the sound of music
by lisa horak

On a hot sunny afternoon in early May, a group of sweaty adults and a few carefree children danced the Virginia Reel outside the Madison County Courthouse.

The main street of downtown Marshall was hopping to traditional mountain tunes of a fiddle, banjo, and a dulcimer. The celebration marked the grand opening of the Laurel Wood Studio and the one-year anniversary of Zuma Coffee, two new businesses on Main Street.
Laurel Wood Studio, a centralized place where children and adults can learn piano, hammered dulcimer, banjo, and even the centuries-old tradition of shape note singing, is the realization of a long-held dream of Barbara Zimmerman. The studio is a welcome addition to this once-bustling county seat, helping to perpetuate the region’s rich heritage of Appalachian music. At Laurel Wood Studio Barbara teaches students ranging in age from 5 to 55, underscoring her belief that just about anyone, at any age, can learn to play a musical instrument.

Music runs deep in Barbara’s roots. Born and raised in Madison County in the community of Revere (also known as Sodom Laurel), she grew up surrounded by traditional music that had been passed down through ballads, banjo picking, and fiddle playing. Barbara’s uncle, Byard Ray, was a noted fiddle player, and her maternal grandmother Rilla Ray taught her to play the banjo. (In fact, Barbara currently lives in her late grandmother’s house and still has her grandmother’s original banjo.)

“I’ve been around music all of my life,” says Barbara. “I’ve played piano at church, hammered dulcimer at weddings and other social events, and I just like to get together and play music with friends.”
Barbara hopes the studio will attract residents from all over Madison County. This summer, Laurel Wood Studio is offering an impressive series of week-long evening workshops, drawing on the talent of several notable local musicians. Jazz musician Steve Davidowsky will teach a class on improvisation techniques and a basic rhythm workshop. Roger Howell will teach an intermediate fiddle workshop, and Joe Penland will offer a class on ballads. Barbara is teaching workshops on the hammered and mountain dulcimer. Each workshop will last for two hours per night for five nights, for a total of ten hours.
“These workshops are unusual for around here. We hope that people who work during the day will be able to take advantage of them. It is a great opportunity to learn from excellent musicians in a small group setting,” says Barbara.

She hopes that summer will also bring a wave of new students taking music lessons. “I think summer is a great time for kids to start learning an instrument since they aren’t as busy as during the school year,” she says. In time, she expects additional musicians will teach out of her studio as well, enabling Laurel Wood Studio to offer more lessons and reach more people.

For the youngest music lovers, Barbara will offer Kindermusic classes beginning in the fall. Kindermusic incorporates music, movement, games, singing, and instruments. It is geared for infants all the way up to age seven. “It’s a wonderful way to get kids excited about music at an early age. It’s also fun way for parents to interact with their kids,” says Barbara.

Barbara’s love of teaching is not surprising, given that she has been immersed in music for most of her life. Along with extensive informal training, Barbara took piano lessons for many years. Among her teachers was pianist Maud Long, daughter of ballad singer Jane Gentry. Barbara continued to study music in college. She graduated from Mars Hill College and planned a career giving private music lessons. But even the best-laid plans get sidetracked, however, and instead she wound up teaching music and French classes in the public schools for twelve years.

At long last, Barbara is doing what she loves best—teaching music one-on-one. “For me the best part of teaching is helping people define their musical goals and figure out what they want to play. I’ve given lessons out of my house before, but I’ve always dreamed of opening a studio,” says Barbara.

Barbara is especially excited that the studio is contributing to Marshall’s revitalization. “I’ve always lived here, and music has been a constant in my life, so it was important to me to open the studio right here in Marshall, to be centrally located within Madison County,” says Barbara. “I remember when this was a really lively place. I want to see it get some of its life back.”

Joel Friedman and Leslie King, owners of Zuma Coffee are excited about the infusion of energy Barbara is bringing to downtown Marshall. “Barbara is bringing back an old tradition, but bringing new life and energy to it. This kind of change is productive. It mixes the old and new blood, which is the only way this community will work,” says Joel. “Now people have new reasons to come downtown.”

In this tightly-knit community where music links the past and present, it is only fitting that is a bridge to the future.

To learn more about Barbara’s lessons and classes, please call 828-656-9402.