CHAPTER 4: Dulcimers in the British Isles since 1800 > Dulcimers in East Anglia

People - 9 of 13

Of the generation or two younger:

- Walter Deacon of Guist, not currently playing because he has no instrument.

- Bob Peek, Dereham, an old friend of Joan Goreham, who plays by ear on a 100-year-old home-made instrument.

- Reg Arnold, Manningtree, the only player positively identified in Essex, who tunes his dulcimer "by commonsense" and plays "out of my head", mostly with single hammers.

click!

- Walter Geary, North Repps, who has a very personal style, transcribed here, where the hammers keep up a constant crotchet rhythm whatever the rhythm of the original tune:

He accompanies his own singing, and plays with his son on the bones; although no longer playing in public, he is still remembered in Cromer as something of a virtuoso, even to the extent of there being a legend that he played with the dulcimer behind his back, a feat which he declared impossible, having been informed of the rumour and tried it.

- John Youngman, whelk-fisherman of Wells, who first told me about dulcimers in Norfolk many years ago when I had only just discovered what an autoharp was: a multi-instrumentalist who plays everything from concertina to stylophone, he has a characteristic style, following each note of the melody with both hammers, the first serving as a grace-note to the more emphatic second.

• after this work was completed, I heard that very sadly John died in July 1977.