30's slide artist

Felix Wolfe · Post by **Felix Wolfe** » 18 Sep 2004 7:13 am

A long time ago ( maybe 1970,) in a used bookstore, I came across a 20's or 30's book of slide music. On the cover was a picture of the composer - an attractive young woman, and her last name was something like Stumph or Stumf.

I succeeded in learning only one of the difficult but attractive pieces before I gave up. But ever since, I have wondered what became of this talent, and if she ever made any suviving recordings.

Does anyone have any information ?

Thanks in advance for your time
Felix

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 18 Sep 2004 9:54 am

Are you really talking about SLIDE guitar - which is a normal spanish guitar played in upright position with a bottleneck or metal tube over a left hand finger like Robert Johnson and other Delta bluesmen from the 20s and 30s played and has African roots,or are you talking about STEEL guitar which is associated with Oriental rooted Hawaiian overhand playing with a solid bar on an instrument specifically designed to be played overhand in the lap like a Dobro or lap steel? If there was any slide guitar instruction that early,I'd love to see it.

Eric Stumpf · Post by **Eric Stumpf** » 18 Sep 2004 12:23 pm

The woman in question was named Myrtle Stumpf and she taught Hawaiian- style steel guitar. Several portfolios of Hawaiian and popular music were published by her between approx. 1912 and 1920 making her one of the first teachers of the instrument. Naturally I have an interest in her life because we share the same unusual last name and because I am a steel guitarist myself. Sadly, I have no additional information to offer about this "mystery gal" of the Hawaiian guitar.

Denny Turner · Post by **Denny Turner** » 19 Sep 2004 2:28 am

It looks like Myrtle Stumpf was a student of Joseph Kekuku's as well; So she was taught by the person most accounted with inventing the Hawaiian Steel Guitar and it's playing. I also noticed in some searching that she wrote instructional material for other instruments as well, noteably the banjo. For some reason that I cannot recall, I seem to recall that the picture on Brad's Page of Steel is a picture of Myrtle Stumpf (???).

Aloha,
DT~
[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 19 September 2004 at 03:29 AM.]

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 19 Sep 2004 5:39 am

An aside,
Myrtle in french means blueberry.

Denny Turner · Post by **Denny Turner** » 19 Sep 2004 1:09 pm

Hmmmmmmm......; Myrtle pie; Has a nice ring to it!

Aloha,
DT~

Eric Stumpf · Post by **Eric Stumpf** » 19 Sep 2004 2:21 pm

....and in German the word "stumpf" means dull. Ugh, the curse I must live with! That picture on Brad's site is not of Myrtle but is of a woman I believe was named Margie Bealer. It's a photo taken from the Gibson Hawaiian guitar series of instructional material published in the late 1930's.[This message was edited by Eric Stumpf on 19 September 2004 at 03:27 PM.]

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 19 Sep 2004 5:17 pm

Her books--in their many editions (though there's not much discernible change other than that cover notation)--pop with reasonable frequency on eBay. I've bought several copies over the years, hoping the difference would be a photo of an instrument made by Weissenborn. (No luck yet on that.) My interest as a Weissenborn aficionado is that she was a very close professional associate of C.S. DeLano, who marketed Kona guitars, (all but maybe three that I've seen) were manufactured by Weissenborn. That said, Stumpf appears to be playing a conventionally shaped (Martin?) guitar. (Even DeLano appears to be playing something Martinesque in his book.)

DeLano also wrote a monthly column on Hawaiian Music for CRESCENDO Magazine over a number of years across the teens and twenties. Somewhere around 1917, if memory serves (I'm not at home and this winging it for fine details), he noted the sudden and unexpected passing of Myrtle Stumpf at a relatively young age.

I think there's a method and a solos book, published by Southern California Music Co. of Los Angeles.

Indeed: Method book (c) 1915; individual pieces in Solos book (c) 1915 and 1916. She also wrote a "Self-Instructor for Tenor or Plectrum Banjo" [cq--had the separate tunings not been established by then, or was there even a plectrum banjo--~27" scale--as we know it then?]

<img src=http://home.earthlink.net/~efgacb/siteb ... method.jpg> <img src=http://home.earthlink.net/~efgacb/siteb ... pfsolo.jpg> [This message was edited by Ben Elder on 21 September 2004 at 12:25 PM.][This message was edited by Ben Elder on 21 September 2004 at 12:25 PM.]

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 20 Sep 2004 4:12 am

that's Myrtille David

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 20 Sep 2004 5:48 am

The woman pictured on my site is Myrtle Gfroerer and the image is from on of a series of 1930s Gibson sheet music.

I've seen the name Myrtle Stumpf before, but I have no information on her.

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 20 Sep 2004 6:39 am

Myrtle Gfroerer
Myrtle Stumpf

1. Both named Myrtle.
2. Both played steel guitar.
3. Both have surnames with 3 consecutive consonants.

A Clark Kent/Superman situation?

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 20 September 2004 at 07:39 AM.]

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 20 Sep 2004 8:22 am

Yeah CB, I know they just dropped the i's when it crossed the pond.

But these days I would much rather name a girl child Blueberry than Myrtle or Myrtille!

Ah yes, and now folks some musical stylings from
Miss Blueberry Dull.

He haw, I can see then lining the aisles now

Aren't the SMURF's( USA) name Stumpf over here?

CB you've got kids the right age to watch those little blue people.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 20 September 2004 at 09:27 AM.]

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 22 Sep 2004 9:50 am

Bumping this up because I added some pics, etc. to my first post.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 22 Sep 2004 10:19 am

Her birth name was Adore' Passionato.

Unfortunately she had a dyslectic publicist who insisted she change it to Myrtle Stumpf.

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 22 September 2004 at 11:21 AM.]

Russ Wever · Post by **Russ Wever** » 21 Dec 2009 8:50 pm

Perhaps > this is the lady on Brads site.
Also referenced > here and > here.
~Russ

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 22 Dec 2009 11:16 am

"Myrtle Gfroerer "

I'd like to buy a vowel please.

Once again, Forum members refuse to be stumphed!

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 23 Dec 2009 8:07 pm

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 23 Dec 2009 8:35 pm