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By Aaron Smith
From the music venues of Europe to festivals in his native Ohio, Hank Arbaugh's talents have traveled well in the folk, blues and bluegrass music world. A master of eight stringed instruments, Arbaugh, AB '62, takes his show on the road to schools, libraries, festivals, pubs -- you name it. He's also performed with blues legends Johnny Shines, Buddy Moss and Sparky Rucker and appeared on a nationally televised show hosted by Steve Allen.
"Traditional folk music used to be a part of people's everyday lives. Communities turned to song in everything they did," Arbaugh says. "I suppose my life is kind of like that, and music has just become who I am and what I do." He's traveled to England, Ireland and France to play American folk music and popular Celtic tunes in cozy coffeehouses and popular Irish pubs. "It's a great thrill to communicate a part of American music to those in Europe," he says. "I usually start playing Irish tunes, but they always want to hear American music. It's great to connect through ballads and other kinds of music." Arbaugh's start in the field was a slow one. Unable to read music, he listened to records and taught himself to play along on the guitar. Soon, Ohio University and the Delta Tau Delta fraternity were opening doors to musical opportunities for him. "Some other guys in my fraternity and I started a singing trio, and we would serenade the sororities," Arbaugh says. "Back then the whole campus was musically oriented. Through my fraternity and involvement with a pep group, I was always around music. We would hold rallies on Friday nights before football games, and we would sing the fight song and alma mater. We had glee clubs that held competitions. It was just very musical." As the number of instruments Arbaugh learned to play grew, so did his passion for music. Today, he's proficient on two differently tuned guitars and the mountain dulcimer, mandolin, mandola, dobro, Irish banjo and autoharp. Arbaugh, who majored in English as an undergraduate, says the folk music seed was planted during his college days. His literature studies and interaction with professors and advisers fueled his interest. "The academic side of Ohio University offered me great rewards and an understanding of the background of all music," Arbaugh says. "There is a strong link between good literature and good music. My master's thesis (at Ohio State University) was on literary ballads. With all of my English classes, I could recognize great writing and that enabled me to recognize great music. The story behind the music is what makes it good." Folk music even permeated his English teaching career of almost three decades at Whitehall-Yearling High School in Columbus, where in the late '70s he developed a folk studies program that continued for nearly 10 years. "The program had several elective classes that students could take," Arbaugh says. "In my class, I would play the same ballad over again but through different cultures. The students were able to see the difference between music styles of the different cultures." And no matter how far away from home Arbaugh's music takes him, the folk artist always finds his way back to the hills of southeastern Ohio, where he often performs at festivals in Logan, Nelsonville and Athens. "I love this area," he says. "It's where I got my start, and I love to come back." Aaron Smith, BSJ '02, is a student writer for University Communications and Marketing. |
