Father, Son Make Dulcimers in Shop

By Janice Kubian-Bryant

BROOKSTON, IN -- The raspy rythum of wood being sawed, the whine of the electric drill, and a steady tempo pounded out by a hammer are the usual sounds that drift from The Woodworks Shop on Third Street on Brookston.

It's a little surprising, however, to hear the strains of "Oh Susannah'" hammered out on a dulcimer, driving from the same woodworking shop.

Dulcimers are made in The Woodworks Shop. Their plunking old-time music attracts many people to the shop of Charles Alm and his son, David.

The combination of woodworking and dulcimers may seem odd to some, but not when you consider that dulcimers are made almost completely of wood.

Hammered dulcimers are large flat instruments with wire strings of graduated lengths, stretched over two bridges attached to a wooden sound box. The instrument can be played with two padded wooden hammers or by plucking.

Alm said he immediately liked the hammered dulcimer's delightful sound and the fact that it was relatively easy to learn how to play.

But what really sparked Charles Alm's interest in the instrument years ago, was the fact that it could be built by a skilled craftsman like himself.

Alm first heard the hammered dulcimer played by noted musician Jay Round, at the annual Fiddlers' Gathering in Battleground, IN, 12 years ago.

Intrigued, Alm quizzed Round about the instrument and photographed it. He also checked out a book on antique instruments fromthe Purdue library and from these aids he built his first hammered dulcimer.

And his interest hasn't waned.

"I've made 58 or 59 of them," Alm said. He said he often takes special customized orders for the instrument.

Almost every one of them varies in some way, Alm explained. However, he prefers to build the sound box out of spruce because it's an easy wood to carve. The other wood parts of the instrument are cherry or walnut.

Alm's obvious enjoyment of playing the hammered dulmer splashes over an becomes contagious to people who hear him play.

Since January, a group of hammered dulcimer enthusiasts have been gathering at Alm's Woodworks shop twice a month for an evening of music and talk.

Members keep each other updated on upcoming dulcimer concerts, the latest equipment, and also spend an amiable evening learning new songs and swapping yarns.

The musicians come from around the area and they have unique stories about how they first took up the hammered dulcimer. They are drawn together by a common thread -- Charlie Alm and his love of the hammered dulcimer.

This love of music has obviously been handed down to Charlie's son, David, who also works with his dad in the Woodworks Shop. David often accompanies the dulcimer group on his guitar.

Songs with names like "The Arkansas Traveller," "Rag Time Annie," "Lisdarnvoona" and "Paddy Whack Jig" are part of the group's lively repertoire.

Although they play no formal concerts, the musicians plan a sidewalk "concert" during the upcoming Brookston Apple Popcorn Festival.

Until then, folks may get a sneak preview if the listen closely for the musical "hammering" when they pass by Charlie Alm's Woodworks.

Note: This article was done a few years ago. Charlie has now made over 100 hammered dulcimers. Charlie had not yet written his book, "Hammer Dulcimers - How I Build the Things." Charlie's has moved his dulcimer making shop around the corner onto Railroad Street. It's 30 feet from the back door of the wood shop to the back door of the computer store. He has pretty much quit doing all other kinds of woodworking to concentrate on building hammered dulcimers. David has got himself the computer bug, and now plays with and sells computers in the building where the woodworking shop was then located.