Audrey Hash Ham, fiddle maker, interview скачать в хорошем качестве

Audrey Hash Ham, fiddle maker, interview

Segment of an interview with Audrey Hash Ham on growing up, her father Albert Hash, and fiddle making. Born in Grayson County, Virginia, Audrey Hash Ham has made her home in Ashe County for many years. She learned to make dulcimers, then fiddles, from her father, Albert Hash. Audrey says that she followed her father around from the time she was about three years old, watching the way he worked. She made her first dulcimer around 1966 and continued making them for years, working beside her father while he made fiddles. Eventually, with the guidance of her father, she decided to try making a fiddle. "I got the fiddle done, and I was so nervous when it was done. I knew it wouldn't play. I just knew it wouldn't. I handed it to daddy, and it played. I gave the fiddle to daddy for his birthday, and he said, "I'd rather have that than a brand new Cadillac." Today, Audrey Ham's shop is located beside her house, and she spends part of each day working there on instruments. The music itself, which has always been part of her life, moves easily with her between shop and home. She enjoys singing folk songs around the house, and she and her daughter like to harmonize with each other. "All the old folk songs, we used to sing them cooking and, I mean, that's all we ever knew was to sing," she says. Audrey makes fiddles and other string instruments, and her work has received public acclaim. She has worked with Archie Powers, who also apprenticed under Albert Hash, and has helped a number of people get started making instruments, including Archie's son Carl. Audrey has made fiddles that have sold for as much as $13,000. She particularly enjoys carving figures in the peghead of her fiddles. Audrey has been featured in books, magazines and documentaries including CMT, Folkways and the Travel Channel.