# Marcy Prochaska

### Hammered Dulcimer

## Spring 2002

### A New Dulcimer

Spring started early for me this year…

One February Sunday, I got a message from Jerry Read Smith announcing that Grande Concertmaster #780 was finished and ready to go home. The following Tuesday I drove down to Black Mountain, NC, to the Song of the Wood showroom. I got there earlier than expected, so I chatted a bit with the store folks and played some of the instruments on display. Then Jerry arrived with the dulcimer. He played a few things for me and told me about some changes he’d made to the string gauge chart, then it was my turn to play it. Amazing… this dulcimer was beautiful even beyond my high expectations.

### A New Stand

I asked John Willmer to build a custom scissor stand for me like the one he made for Tom, along with a detachable music stand. John’s scissor stands are more stable than most commercial ones, with upper supports reaching further to the sides and back, and a wider footprint. Because the legs would stick out beyond the dulcimer, we also developed a shelf to brace the stand open. That way tripping over the legs wouldn’t collapse the stand.

### A New CD Project

I’d started thinking about recording a CD about the same time I started thinking about a new dulcimer. I visited Henry Smith’s studio in November and recorded one medley, but then I decided to wait for the new dulcimer. Once it arrived in February, the project really began. The recording was done between February and May, then my sister and I completed the graphic design, and the finished CD arrived in July. Read more about No Loose Threads at the Recordings page.

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- Photos

on July 10, 2002 at 3:03 pm Comments Off on Spring 2002
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