Masley, Michael, American instrumentalist and composer; b. Trenton,
Michigan, September 22, 1952. He studied creative writing at Northwestern
Michigan College (1970-72); in 1973 began working with hammered dulcimer
player Bob Spinner, who became a mentor. He played using traditional 2-hammer
technique until 1979; during months at a fishing lodge in northern Michigan,
he developed a 10-fingered "finger-hammer" technique. In 1982
he engaged the dulcimer maker William Webster of Detroit to make him a
cymbalom (a large chromatic concert dulcimer); he added violin bows to
the finger hammers in 1983, creating his unique "bowhammers."
In 1982 he moved to Palo Alto, California, where he met guitarist Barry
Cleveland (1983); they performed as the duo Thin Ice, releasing the recordings
Thin Ice Live (1984) and 1st Frost (1985); he also played
on Cleveland's later albums, Mythos (1986) and Voluntary Dreaming
(1990); moved to Berkeley, California in 1985. His own recordings include
Cymbalom Solos (1985), The Moment's River (1987), Bells
& Shadows (1989), and Mystery Loves Company (1990). His
innovative cymbalom technique enables the player to strike, bow, or pluck
notes with all 10 fingers in any combination. The resulting timbral distinctions
are used to create unuaually complex contrapuntal textures for a solo instrument,
to which he often adds pitched and tunable percussion instruments.
-- Bakers Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (8th edition)
