Ted Yoder, born in Shell Lake, WI in 1972 has become nationally famous after a recent live Facebook video of his went viral in which Ted covered the song, 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World,' by the popular 1980's band Tears for Fears. So much so, NBC's morning show TODAY has just released Top 10 Facebook Live videos in which the video was ranked 2nd in the list based on global views.
Watch the video below, (or on Facebook) and then continue reading for Ted's story originally posted on DrydenWire.com back in October.
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Man With Shell Lake Ties Has Social Media Video Go Viral to the World
(L-R Ted Yoder, Jamie Wollam, Curt Smith)
October 17th, 2016 / DrydenWire.com
Ted was born prematurely in the Shell Lake Hospital and stayed there until he was strong enough to go home. His family relocated to Indiana when he was a toddler. Ted's father died tragically in an automobile crash over 20 years ago. His mother Kathryn Coblentz married Melvin Coblentz in 2007 and they moved to Stone Lake, WI.
Ted's wife Donna was also born in the Shell Lake hospital and is his biggest supporter. Ted and Donna both have many family members living throughout the Northwestern Wisconsin region.
Here is the story of Ted Toder and his journey into the musical world as submitted by the Yoders:
Ted Yoder has revolutionized the hammered dulcimer through his pop symphonic approach on the instrument as a solo performer. He’s the National Champion whose highly engaged fanbase has nicknamed his innovative approach to playing popular songs “Yoderizing.” Ted’s both a dazzling technician and soulful and lyrical visionary. And the story of his rise to prominence is as inspiring as his spiritually uplifting musicality.
The Goshen, Indiana-based instrumentalist-composer-singer first encountered the hammered dulcimer a decade before he actually was able to play on one. At the time, the instrument was costly and not readily available—this was the pre-Internet days—and Ted was a competent multi-instrumentalist who fell in love with a rare bird. It would take a tragic car accident and the love and support of his family to transform him into the musical innovator he has now become.
In less than a decade, Ted has gone from tinkering on the hammered dulcimer to releasing four studio albums, authoring a groundbreaking instructional book, teaching Skype lessons to students around the nation, and becoming an in-demand performer at community theaters, churches, and festivals. In 2010, just three years after dedicating all his time to the instrument, he won the title of National Hammer Dulcimer Champion at the Walnut Valley Festival.
He’s been profiled in the Kearney Hub and on NPR’s esteemed NPR All Things Considered show, among many other features, profiles, and reviews in regional and national tastemaking outlets. Ted is currently preparing his fifth album which will be the first to feature his breezy and emotive vocals, a popular staple of his live shows.
Ted’s ascent truly began in 2007. At the time, Ted Yoder was a professional floor covering installer not playing music. That spring he had a major car accident that would alter the course of his life. Previous to the crash, Ted was an accomplished piano player and keyboardist who dabbled in guitar, percussion, and anything else he could get his hands on and wrangle out a sound.
(L-R Ted Yoder, Curt Smith, Jamie Wollam)
While recovering from the accident, Ted became introspective about where his life was headed: he was married, had five children, but he realized music was his inner calling. During this powerful time, he encountered something of a spiritual process of elimination exercise in a motivational book. Through that he realized the hammered dulcimer was the instrument he wanted to devote his life to, and he began to strategize how to support his family through music.
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument that’s played by striking the instrument’s strings with small mallet hammers. The technique to play the instrument can be best imagined as the summation of skills you would need to play percussion, guitar, and piano. The view looking down on the instrument evokes a spider web-like sprawl of up to 91 crisscrossing strings.
Traditionally, the hammered dulcimer is a folk instrument, though it has also been used by classical composers. Ted’s approach, or “Yoderizing” as it’s called, is performing stately solo pieces of modern favorite tunes with unique arrangements, powerful dynamics, and beautiful melodic interlacement. The antecedents of this artistic conception date back to Ted’s background as an accomplished solo pianist where he was responsible for conveying the full sonic picture of rhythmic support, harmonic context, and melody.
Highlights in Ted’s 4-CD diverse oeuvre are his imaginative versions of “Carol Of The Bells“ and” Prelude To Cello Suite,” and his own composition, the beautifully bucolic, “The Measure.” In his writing, Ted seeks to take the listener on an emotional journey. “When I compose instrumental music, my goal is to move people to tears or make them laugh with just the music. I seek to take them to dark places and then release tension and bring them to cathartic highs,” Ted explains. In addition to these signature tracks, followers of his YouTube channel were recently treated to a stunning rendition of “Hotel California” for his Fan Friday videos series, an ongoing weekly installment to share unreleased music with his fans.
Ted first encountered the hammered dulcimer experiencing the sweetly uplifting music of Christian singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Rich Mullins back in 1988. Rich had a contemporary perspective on the hammered dulcimer and created a beloved body of modern worship music that he performed in ensemble settings. From that fated first encounter, it would take Ted nearly 10 years to acquire a hammered dulcimer. Upon getting married, it was his wife—also a musician—who suggested they spend surplus wedding money on a hammered dulcimer.
Eventually, Ted become consumed by the instrument, and a year later launched his first website and was gigging at nursing homes and coffeehouses. In 2008, he issued his debut album, Hymns, recorded in his basement. Two years later, he was declared the National Hammered Dulcimer champion.
It’s surely an inspiring story of a father of five who overcomes tragedy to achieve his late in life dreams, but it hasn’t been without struggle and support from his family. Just eight days before Ted won the National Championship, he lost his day job. And though since then he hasn’t had to have a 9 to 5 job, there have been lean times with his growing family (he has seven children now) that’s made him rethink his strategy.
Currently, Ted is enjoying the fruits of his labors through gigging, teaching, and issuing albums. But a few years back, he was at a crossroads. Faced with increased expenses he considered getting a day job. “I gathered the kids around the table and told them I had the opportunity to make more money and they could have better things. My six year old asked ‘Would you be able to play music anymore?’ I told her no, she said ‘Then I don’t want it.’ It was unanimous, all the kids agreed with her,” Ted says with a pause. “If I didn’t have them and my wife who has supported me 100% I wouldn’t be here.’” Expect a new album in 2015 and catch Ted Yoder live at a venue near you
[Photo Credit: Leaha Yoder]
Last Update: Dec 08, 2016 5:42 pm CST
