“Often a single experience will open the young soul to music for a whole lifetime.”
— Zoltán Kodály

Author: Rayme Pullen

Although I’ve lived in Salem since 2016, I had never attended the Fort New Salem Dulcimer Festival until 2022. My husband and I saw a sign in town that summer, and we were intrigued. I didn’t even know what a dulcimer was, other than what it looked like. We attended the Friday evening concert that year, and we loved it so much that we went back the next evening for the Saturday evening concert and invited all of our friends.

That was the spark that ignited a love for Appalachian folk music within me. It also led to my own dulcimer playing journey. In 2024, I bought a mountain dulcimer and taught myself how to play over the course of a few months. Since then, I’ve enjoyed playing solo gigs around Salem at the Fort, the Farmer’s Market, and at church regularly.

As much as I enjoy performing, especially at gigs where community enrichment is a strong emphasis, what really drives me in life is education. (My chosen profession is private piano instruction). Earlier last year, I started to consider applying for a Community Arts Project Grant from The Cultural Foundation of Harrison County. This led to a few months of research for how to get the most dulcimers for the best price. I was able to connect with a dulcimer artist and maker in Kansas named Grant Olson. He makes dulcimer sticks, which is a dulcimer without a sound board or resonator box. Once I got a quote for a bulk order, that was the final piece of the puzzle for applying for a CAP grant.

On August 8, 2026, I taught children’s workshops at the Fort New Salem Dulcimer Festival with the dulcimer sticks I bought with CAP grant money from The Cultural Foundation! It was really thrilling to see months of planning culminate in a dream come true. Four students signed up for the workshops I offered at the Dulcimer Festival. We had such a fun day of learning and exploring. The students learned about tuning, strumming patterns, playing a handful of folk songs in traditional drone style, we attached cardboard boxes with velcro strips for a simple resonation chamber, and they learned about Jean Ritchie and her contributions to preserving hundreds of ballads and folk songs. The students also enjoyed seeing all of the exhibits available at the Fort such as the blacksmith shop, the print shop, and a spoons and fiddle maker demonstration.

I plan to continue offering free dulcimer workshops within the city of Salem throughout the next year as well. On September 19, I am offering a beginner workshop at the Erickson Center. Because I was able to purchase eleven dulcimer sticks, I have the capacity to offer a class size of up to eleven students. Plus, workshop attendees do not need to own a dulcimer in order to participate.

It is one of my deepest joys in life to teach music to the next generation. (It’s literally my day job at my piano studio!) But, it’s become increasingly important to me as a resident of Salem to continue to cultivate and preserve traditional folk music traditions inherent to this region. I am truly grateful to The Cultural Foundation for giving me the ability to continue this work on a larger scale than I could offer on my own.