CHAPTER 4: Dulcimers in the British Isles since 1800 > Dulcimers in Scotland

The second generation - James Rodger

James Rodger (Jimmy) is from Glasgow, although he now lives in Norfolk - that he should move from one dulcimer area to another is coincidence - and used to play regularly until about 1960: it seems that, sadly, the dulcimer does not contribute to domestic concord.

He also plays accordion and melodion, and told of the shop of M. Golumb and Sons at 30 Saltmarket, Glasgow, which had specialised almost exclusively in dulcimers and accordions, and from whom he bought the Dallas tutor he so kindly gave me, discussed above.

His tuning is a modification of the diatonic fifths system, with extra half-notes added to make it partially chromatic, but still using a fixed-interval bridging; his bridges are rather similar to those of the Lancashire and Derbyshire instruments, as well as to those of John Chapman, mentioned below.

He used to play with Peter Jackson's band, which had six accordions, a drummer and a girl singer; his repertoire is the mixture, by now familiar, of popular melodies such as Somewhere over the Rainbow, with the more well-known of the Scots dance tunes.

His strongly rhythmical style is reinforced by repeated notes with the little wooden hammers - very like those of Jimmy Cooper - and by insistent foot-tapping.

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