed teaching Swedish tunes in D-A-C with the melody just on the “C” string. When I
first started playing I put a lot of what I call melody chords in all my arrangements. Now I
feel “less is more” and have come to enjoy the dulcimers more natural voice.
I love to back up other instruments as well especially Celtic harp and a guitar tuned D-A-D-
G-A-D. William Coulter, who specializes in that tuning, produced my latest recording and he
appears on almost every track.
That said, I truly believe any way it feels good is the way one should play the instrument. If
things don’t change then things don’t grow. I enjoy all the new players of the instrument
that I meet on the festival circuit these days. As they say “it’s all good”.
Neal performing at Manitou Springs, CO Festival, 2003.
In the future I’d like to record an album of Early Music featuring dulcimer-nyckelharpa-harp
and percussion. Sort of a Mountain Dulcimer/Goth thing. I could do the white face/black
lipstick thing, which would look kind of cool on a 60 year old!
One last story — Somewhere between my first trip to Canada and my first dulcimer I found
myself in San Cristobel, New Mexico at the Lama Foundation, where I was into Sufi
dancing.
After spinning around and channeling the universe for a few hours I was invited to the New
Buffalo Commune for a square dance and a barbecue. There was a large dance band
featuring a mountain dulcimer. It sounded so great and ignited my dulcimer passion even
higher... A few years later I came to New York with my first dulcimer manuscript (the one
written in colored pencils and crayon). I decided to show it to Jean Ritchie. I called her and

soon found myself on the Long Island Railroad bound for her house in Port Washington. I
was actually quite nervous to meet Jean. I had on my best flowered shirt and pulled my
hair back and made sure there was no food residue in my beard. I knocked on the door
and when it opened I recognized Holly Tannen — the same woman who was playing
dulcimer at the New Buffalo Commune! Truly I was following my bliss!
Neal tunes up to play a tune with Gourd recording artist Shelley Phillips
at his 60th Birthday Party (April 2008), Santa Cruz, CA.
Here is my arrangement of “Breton Tune” from Cut #2 of my “Emma’s Waltz” CD. This is a
piece in E minor that plays beautifully and simply using the mountain dulcimer’s natural
voice. Strum traditionally across all the strings and ENJOY!
Listen to Neal Hellman play “Breton Tune.”

Tune : D-A-D (capo first fret)
One can also play the melody on the bass sting.
& # c . ˙
D
A
D
1.
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& #
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Breton Tune
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© 2007 Gourd Music
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Breton Dance
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More About the Author
Neal Hellman, nationally acclaimed performer and teacher of the mountain dulcimer, has
been active in performing, writing, teaching, and recording acoustic music for over 25
years throughout the United States, Europe and New Zealand.
Neal's latest recording, “Emma's Waltz,” is a colorful dance through traditional and
contemporary acoustic music styles. Featuring many talented musicians playing
compositions from Ireland, Scotland, Finland, America and France.
Neal's other recordings (Gourd Music label) include:
“Autumn In the Valley”
“Dream of the Manatee” (with Joe Weed)
“Oktober County”
Dirty Linen wrote of “Oktober County”: "The material is first-rate and the musicianship is
flawless;" and the Santa Cruz Sentinel said Dream of the Manatee is "just plain beautiful
music. The San Jose Mercury wrote "Autumn In the Valley is
well-played and impeccable engineered."
He is the author of many books on the Appalachian dulcimer, including:
Celtic Songs & Slow Airs for Mountain Dulcimer
The Dulcimer Chord Book
The Music of the Shakers For Mountain Dulcimer
The Hal Leonard Dulcimer Method, Beatles Dulcimer Book
As a teacher, Neal is regularly paid the greatest compliment possible: his festival
workshops are invariably crowded with students, old and new, who appreciate his clear
instructional style, varied and original repertoire, and enthusiasm for his instrument.
Visit Neal’s Gourd Music website, http://www.gourd.com/NealBioWorkshops.html . He can
be reached at neal@gourd.com