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Latin American Music Arranged for Hammered and Fretted Dulcimer
by Bonnie Carol

Arkansas Samba

Latin Rhythms for Mountain Dulcimer

As the name suggests, this is a rhythmically altered version of the "Arkansas Traveler" intended to be played with a Latin beat. While it is basically the same melody of the traditional "Arkansas Traveler", it gets its groove from the syncopation created by the rests in almost every measure. This allows time for the beat to come through, and creates a feel that is entirely different from the traditional rendition of the tune. It is meant to be played with the rhythm accompaniment provided, which can be performed on a wide variety of found and improvised instruments. For instance, the shaker part can be played on BB's in a film canister, the cowbells can be a cooking pot lid, the drum can be a cardboard box, and the claves can be two pieces of 2 x 4.

The strum pattern is "out" on the beat and "in" on the "and" consistently throughout the piece. I use a lot of hammer on and pull offs, especially when a melodic phrase is played with eighth notes. When this occurs, I strum the beat and finger the notes between the beat. If the melody ascends, I use a hammer on, if it descends, I pull off. This maintains the rhythmic drive and emphasizes the beat very effectively.

I became interested in mixing fiddle tunes with World rhythms after hearing a recording of "Camptown", by Joe Craven. He is a master string player/percussionist with a brilliant sense of arrangement and feel for both traditional Appalachian and World beat music. I also took a percussion methods class while working on a certification in instrumental music. This opened my eyes to the wide variety of rhythmic possibilities available. It was a natural progression to begin putting different rhythms into the traditional music I was playing, and it has freed me to explore many different possibilities. I have, on occasion, ruffled the feathers of staunch traditionalists, but to them I reply, "If nobody colored outside the lines, we'd all still be beating two rocks together."

Listen and Watch Jim Miller play "Arkansas Samba" in the following video:

I also have a lot of fun inventing new instruments like:

The Chord Hat The chord hat was developed to assist harmonically impaired musicians play the right chord at the right time. It consists of turkey basters, plastic tubing, and party blow outs. When the turkey basters are stepped on, the appropriate party blow out goes up, and you can follow along with the chords.
The Pipe Hat Turkey basters are connected to plastic penny whistles that play a scale.
Fruit-a-Phone Concealed keyboard is activated by striking apples.
Mando-banj-itar Combination of a guitar, banjo, and mandolin. For people who play several instruments and don't want to be bothered with putting them down and picking them back up.

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