playnext.fm

The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast · The Fretboard Journal

Joellen Lapidus

·1 hr 22 min·5 clips
Hearing Richard Farina's dulcimer at Newport Folk Festival changed Joellen Lapidus's entire life.
This episode of the Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast features host Jason Verlinde interviewing Joellen Lapidus, a pioneering dulcimer maker who built instruments for Joni Mitchell. Lapidus is a key figure in the West Coast dulcimer scene, having crafted dulcimers since the 1960s. The conversation explores the history of the mountain dulcimer and Lapidus's unique journey as a luthier. The dulcimer is described as a distinctly American folk instrument with European ancestors like the Swedish, German, and Finnish zither. Lapidus explains that Appalachian families, like the Ritchie family, preserved the instrument, with Jean Ritchie bringing it to New York during the folk revival. She details how the West Coast dulcimer phenomenon was inspired by musician Richard Fariña, whose album cover served as an imprecise blueprint for builders. Lapidus recounts attending the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 and hearing Fariña play, which profoundly influenced her. She describes living and working at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, where she began building her first dulcimers in a small trailer. The Rabbit Junction dulcimer festival in Colorado was a pivotal gathering for builders like Bonnie Carroll, Neil Hellman, and Robert Force. Lapidus notes that West Coast builders, playing in louder settings, made instruments larger and deeper than traditional Appalachian models. A surprising insight is that many early builders, including Lapidus, had no standard plans and often worked from a single photograph of Richard Fariña holding his instrument. Lapidus reveals that the iconic extra fret, enabling the popular D-A-D tuning, is credited to a builder named Howie Mitchell. She emphasizes that the dulcimer community was surprisingly inclusive, with several women like herself and Bonnie Carroll as makers in the 1960s. Lapidus shares that she only built 41 instruments over her entire career, with a long hiatus between 1985 and 2000. The most memorable moment is her story of meeting Joni Mitchell at the Big Sur Folk Festival and selling her a dulcimer for $200. She later delivered a second dulcimer, the "Princess" model, to Mitchell's Laurel Canyon home after the first was damaged. The tone is conversational, educational, and rich with personal narrative, as Lapidus vividly recounts her experiences. The style is deeply historical, weaving together personal anecdotes, instrument lore, and cultural analysis. Listeners interested in folk music history, luthiery, and the stories behind iconic instruments like Joni Mitchell's dulcimer will love this episode. Those seeking technical guitar-building discussions or fast-paced interviews might find the niche focus less engaging.

As heard by us

A careful, hands-on conversation that makes the dulcimer feel both historical and immediate.

Joellen Lapidus gets an intro that fits a craft story: the viral dulcimer moment on The Jimmy Fallon Show, a lucky NAMM meeting, and a connection to the woman who built Joni Mitchell's dulcimers.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want the story behind Joni Mitchell's dulcimers, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Listen to the show on
Apple PodcastsSpotify
Play clips from this episodeMore from The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast