Marcy Prochaska: Hammered Dulcimer

Local musicians and music teachers Liza and Mark Woolever got a jam started at Opie’s Deli in Plymouth.

Opie’s reminds me of Ithaca. The guy behind the counter has his grey hair in a ponytail. They emphasize wholesome, natural, least-processed foods. Their bread comes from a local bakery run by nuns. (The bakery is part of a farm that also raises beef and produce.)

We play in the back room. There are a bunch of fiddles, a couple guitars, banjos, and mandolins, a fancy washtub bass, a bodhran, a whistle, a flute, a group of listeners, and me. Everyone is either a student and / or a friend of the Woolevers’. One of the listeners has a hammered dulcimer and takes my card, saying she’ll get in touch about maybe starting lessons.

Mostly we play fairly slowly; mostly we play songs with three chords and keep them that way. For two jigs we also take time to play them a few times at dance tempos, which is fun. People sing when there are words.

It was refreshing to get out and play.

And the French onion soup was fabulous.