By Norma Dittman
Murray County News Staffwriter
Murray County Fair offered a demonstration on Friday afternoon about how to play spoons. The gentleman who was present to teach this fun past-time was Daryl Hrdlicka, Westbrook, MN.
Perhaps you’re thinking that this demonstration involved cards! But, no, it did not! But it did have a lot to do with two very inexpensive spoons, a clip clothes pin, duct tape and a whole lot of rhythm.
Hrdlicka, along with Mary Moliter on violin and Miron Carney on guitar, invited those who were in the area by Heritage Hall to join him in playing spoons. As part of his demonstration, he would take two spoons, face them back-to-back, insert a clip-type clothes pin between their handles, tape them together with duct tape, bend out the bowl of each spoon just a bit, and then demonstrate how to play those spoons as a musical instrument.
One young 4-H member quickly picked up the way to keep rhythm to any song after being taught by Hrdlicka. Hub and Marilyn Sandman joined in the fun with Hub also learning very quickly the spoon-playing methods.
As the demonstrations continued, Janet Timmerman joined the quickly growing band of musicians, playing a wash board. Zander Carney also joined in the fun playing stringed instruments.
“You can play spoons with any instrument,” Hrdlicka stated. “It doesn’t matter if it is guitar, violin, harmonica, electric piano, piano, dulcimer….it is just a matter of keeping rhythm in time with the music by playing the spoons against your leg, on your fingers, or arm. Just have fun with it!” Hrdlicka encouraged.
Hrdlicka has played guitar since he was in college. But he also plays other stringed instruments such as the mountain dulcimer, the bowed psaltery and the ukulele. “I like a lot of the folk instruments,” he acknowledged.
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