In today’s new Longreads essay, Ayla Samli writes about connecting to her heritage through music, the journey of a stringed instrument, and the sweet resonant sounds of the Appalachian (or mountain) dulcimer. 

He showed me how to strum and set me free to play. Three strings—past, present, and future—unified in one connective strum. I inhaled deeply to keep from crying. Yes, this is beautiful.

When the beat picks up in Cool, Calm, and Collected, Brian makes the dulcimer sound like a banjo. In which the strings are plucked faster. In Gomper, it sounds like a sitar. I wrote this in my first story I wrote for Brian. I'm mentioning the motion, because it depends on how you play it. When the strings are plucked faster, the tone would fluctuate or differ. Strumming on the other hand, the strings all vibrate against each other. This is where I Am Waiting, comes in. They're strummed energetically. Lady Jane, the strings are delicately plucked. I thought to bring this out, because of the sound manipulation. This makes Brian mimic other stringed instruments. 💫✌🏾 As you notice, I grabbed a piece of my page where I explained about the dulcimer itself.