These woods are used in making products such as baskets, furniture, carvings, bowls, firewood, musical instruments, walking sticks, pine cones, maple syrup, bird and bat houses, crafts. We will cover only one here: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

The crafting of musical instruments is an art that has evolved over many years. During the 1800s and early 1900s, musical instrument manufacture became very common as Appalachia became increasingly more populated. Throughout the 1900s Appalachian folk music brought fame to the region's hand crafted instruments.

Wood characteristics such as grain pattern, color, strength, and hardness influence the choice of woods for instruments. These characteristics determine the instrument's aesthetic beauty and sound quality. The grain of curly maple, found in the region, is prized for its beauty in a finished and polished instrument. The relatively rare curly grain results from abrupt and repeated right and left deviations from the vertical in fiber alignment caused by tree growth in windy and steep slopes. This characteristic is commonly considered an abnormal and a major defect due its loss of strength for other forest products.

A musical instrument is often produced from materials obtained from various locations. Species obtained from Southwest Virginia include Curly Maple, Black Walnut, Appalachian Red Spruce, and Eastern Red Cedar. Commonly imported species used are Western Red Cedar , Redwood, Mahogany, and Ebony.

Products

Instruments important to the region's rural lifestyle are listed below:

Mouth Bow - The mouth bow, often made of hickory or red cedar, is the least common of all the instruments. It is a simple wooden bow, like a hunting bow, with a string or wire tied to each end.

Fiddle - The fiddle is the most widely accepted Appalachian mountain instrument. Settlers brought the first fiddles from Europe and began manufacturing them from tree species native to Appalachia.

Banjo - The banjo is known as the only musical instrument indigenous to America. However, its forerunner may have been brought by slaves from Africa or the West Indies. The first banjo made in Appalachia was made by Joel Walker Sweeney, born in 1810 in nearby Tennessee.

Dulcimer - The dulcimer, often made of pine or cherry, has its origins in northern Europe and has had a spotty existence in North America. It was first found in Pennsylvania in the 1770s and later in Appalachia, where the dulcimer acquired a curvy shape, less rectangular than the dulcimer of Pennsylvania.

Guitar - The guitar came late to Appalachia in comparison with the other instruments. It wasn't until well into the 20th century that the guitar gained acceptance. By the 1930s the guitar was commonplace, quickly becoming a vital part of the popular Appalachia stringed band.

Marketing

Market outlets for musical instruments made in Southwest Virginia depend on the quality of the instrument. Musical instrument making is highly competitive and festivals, such as bluegrass festivals, are held where the makers show off, compare, and sell instruments. Dulcimers are seen in gift stores in tourist locations such as Abingdon, Virginia and at local craft shows and festivals. The market channels for instruments usually involve word of mouth or specialized advertising. Many producers use regional craft fairs or agents to sell their products.

Opportunity for Sustainable Management