By CLARE BAUM

Noted area musician, Robert Waters, will be playing the hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, and autoharps at Hyde’s Octagon House Christmas open house planned for Sunday, Dec. 11, from 2-4 p.m. The event is free and all are welcome.

The word dulcimer comes from the Latin and Greek words dulce and melos, meaning “sweet tune,” and is used to refer to both the hammered dulcimer and to the mountain or Appalachian dulcimer. Although the repertoire often overlaps, the instruments are actually quite different. The mountain dulcimer typically has four strings and is played by fretting the strings and plucking or strumming, whereas the hammered dulcimer has many strings and is played by striking the strings with wooden hammers or mallets.

The autoharp is a stringed instrument that uses a series of chord bars to produce chords, harmonies, and melodies. Like the dulcimer, its use in the United States is primarily as a folk instrument, whose most famous players were perhaps Mother Maybelle Carter and other members of the celebrated Carter Family.

Robert Waters, a resident of Tyrrell County, is a professional musician who has played and toured with the National Symphony Orchestra, was a member of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and the Triangle Brass Band of Raleigh, among other musical groups. He retired from the 440^th Army National Guard Band in 2014 where he served as leader of the Liberty Brass and provided musical support for military and civilian personnel across North Carolina.

The Octagon House is located at 30868 U.S. Hwy 264 near Engelhard and is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.  For more information and to donate easily and safely toward preserving this 19th century house, go to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/octagonhouse.nc.