Bill originally got started building hammered dulcimers after repairing an old dulcimer that he learned to play on. This dulcimer was built by a Fulton County, Illinois builder named Daniel Leroy Van Antwerp (1848-1925) around the turn of the century. Bill then used the basic concept of Antwerp's instrument to build his own.
Dan Van Antwerp was a player and builder from Vermont, Illinois. He would build the dulcimers during the winter, and sell them when he would perform during the summer. Dan sold his dulcimers for $10.00 or bartered for food and supplies. Bill's grandfather, Leonard Robinson, was a minister of the Baptist church near where Dan lived. They had no piano in the church, so they acquired the old dulcimer mentioned earlier, and Bill's grandma played it for church services. Bill's dad, Ross Robinson, the oldest son in the family, learned to play from his mom, Bill's grandma. Through Bill's father's years of music making, he also did some repairs on some dulcimers and even built a few. Bill's dad was 44 years old when Bill was born, and unfortunately, Bill only had time to learn his father's techniques before his dad became ill. Bill's Dad gave verbal instructions on some of the tricks of the trade, and suggested that Bill do some of his own research and apply it.
Through his research, Bill chose various woods that would give the clear ringing tones that he was looking for. In 1974, a friend of Bill's named Roy Foley, who was a part time carpenter, helped with the construction of Bill's first dulcimer. Even though the instrument was constructed, Bill still experimented on how to change the tones and make the dulcimer easier to play and tune.
In recent years, Bill began having allergic reactions with some of the finishes and woods that are used in the instruments making. This caused Bill to have to halt the process of building the instrument. So, when Ken Harris came along and mentioned he worked with wood, the H&R Dulcimer business was formed. Now Ken is helping to carry on the tradition.
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