Jean Ruth Ritchie was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way, many of which were Appalachian variants of centuries old British and Irish songs, including dozens of Child Ballads. In adulthood, she shared these songs with wide audiences, as well as writing some of her own songs using traditional foundations.
Ritchie playing the dulcimer, c. 1950s
The Cumberland Mountains
Alan Lomax
Ritchie playing the dulcimer in 1950, photo from the Library of Congress
The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic.
Appalachian dulcimer
Loraine Wyman, who gathered folk songs in the field and performed them in concert halls, shown in the May 1, 1917, issue of Vogue holding an Appalachian dulcimer.
Closeup of Aubrey Atwater playing dulcimer.
Courting dulcimer