The Villages - May 2017 - 28

{ For The

Love

oF MUSIC }

A Simple Stringed Instrument
EllEn Stafford tEachES dulcimEr
Story By rica LewiS | PhotoS By roB wiLKerSoN

It makes a celestial sound.
"It's not a banjo, guitar or ukulele," said Sandy
Denton, of the Village of St. James.
After hearing a dulcimer song, Denton decided to try
her hand at playing. She found Ellen Stafford, a Village
of Lynnhaven resident, at La Hacienda Recreation
Center. Stafford has been instructing the Beginner
Dulcimer Club for more than two years.
When asked why the dulcimer, Stafford
said she picked up the instrument five years
ago when she retired and was looking for
something to play with other people.
"I had played piano in the past, but that's a
very solitary instrument," she said. "I wanted
to get out, to be a part of a group."
The club enjoys a laid-back atmosphere
where they can learn the basics.
"If you get lost, play anything," Stafford tells
club members as they pluck their instruments
in unison.
The song is "Red River Valley."
It floats around the room like a
helium balloon set free.
More than a dozen musicians sit in a circle, each with
a slightly different dulcimer.
As pennies falling into a
fountain, each player's instrument makes a singular,
sweet ripple in the collective
pool of sound.

"The music is soft and light, and the real beauty is
playing with others," Denton said. "I have learned so
much here, and I enjoy the gentle music we make. I
don't worry about mistakes."
Denton admits she's not a particularly good
musician.
"Actually, I'm a bit clumsy," she said. "But
who cares if I goof up? I just have fun."
With just three or four strings on a
wooden fingerboard, the dulcimer is not
an extravagant instrument.
"The best dulcimer I ever heard was
made of a cigar box," Denton said.
"They all sound a tad bit different and
most of us own a number of them.
Sometimes I think they breed, the
way they seem to have multiplied in my
closet," she joked.

For information about
the Beginner Dulcimer
Club, call Ellen Stafford
at 352-350-2582.

28

MAY 2017



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - May 2017

Contents
The Villages - May 2017 - Cover1
The Villages - May 2017 - Contents
The Villages - May 2017 - 1
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