Dulcimers in the Heartland - America's Heartland

Nothing defines certain regions of rural America like the very distinct sound of the dulcimer. This particularly American instrument was created by early settlers in the Appalachian region of the south. Mike Clemmer and his wife, Connie are furthering the heritage of this musical instrument.
For more information please visit us at www.americasheartland.org

[@deenibeeniable]

The two-person dulcimer is called a "courting dulcimer."

[@ordyhorizonrivieredunord712]

Does anyone knows where the first fret design came from?

[@ordyhorizonrivieredunord712]

@@deenibeeniable have nothing to do withh france or history, I got them from nord music.... I kind of wondererd who else than PYTHAGORAS THE GREEK COULD HAVE COME UP WITH THESE CHORDS

[@deenibeeniable]

@@ordyhorizonrivieredunord712 Then we have a language problem. No idea what you wanted to know. First suggestion, Relax. I come in peace.

[@jonathanbarnes3061]

Likely first old boy just wanted to sing to the girl of his heart and heaven rejoiced and they loved with no end.

[@carlhammill5774]

I find it inspirational that this man found his true calling in life.

[@fecklessmovies]

@Hiccum Blurpaedius he is a salesman selling a quality product that he loves and truly believes in. The easiest sales job in the world.

[@Hisservants]

Uuopppii to y JJ FB t WV g by bbfeq,ezh bAwbz

[@jimmydivirgilio4616]

and he has his missus to thank

[@maryjohammons8905]

Lying in bed at night when she asked him, “if you had a blank check…..?

[@shadowforger2035]

This is called Culture. God bless America and the Americans.

[@scatterkatjatzen1655]

As a guitarist, I bought a Dulcimer not knowing what to expect, but fell in love with it, the minute I found a CD on how to tune it and with a couple folk tunes. The Dulcimer is a unique instrument, easy to play and sounds great.

[@melodioushaste]

My son is a guitarist too, and I have wanted to get him a dulcimer since the first time I saw one over 10 years ago. They are amazing. I'm glad you got one and are enjoying it.

[@EMcKelvyF]

The kiss at the end was adorable, it makes me really happy to see a love like that.

[@Anthony-qh5pt]

i loved it so much i decided to scroll until i found the first other person who loved it as much! Cheers and luvv from colorado

[@robmccarthy1018]

I'm a bluegrass banjo picker from Australia. Spent time with Mike and his dulcimers across the road in Townsend Tn at the Old Timers Spring Festival 2004. He's a really nice bloke. Got to pick with some great bands there. 🤠😁

[@IIVVBlues]

I understand completely. I've made a few dulcimers, but now I just make gut string banjos. I'm in my seventies, but I'll probably keep making instruments as long as my arthritis doesn't stop me. I play the Dobro and I may have try and make a resonator dulcimer like the one in the video. Seeing that resonator dulcimer intrigued me.

[@cameronmccarthy6916]

Sir, keep doing what you're doing until the end!

[@kevinjasper6620]

John A few years ago I heard a banjo like the ones you make. I really liked the sound.

[@bennydufresne8994]

I would love to purchase a banjo from you!!

[@nunyabusiness3786]

Teach someone you old fart

[@maleficentred]

That's really cool! I grew up with an uncle that was paralyzed in a mining accident, afterwards he was bedridden, and he made dulcimers. He was my favorite uncle and I sat by his bed many hours and many days and nights just talking about and watching his work, and singing. He could even write music. Thanks for your share, and keep going! ♥️

[@alterego3624]

That really hit hard. Amazing people

[@fluteguitarbass]

Oh man, that banjo dulcimer is brilliant ... loooove the sound. Way to go Mike!!!

[@rc6147]

Thank you for keeping traditional American music alive

[@Jynx215]

that banjo/dulcimer hybrid sounds awesome

[@kevinjasper6620]

Ian Brockman Music I agree. It's not quite a banjo or dulcimer sound. It is a nice mixture.

[@ised-5239]

@@kevinjasper6620 Dulcijo

[@yeralmuzika]

@@ised-5239 😆

[@michaelcraig9449]

This is so great. I am learning how to play one now. I bought it from this lady around here in MO a couple years ago. Some guy makes them hand made.

[@TKnightcrawler]

I'm glad there are people out there making traditional American instruments like this, and making them so beautifully.

[@ktomsen8528]

Hand craft is alive and well in America. This sound is in my heart. Follow your heart and dreams and create what you know and love! Children of all lands are naturally drawn to these beautiful sounds. Well done!

[@russiane.lection-hacker2057]

I'm sure there's much more to the story than this short piece shows, but I honestly envy Mike. I hope he and Connie have a long, happy life doing what they're doing.

[@klcwarchitect]

I built my first dulcimer 40 years ago. My mother loved it so much, I gave it to her and she had it until the day she passed away. I miss her and the dulcimer.

[@adabofeverything7120]

What happened to it when she passed?? Sad you weren't able to keep it still after.

[@klcwarchitect]

@@adabofeverything7120 Unfortunately, it got lost when she moved into the nursing home. I never saw it again.

[@CedricSatterfield]

I am really digging that resonator dulcimer. Wow what a sound!

[@Thrillrider10]

When I was little, my dad and I built one of these together. Once I heard the sound of it, I fell in love. The one we made is a much simpler shape than the ones here, but it still sounds beautiful.

[@lovelandfrog5692]

My Appalachian brother-in-law plays the dulcimer. He’s wonderful at it. I love listening to him sing and play.

[@hunterdunning1776]

This is the best advertisement I've ever seen! Now I want one!

[@ff-ou4sb]

Takes me right back to growing up in East Tennessee and going to all the cool country arts and crafts festivals back in the 1970s. Great video and it's wonderful to see people love what they are doing.

[@grantmills4184]

I want this guys life lol, building dulcimers in the woods sounds really nice. An inspirational story I’ll say

[@michaelwhisman]

My father was a friend of a Mr. Ford who made dulcimers in Georgia. They met during WW2 in California and were lifelong friends. Sorry but I forgot Mr. Ford's first name.

[@sradie]

I just received my Clemmer Dulcimer for Christmas. I must say it is hard to put it down. I am losing sleep and weight simultaneously. But, the music is starting to come together already. It plays and sounds wonderful and who doesn't enjoy the smell of walnut.

[@Itchy1958]

How refreshing to see people creating music. Thank you for the wonderful memories you brought back to the surface.

[@clicheguevara5282]

TN boy living in Hawaii. I'm restoring a dulcimer for a client this week. :)

[@pmorgaine20]

Cliche Guevara Aloha from Central Texas!

[@BloodofaFool]

I played dulcimer in elementary school. One of the best after-school experiences I ever had with a wonderful teacher Mrs. Blackwood. Our dulcimers were just made of cardboard and wood lol

[@nicholasrella6904]

I bought one from Cedar Creek Dulcimers in Missouri. They were so beautiful that I had to have one. The people in the shop were so friendly and knowledgeable. The place is full of hand crafted instruments & they were more than happy to tell me everything there is to know about every single one of them.

[@pathuntoon6229]

I’ve been to Cedar Creek. Great place!

[@RobertSlover]

sharing an instrument by a river with the one you love now thats sexy.

[@sewfun211]

My very first dulcimer, that you made for me, was just delivered. It's the "Cousin Clem", and I absolutely love it! Thank you very much for your beautiful work of art. It has such a nice sound and I'm having so much fun learning how to play it. Thank you for all your kind and generous help with a newbie like me. I love your shop!

[@randyhooks1214]

My uncle, James Miracle has made Dulcimers for 40+ years. And my aunt Janice used to demo them at Cumberland Gap Natl Park She was a park ranger in the welcome center.

[@66twiggs2u]

Awwww! That little kiss at the end. So sweet!

[@poiuyt975]

"Necessity to have an instrument". A simple sentence that contains a much greater truth. Music, culture and beauty in general, are as necessary for a sociaty to survive and develop, as food is for a person.

[@fecklessmovies]

What a lovely couple. And lucky to be doing what they do in such a beautiful setting. If I visited there would be zero chance of me leaving without having bought a dulcimer :).

[@dougwilliams8602]

I bought one in Pigeon Forge TN around 1986

[@lordhelmit1499]

Doesn't count

[@jimmackay3392]

That sounds soothes the soul. Love the dulcimer. One of my favorite artists is Gillian Welch who uses a dulcimer in a lot of her music.

[@didgit6495]

So dang cool. Thank God for music

[@bettina6186]

Ich bin total fasziniert! Erstens vom Mountain Dulcimer .... es erinnert mich an das Raffele (Scherrzither) aus Süddeutschland und zweitens von den Landschaftsbildern aus den Great Smokey Mountain! Dort sieht es aus wie bei uns im Leitzachtal in der Gemeinde Fischbachau (Oberbayern)!!! 😃

[@manueldelsol31270]

Beautiful instruments, wonderful people !

[@jerryh3867]

Been Several Times, Great Folks And Beautiful Instruments.

[@scaredypicker]

I wish them all the best. They're clearly masters of their craft and those are beautiful instruments

[@saphire1026]

I LOVE the sound of these beautiful instruments!!!

[@olddoggeleventy2718]

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are alive and well and living somewhere in the Appalachians. This was a great video. Thank you for no pretentious political crapola undertones.

[@skate3orRIP]

Hey dol! Merry dol!

[@Loreman72]

YES!! THIS!

[@seraphimdunn]

Im off to the Smokies in search of a fella in a bright blue jacket and yellow boots

[@jasonblanton7185]

Political matters are of a most important issue to our way of life and if we the regular people dont stay on top of and involved with it we will lose all our truths and all our ancestors truth and the world in which we live will go to hell literally it will go to hell ,please reevaluate ypur views on what matters to your life and always stay involved for if we dont no one will !!!

[@themadkraken1912]

@@jasonblanton7185 Yes, politics are important, but there's no point in politicizing a video about dulcimers.

[@davidmolloy126]

What a wonderful place and people. Thanks very much.xx❤️

[@karencawthorn3173]

I'll say it again, what a versatile & amazing instrument. God is good & may He Bless you folk.

[@unitedstatesdale]

Such a lovely couple. Blessed

[@Ronin4614]

I’ve played acoustic guitar since the mid 1960s. I have a dulcimer for a long time but have only played it just a few times. It is a beautiful butternut and oak instrument. Time to dust it off and reacquaint myself with it.

[@rachelmuller5541]

Those landscapes are gorgeous

[@dathomestead3115]

Very inspirational. To find what you love to work at and make it you're living is beautiful!

[@trapperjt8268]

Wow, what a great sound..!! Greatings from Germany...(sorry my english)

[@twodonks]

Wonderful! Thanks for posting this.

[@chriscaplin9551]

What lovely people! A fabulous sound too. They really live life the way we all should.

[@havensabaini7334]

Ohhhhhhhh....I want one of Mike’s dulcimers! They are beautiful to look at and they sound exquisite!

[@SuperBillstanley]

I bought my 2nd and then 3rd hammer dulcimers from Mike and Connie's shop. Good folks, if you're ever in the Townsend or Maryville TN area, make sure to stop in.

[@donnawoodford6641]

Or Mountain Home, Arkansas

[@stevendobias2960]

So much fun this weekend and the Pick'n Patch. Mike and Connie taught me how to play and I took my first Dulcimer away! So glad to find this informative video. Warms the heart and the music warms the soul.

[@kwpowell0412]

What a great story. Thank you so much for sharing this. It's so good to see our earliest traditions are alive and well. Im a musician and I own and play a dulcimer. It has such a unique and beautiful sound.

[@Kathy_Is_Blessed]

Wonderful story & beautiful instruments. Sounds great!

[@Allan-mf1he]

Great stuff. Glad to see people working in there field of passion.

[@suziw3095]

Thank you for this beautifully done video! Love the history, and artist / maker

[@paradisekid3]

Mountain Music has always been one of my favs. Check out the Foggy Mountain Boys, or Flatt and Scruggs, and the Isaacs, just a few of the good'uns. God Bless this couple and all who appreciate this music.. Amen

[@filibertogarced]

Thank you for showing this. I can't wait to visit Tennessee and the Appalachians.

[@bethroesch2156]

Just beautiful music. He's creating beatiful instruments too

[@AnnaIsHere]

A dulcimer for a couple! So cool!

[@therealtoni]

A lovely sound from a lovely place!

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

Simply fantastic! Thanks a lot for making recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health to all involved people.

[@messengerslave5874]

I hope these folks are still around bringing joy the people

[@moonpie859]

I bought a clemmer several years back. He does marvelous work and they sound great! They have a very nice shop in Towsend TN.

[@tomjeffersonwasright2288]

That lady's accent is just as sweet as the dulcimer music, pure America.

[@melisahempel1126]

We will definitely be visiting on our next trip to Gatlingburg!!

[@adelembpr]

The late Brian Jones from the Rolling Stones was such a talented dulcimer musician.

[@JAR2.0]

A wonderful story of good people making a most beautiful sound that is music to my ears!!!

[@aprilchronister9980]

Wow, I was 8 and we lived up in Northern California redwoods....and a Christmas we went to see a harpist, dulcimer and penny whistle band play holiday songs~ we were pretty isolated out in redwoods, no tv, phone, radio. But I loved Jean Ritchie 'None but one' record we had. I got my dulcimer at 10 and a folk harp at 24. I love the variety of ways you can play these amazing instruments! I love hammer dulcimer too, but harp & dulcimer are very vast in themselves to play! Love this vid! : )

[@ThinWhiteAxe]

They're so Southern, bless 'em

[@thecocktailian2091]

Hundreds of dollars? So they are just giving them away? Absolutely beautiful work.

[@shaunw9270]

Very interesting! Being in England , I have seen Dulcimers very occasionally but never ever seen a two person "courting" Dulcimer ,not even a photo before ! Brilliant.

[@richardschaffling9882]

Great video and a beautiful part of the country

[@debbiescott9507]

A wonderful video, enjoyed watching from Kentucky.

[@desertodavid]

Very cool. This is America. God bless America.🇺🇸

[@ramOm420]

This is Norteamerica

[@MegaMAWG]

I have had a lap dulcimer for years and I love it. Hammered dulcimers are beautiful as well. Nice vid!

[@GDixon-ch3yl]

Just lovely and inspiring.

[@BIGroadMusic]

I got my dulcimer there... I saw it on the wall to the left of the fireplace! Love it.

[@tilsenmulalley343]

such a beautiful instrument.

[@JohnnyPhamPiano]

Informative video and beautiful scenery. I have not know what a Dulcimer until now. Thanks for sharing.

[@mehmettanjudirlik9395]

Congratulations perfect instrument, you are doing great job, love you

[@hollygrosshans3529]

What a beautiful way to live. Love it!

[@lanceehansen]

I built my 1st dulcimer 40 years ago.. and I still got it. Blessings.

[@myrongriffin989]

The good Lord has shined thru these folks. Dont ask them , Just stop by.

[@cynthiahawkins2389]

What a wonderful sound....

[@timelessadventurer]

Super cool instrument! Right on!

[@SamlSchulze1104]

My father was man from Michigan that built banjos, mandolins, guitars, and dulcimers. I have one of the dulcimer jigs floating around in my shop. I'll have to come by your shop to get some hammers and other things 'cause i need all the help i can get.

[@michaelboros1222]

That’s awesome, beautiful

[@robertlussier2944]

Wow, made in 2011 and the first I've seen this. I love the sound of the banjo head dulcimer.

[@BardofCornwall]

So great to see the tradition kept alive.

[@karencawthorn3173]

What a beautiful instrument, the Dulcimer.

[@davidgargiulo1012]

Just amazing the variety of sounds that can be made with these instruments. I'm sure they could be electrified. I'm gonna have to Google for electric dulcimers.

[@bveracka]

This couple is a real inspiration to me. I've always wanted to dedicate ALL of my time to building and fixing instruments. After tinkering for years, this video has inspired me to take my idea of becoming a luthier another step further! Long-live folk music!

[@-jank-willson]

what are the other instruments in the video?

[@EarPlugTV]

Wonderful video, thank you for sharing.

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

❤ I made my first dulcimer in the late ‘70’s. It was a plywood kit but it showed me how they were made and I went on to build many many others with much nicer woods! The last one I made was in the mid 2,000’s… I make cigar box guitars now!

[@robertlambert7736]

Never seen one before. Very cool. That thing can stand on its own. Never mind accompniment.

[@faerefolke]

Gorgeous instruments