Bill Cagley

In 1992 Bill recorded Cagley, Schafer, Black, and Njoes, a collection of old-time fiddle tunes with fiddler Tom Schaefer, banjo player, Bob Black, and bassist Sandy Njoes. He also appeared on Greg Brown's recording Down in There. Bill is a regular solo performer operating with the motto, "Music of all ages for all ages." He entertains at historic sites, senior centers, and family outings, among others.

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Stu Janis

Since 1988 Stu has played the part of "Mr. Bottles" in Freshwater Pearls Puppet Theatre's touring production, "Professor Freshwater's Punch & Judy Show." (It's no coincidence that puppeteer and theatre-owner, Diane, is Stu's wife.) Stu is also the musician for the Vorpal Sword English Rapper dance group.

Outside the realm of music, Stu is an industrial statistician at 3M, and his claim to the title of "Best Hammered Dulcimist" in the American Society for Quality has yet to be challenged.

For more information, visit www.stujanis.com.

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Hammered Dulcimer

Nobody is certain where the hammered dulcimer originated. Some think it was developed over 2,000 years ago in ancient Persia. Others think its origins are more recent - perhaps in central Europe in the Middle Ages. Regardless of its beginnings, the hammered dulcimer is found all over the northern hemisphere. It is still played in modern Iran, where it is known as the Santur. It's found in the far east (Chinese yang qin, and Cambodian khim), southern Asia (Indian santoori), eastern Europe, and central Europe (Hungarian cimabalon - the national instrument; Greek zimbale). Ironically, while many Americans play Celtic music on the hammered dulcimer, the British Isles does not have much of a dulcimer tradition.

The dulcimer was so popular in the United States at one time that it was carried in the Sears catalog. In the Minneapolis in the late 19th century, a man named James McKenzie had four patents on "piano-harps." These hammered dulcimers look like tables with tops that open and reveal the dulcimer beneath it. Henry Ford had a dulcimer player in his dance band in the early 1900s.

From a musicological perspective, the hammered dulcimer is the predecessor of the piano. Think about what happens when you press a piano key. Inside the piano, a hammer strikes a string. A dulcimist holds the hammers instead of activating them with keys. The hammered dulcimer is unrelated to the mountain dulcimer, although people often play the similar music on them. The Official Hammered Dulcimer Page is a good resource for more information about the instrument. The Kitchen Musician website also has a good hammered dulcimer history page.

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Stu's hammered dulcimer - built by M. Lee Spears, Jr.

Bowed Psaltery

Plucked psalteries, which are actually shaped somewhat like hammered dulcimers, have been around for a long time. However, the concept of a bowed psaltery is much newer. It was invented in the middle 20th century by a German violin teacher who wanted his students to practice their bowing techniques.

Unlike a violin, where musicians change notes by moving their fingers along one of the four strings, a bowed psaltery has a separate string for each note. The strings on the right side of the instrument (from the player's perspective) are the equivalent of the white piano keys, and the strings on the left match the piano's black keys.

Other, older instruments exist that resemble the bowed psaltery. The Marxochime company created pianolins, uke-o-lins, and a number of other instruments that have bowed strings on one side. The University of South Dakota Shrine to Music Museum has more information about the Marxochime company and instruments.

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Stu playing the bowed psaltery at Borders Books in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.