Ralph Lee Smith, a dulcimer legend
His records will be played, his books will be sold and his dulcimers will be looked at soon at the old Estes Mill
If you weren’t part of the dulcimer community, it’s unlikely that you would have heard of a man named Ralph Lee Smith. Ralph played a signi cant role in the folk revolution of the 1960s and ’70s and was also a groundbreaking researcher of the history of the Appalachian dulcimer, a wooden instrument with three or four strings and frets that is played on the lap.
Ralph was active in the Greenwich Village folk scene, rubbing elbows with the likes of Bob Dylan and Jean Ritchie. When he happened upon an authentic North Carolina dulcimer in a music shop, Ralph’s curiosity was piqued.
A er learning to play instrumental songs, he made a record with traditional musician Allen Block, who was known as an urban ddler. Block’s Sandal Shop was a vibrant meeting point of “folkies” back in the day.
Ralph became pro cient on the dulcimer and recorded two more records in the early ’70s: Dulcimer: Old Time and Traditional Music and Dulcimer: More Old Time and Traditional Music.
As his musical ability grew, he also became more interested in the history of his instrument, consulting Scott
O’Dell at the Smithsonian Institute and Roddy Moore of the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum in Ferrum, Virginia to learn about its origins. Both experts told him to “look to the original wagon road” for clues to the dulcimer’s past. And so he did.
Ralph started a series of expeditions to far southwest Virginia to gather information, collecting antique instruments along the way. He discovered that the Appalachian dulcimer evolved from a European zither called the Scheitholt, a traditional German stringed instrument which can be traced back to the middle ages. Early German settlers who traveled the
wagon road into the Shenandoah Valley were responsible for its migration and proliferation.
From his collecting trips, Ralph discovered that this unique instrument changed when the Germans encountered the other major ethnic group in the region, the Scots-Irish. In what way did it change? It was simple: they built a box underneath the existing instrument to boost the volume.
A writer by trade, Ralph applied his knowledge and clear writing style to this most American of musical instruments, con rming a history that had been passed down orally. He penned several books and became the leading authority on dulcimer history in the world.
Ralph was also an accomplished teacher. No one knew the subject more thoroughly than he. His music was also recognized as so quintessential and authentic that he performed at the White House for President Jimmy Carter.
When I showed some interest in collecting the dulcimer some twenty years ago, Ralph came to
Rappahannock County from Reston and gave me several instruments. Then, as I became more serious, Ralph was there to answer all my questions.
Several years ago, Ralph sold and gi ed a large part of his world-class collection to the future dulcimer museum in the hopes they would be seen and heard there. He also graciously agreed to be interviewed for a documentary, providing legitimacy to another future project.
Many of you know of my intention to open the Appalachian Dulcimer Museum in the old Estes
Mill. The plan is to be open this year. The tanks and press that are visible on the mill’s porch (just a staging area) will be used for cider in the addition on the mill’s right side.
In his 90s, Ralph Lee Smith didn't travel anymore. But before he passed away, he promised to come to the Dulcimer Museum upon its completion. It was a sad realization when I got an email from a mutual friend the day a er he passed. Ralph’s records will be played at the Estes Mill, his books will be sold and his dulcimers will be looked at and played — and that would have made him wonderfully happy to see.