Staff photo / Bob Coupland Karen Greene of Garrettsville, left, and Cindy Foore of Howland take part in a recent gathering of the Dulcimer Society of Trumbull County at the Howland SCOPE Center. The group meets there on Friday evenings.

HOWLAND — Every Friday evening, a group of musicians who play on dulcimers and other acoustic instruments gather for a few hours to play the musical sounds they enjoy hearing.

The Dulcimer Society of Trumbull County meets 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays year-round at the Howland SCOPE Center, 8273 High St. NE, where they play music not only for themselves, but also for visitors who enjoy hearing them play.

Rose Jennings of Warren, group organizer, said each week they get between 10 to 15 people. She said the group first was organized in 1986 and brought dulcimers, which are Appalachian instruments.

“We get dulcimers, guitars and fiddles. It is all acoustic instruments. We play a good variety of folk music and country songs,” Jennings said.

She said people come from Trumbull and Mahoning counties and from western Pennsylvania. There also is a member from Twinsburg in Summit County.

“We hope when people come here they will enjoy the music and make friendships. We follow a book of music and try new things. Bill Shilling from Salem comes here and leads us,” Jennings said.

Roger Hoffman of Fowler said the group plays monthly for senior citizens at different nursing homes such as Clearview Lanterns in Champion

Jennings said the group has performed for the public at the Canfield Fair.

She said the dulcimer has three strings and follows “a diatomic scale, a ‘do, re, mi’ scale and is easy to pick things out by ear.”

GATHER IN CIRCLE

The group gathers in a large circle with each selecting a different song for the group to play.

“We go around the circle and someone selects the next song. Usually everyone knows the songs we select,” Jennings said. “There are some newer songs from the 1950s and 1960s. Some may play by themselves and some pass out music to a new song that we are going to play together.”

Karen Greene of Garrettsville, who competed recently in a national acoustic instrument competition, said she started playing the dulcimer after she retired six years ago. She joined the dulcimer group five years ago.

“I had 40 hours a week to fill after I retired and wanted to find something new. I came here one week and was accepted into the group,” Greene said.

Jennings said the group helps any new person get started.

Greene said it is easy to learn to play the dulcimer and there are no rules about how to play.

“You play it the way you want and no one tells you you are playing it wrong,” she said.

Jennings said the group at first met monthly and then every two weeks, with many wanting to meet weekly.

She said she likes the lap dulcimer because it is a little quieter.

Jennings said sometimes a crochet group attends and work on their crocheting while listening to the music.

Tony Tatsy of Warren said the group encourages him to get out and play instruments with others. He said he practices at home.

“I like when we go out and play at nursing homes and other places,” he said.

There is also a group that meets the second Saturday of each month at Clearview Lanterns.

“When the Howland SCOPE Center closed for renovation work, we met there and the people hated to see us leave so we decided to meet there each month,” Jennings said.

There is also an open-mic event on the second Monday of each month at the Howland SCOPE center.

All are welcome to participate, but must use acoustic instruments. For information, call Rosemary at 330-547-6783 or Roger at 330-360-0579.