Let me start with an announcement. Even if you have no idea what a dulcimer is, or who David Schnaufer was, I hope you will stick around and read the Blog. I'll write more about why in upcoming posts, but here's a hint why: it has to with themes that made themselves known to me during the writing. They were never planned by me, but, now that I see them, I want to share them. In other words, non-dulcimer players are as welcome as dulcimer players, and I hope you will stick around.
Over the course of writing Pluck, hundreds of people told me their stories and lent me music, materials and photos not only about David Schnaufer but about the places and times he lived, the people he met and the astonishing experiences he had. They have my undying gratitude for carrying forward the spirit of David's generosity. As a result of an ever-ballooning manuscript, many wonderful stories, photos and history bits were edited out. Those items that had to be edited out from the manuscript for the sake of space and storytelling will appear in this Blog.
Watch for posts on these topics and more: Something About David. Behind Writing Pluck. FOD (Friends of David's) Stories. Mountain Dulcimer History & Music. And, last, but not least, The Orphic Side of Pluck---helpful things that happened either in David's life or over the course of writing Pluck that made me wonder if there were an unseen hand helping things happen.
Many of David's friends who appear in Pluck are still pickin', creating, teaching, writing, learning, performing, and generally making the world a much better place by bringing us music. I'll share links to their websites with their permission.
If you knew David Schnaufer or his music and would like to share a favorite story or two on this site, I invite you to do so either in the comments section, or let me know if you'd like to write a post. I loved listening to David's friends and family share their stories with me, so I know others will as well.
