When a video of 13-year-old Dietrich Woodley of rural Clarion playing a fancy-looking guitar circulated on social media recently, it was pretty impressive. He was playing the old rock classic “Smoke on the Water” on an electric guitar. The video was notable not just for the fact that a young person was expertly wielding his instrument, but because Dietrich had built the guitar himself!
Dietrich, who is an eighth grader, explained that he has been playing guitar for over three years now. He said he’s a combination of self-taught with some help in there from Donna Diamond, who plays guitar. Dietrich started off playing an acoustic guitar and eventually moved to an electric guitar, a Fender Stratocaster.
In recent years, Dietrich has shared his guitar talents at various places. He plays and sings at services at the First Lutheran Church in Clarion where his parents Grant and Nicole are pastors. He has taken the stage at the local county fair as well as the Clay County and state fair. He has also performed several times at “Practice Night” (essentially an open mic night) locally at Timbukbrü. Dietrich even played an opening set last year there for musician Kris Karr.
In the last several months, Dietrich was ready for a new musical challenge- building his own electric guitar. He enjoys hands-on work and had done some building projects in the past. He explains that he got this idea when his dad had shown him a video of a guitar that had been built out of a shovel. Dietrich was pretty sure he could accomplish this weighty task, but he didn’t intend to use a shovel.
For the body of this guitar, Dietrich did not look too far. He decided to use some wood from the family farm’s torn-down corn crib. He also had to choose a shape. “I based the shape of the body off the Gibson Firebird,” Dietrich said. “I call the actual design ‘the crooked star.’” He printed the design using an app on his computer and then traced it on the wood.
To cut the body out, Dietrich explained that he and his grandpa, Gary Woodley, constructed a makeshift band saw for the process. After the cutting, next came sanding….a lot of sanding. “I worked on sanding for three whole days,” Dietrich said.
For the other pieces of the guitar, Dietrich ordered most of it online. This included parts like the neck and the internal hardware. One interesting part that was not ordered were the brass pieces on the front and back of the instrument. Those are actually made from an old cymbal they found on the farm that they cut apart for the job.
In all, Dietrich estimates that he worked on the guitar for about three and a half weeks. He is currently doing online learning from home, so he would do schoolwork in the morning and then get busy on the guitar in the afternoons, often with the help of his grandpa.
When he finished up the project a couple of weeks ago, Dietrich says he was happy with the end product. He admits there was a nervous moment there when the guitar didn’t seem to work on the first attempt, but he quickly remembered he had a faulty cord. When he switched that out, the sweet sounds of “Smoke on the Water” could be heard! He noted that it eventually sounded even better when he got new strings for it.
“It was a big accomplishment, since it was my first time trying anything like this,” Dietrich said.
He was also excited to report that Tim Chipman who lives locally and is a member of the Iowa and Kansas Rock and Roll halls of fame for his time in the band The Fabulous Flippers, came out to see the guitar. Chipman gave his stamp of approval.
Dietrich’s grandpa Gary said he really enjoyed his helper role in the building process as well. “It was fun to help him and watch him learn new skills throughout the project,” Gary emphasized. “I was impressed with how diligently he worked to perfect it.” Dietrich added that he and his grandpa “make a good team.”
His parents were also impressed by his drive on the project. His mom, Nicole, said “Well, we were a little concerned at first that he knew how to do it. But he ordered all the parts, so eventually we said, ‘Ok, have fun!’ He’s really an independent, outgoing person.”
In the future, Dietrich says he would like to continue to pursue music. He also hopes to participate in a competition, hosted by the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Music Association, for younger musicians that is held yearly. Eventually, he plans to try his hand at building more instruments. He intends to enter the guitar he just finished as a 4-H exhibit next year as well.
For now, Dietrich looks forward to playing the guitar for fun and honing his skills with it. He reports that it did well at his first public performance during church services the weekend before last at the park in Clarion. He played and sang “Personal Jesus,” by Def Leopard, who he says is his favorite band.
Clarion today. But down the road, the stage lights could very well shine much brighter for young Dietrich Woodley and his guitar.
