Ramones Track 'I Wanna Be Sedated' Performed On A Dulcimer
May 06, 2020 by apost team
A dulcimer is a unique musical instrument that belongs to the string family and is a variation of the zither. Musician Sam Edelston is an avid dulcimer performer, who wants to spread awareness of the instrument by playing both acoustic and electric covers of various popular rock songs.
In this video he goes punk with a cover of the Ramones' I Wanna Be Sedated played on the dulcimer, and it's totally unexpected!
One of the most wondrous things about music is how specific songs can sound so different when they're played via different kinds of instruments, or when one musician brings their own style to a song. That's exactly what happened when musician Sam Edelston took the Ramones' punk classic I Wanna Be Sedated and translated the track to the electric dulcimer.
Placed on a tabletop, Edelston's stringed instrument slightly resembles a guitar but features a much narrower body. Edelston is even dressed in a button-up shirt with pens in his pocket—not quite who you'd expect to perform the punk music of the Ramones!
But once he starts playing, it's clear that Edelston knows what he's doing and that this version we're about to hear of I Wanna Be Sedated is very different to the Ramones' original.
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Sounding somewhat like a guitar with strong warped effects, Edelston nails the song's guitar solo as he rocks out as if he were live on stage. It's a unique setup to see the instrument that somewhat resembles a guitar laid on a table, with some familiar twangs as you'd hear in an electric guitar, but overall a very different aural experience.
Captioning the video, Edelston wrote: "Dulcimers are natural rock instruments. In fact, I even say that dulcimers are among the world's coolest musical instruments, and they deserve to be known by the general public—the way that everybody knows guitars and ukuleles. Though usually associated with old folk songs and tunes, dulcimers are great for a shocking variety of modern music, too. I do these videos to inspire more people to play and listen to dulcimer music, in diverse, non-traditional styles." What a man on a mission!
On his YouTube channel called ContemporaryDulcimer, Edelston has lots of videos showcasing his dulcimer playing, from live concerts to the pre-recorded performances at home. He's covered such artists as Queen, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, and even The Beatles.
It's quite incredible to see one person put so much passion into a musical instrument they love and try to inspire the rest of the world as well. The world can never have too much music, especially when it comes from a unique instrument such as the dulcimer.
What did you think of Sam Edelston's cover of the Ramones' I Wanna Be Sedated on the dulcimer? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this on to any friends and family who love music!