Folkcraft Player - Belinda Link

Hi there! My name is Belinda Link, and I live in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks. Music has been a big part of my life since I started piano lessons at age 8.

I had planned to major in Music in college, but after the first year I decided I wanted music to be my "Joy", not my "Job", so I changed my major to Social Work and Criminology, but continued applied piano and organ lessons from age 8 thru my college graduation.

I played either piano or organ in church since age 13, and in 2017 I resigned as full-time church organist after 30 years on the bench (due to profound degenerative hearing loss).

In October, 2017, I first discovered the mountain dulcimer when visiting Silver Dollar City, and my husband insisted I buy one to just sit on my back porch and strum for my own comfort and joy. I took lessons for a few months to learn to navigate the fretboard, and fell absolutely crazy in love with this fun instrument.
I play frequently at my church, other churches, historical events, coffee shops in several nearby towns and St Louis, Christmas gigs, and other places as requested. In addition, I use my dulcimer for music therapy and ministry to bereaved, sick, hospice, or handicapped persons.

I always have a dulcimer (or two) with me, and I play wherever and whenever I can. We hike a lot and go on fun adventures, and the great outdoors. I always have a dulcimer (or two) with me, and the great outdoors is my favorite place to play. I often get a lot of questions about the dulcimer, and I love sharing its history and educating people about it and playing their favorite tunes for them. I currently have 2 dulcimer students , and I am teaching a group of 7 youth at our church to play the ukulele (The Joy Jammers) -- we play for shut-ins, in our worship services, and at other churches and events.

I am holding my beloved Daisy Mae in this photo, a custom Folkcraft that I dearly love... the daisy sound holes, quartersawn Sitka spruce top, Honduran mahogany body, pickup, shorter VSL, and beautiful, rich sound are just fabulous!

You can find me on FB at https://www.facebook.com/belinda.link (Belinda Emily Link) and my YouTube channel here https://youtube.com/user/4321smiles/videos