Undaunted Noter: A Song History
Phyllis and Jim Gaskins include "Undaunted Noter" in Pig In A Pen (And Other Fiddle Ditties For Galax Dulcimer), a follow-up to Phyllis Gaskins's first book and a guide to how the Galax dulcimer is played and built, published by Fingers Of Steel.[1] The contents page places it on page 67, in the book's "A-ish" section; the listing says tunes in that group put "Do" at the fourth fret and recommends a partial capo on the drone strings at the first fret.[1] The book's index sends readers to that same page under the entry "Noter."[1] The listing and sample pages consulted here do not show who composed the tune or when, and they do not explain its title.[1]
Amant Constant (Amé) Lambert, Épinette des Vosges, wood, metal, late 19th century. A fretted zither shown for its likeness to the dulcimer; it has no connection to the tune.
In a 1968 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife article, Scott Odell describes the typical dulcimer player fretting the melody with a short stick, the noter, held in the left hand, while striking the strings with a pick cut from a goose or turkey quill.[2] Phyllis Gaskins specializes in the Galax noter-and-drone style, which she learned more than forty years ago from Raymond Melton, in whose family the style goes back to the mid-1800s.[3] Melton, of Woodlawn, Virginia, was both a player and a builder, and Melton family instruments were dominant in the dulcimer competitions of the Galax Fiddlers' Convention.[4] She was named a Virginia Master Folk Artist in 2010-11 and again in 2018-19, and Jim Gaskins, who plays fiddle, clawhammer banjo and several other instruments, has worked alongside her in workshops and performances since 1989.[3]
Sources
- Fingers Of Steel: "Phyllis Gaskins, Pig In A Pen (And Other Fiddle Ditties For Galax Dulcimer)".
- Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife: "The Appalachian Dulcimer" (Scott Odell, 1968).
- Ferrum College, Crooked Road Dulcimer Festival: "Meet the Instructors".
- DulcimerDownloads: "Phyllis Gaskins".
- Image: Amant Constant (Amé) Lambert, Épinette des Vosges, wood, metal, late 19th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.