Wellbeing in three strings – Dulcimers in Malvern

Elgar statue at Elgar's birthplace
(c) 2017 Tony Gillam 

This autumn I spent a musical weekend in Great Malvern, the picturesque Worcestershire town at the foot of the spectacular Malvern Hills. Malvern has a connection with the composer Edward Elgar (1857–1934.) His music is said to have been inspired by walking and cycling in the countryside around the hills, and the Post Office in Great Malvern was, in his day, a piano shop where he would give piano and violin lessons. He and his wife Alice are buried in St Wulstan's Church in nearby Little Malvern.

Malvern, then, was a fitting location for a weekend of music-making. The music, on this occasion, was not pianos and violins but dulcimers, the event being a gathering of the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club – a UK-based organisation for anyone interested in hammered or mountain dulcimers. Now, for the uninitiated, I should say a bit about these instruments. Dulcimers are part of the zither family of string instruments and are struck or plucked. The hammered dulcimer is a trapezoid shape and is played with 'hammers' of wood, cane or bamboo. A mountain dulcimer, on the other hand, is a completely different instrument. Sometimes called an Appalachian dulcimer (as it was developed in the Appalachian mountains in the late 18th century) it's a descendant of a variety of fretted zithers brought to America by European settlers. The mountain dulcimer is played on the lap and strummed or plucked. I've been playing the mountain dulcimer – not always very competently – for about thirty years and recently discovered (and became a member of) the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club.

Great Malvern from the Priory Tower

And what has all of this got to do with creativity, wellbeing and mental health? Well, quite a lot actually. First, there's the strange fact that, of the two hundred or so members, three – including myself – are both mental health nurses and mountain dulcimer players. But it goes deeper than this...

You may be familiar with the five-a-day campaign to encourage healthy eating. Taking its inspiration from this campaign, in 2008 the New Economics Foundation's Centre for Well-being developed a similar set of five evidence-based actions that the public could easily implement to improve personal wellbeing (Aked, Marks, Cordon, Thompson, 2008). Their wellbeing 'five-a-day' recommended five actions to be incorporated into day-to-day lives to promote wellbeing. They are:

•           Connect

•           Be active

•           Take notice

•           Keep learning

•           Give

My weekend in Malvern was a great example of all five. Over a weekend of workshops and concerts, we were able to connect with other dulcimer players. We made and renewed friendships. We were active – in the sense that we didn't just talk about the dulcimer but played it. Some took the opportunity for some walks in the beautiful surroundings of Malvern; some even danced. We took notice, of our surroundings, of our own and each other's playing. We kept learning new tunes, new techniques, (thanks to the skill of the talented tutors.) And we gave – we shared stories and songs, in an open stage concert, in snippets of useful information or insights.

An Appalachian or
mountain dulcimer

Malvern was originally a spa village and became a destination for the 'water cure'. First the Georgians, and then the Victorians flocked there for the curative and restorative qualities of its spring water. But the 'cure' of the dulcimer weekend was less to do with Malvern water (good as it still is) but with the enjoyment of a restorative dose of connection, activity and shared learning. Such brief periods of respite from the stressful humdrum of workaday life can enhance feelings of what Seligman (2011) calls positive emotion. This includes feelings of happiness, contentment, enjoyment, curiosity and engagement ...and all this from playing an instrument with only three strings.

References

Aked, J., Marks, N., Cordon, C. & Thompson, S. (2008). Five ways to wellbeing: The evidence. London: New Economics Foundation.

Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish: A new understanding of happiness and well-being – and how to achieve them. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.