Doug Berch

“I like the man who cultivates poetry for self-instruction, not for lucre, and the man who practices music for pleasure, not for gain”

- Ibn Muqla

Read Full Post »

Many years ago I was playing a friends homemade fretless banjo and a young boy who was listening asked if I could also play a “real” banjo.
I told him that the banjo I was playing was real and if it wasn’t how could I possibly be playing it?
His response was something like “You know what [...]

Read Full Post »

Most photographs of craftsman’s benches in woodworking magazines look like they were staged. There is usually a plane or chisel, a discrete shaving or two, a project in a recognizable stage of construction and a level of cleanliness adequate for performing surgery.
I think my bench looks more like what most woodworkers and luthiers typically [...]

Read Full Post »

The new album is coming along. I’ve upped a rough mix of my arrangement of a traditional North American tune called “Texas” to the “Listen” page. It features dulcimer, harmonium, Jew’s harp, tinwhistle and ankle bells. I hope you enjoy it.
As long as I’m here I may as well link to the tune directly:
Texas

Read Full Post »

play dulcimer with three separate strings. Many dulcimer players use a doubled top string and a single middle and bass string.
I have assumed that the doubled top string probably came about to give the melody more volume against the drones when playing in the traditional style.
As dulcimer playing evolved and melody and chords [...]

Read Full Post »

A beautiful snowy day. I get to spend the day in the shop. In a few hours I will have set up another prototype dulcimer and will be playing it. It’s a nice way to start off the month.

Read Full Post »