Rick, I hate to be the first to respond to this, but I don't think there's much left to be said. that's a fine piece of work you've written and I wouldn't change a thing. Simply superb.

To add my half a cent's worth.............

There is a certain joy to be had from listening to people like Maybelle Carter or Jean Ritchie for that matter. I like great pickers, but there is almost always an element of honesty missing somewhere. I read the other thread and thought then what good advice it was to listen to the people who influenced Watson or Travis. To those folks who are "into flashy pickin'" I suppose that these people may seem crude. I think it just seems real. Gawd knows there are better dulcimer players around then Jean Richie ever was, but her playing and her voice deliver the song better than any flash player will. The tape Sandy has of her sister Edna always strikes me as not the best technical playing, but the best use of an Appalchian dulcimer as accompaniment that I have ever heard. Building on THAT makes a great player. Your friend Larkin Bryant may be the best extension of that "sound."

Sorry......Your thoughts on this are really great. didn't mean to screw them up with drivel. It is an interesting topic.

Spaw