The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sound board. Typically, the dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings. The word dulcimer is Graeco-Roman, meaning "sweet song", it derives from the Latin dulcis (sweet) and the Greek melos (song). The dulcimer's origin is uncertain, but tradition holds it was invented in Iran (Persia) some 2000 years ago, where it is called a Santur. |
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| The hammered dulcimer derives its name from the small mallets that players use to strike the strings, called hammers. Hammers are usually made of wood. The strings of the hammered dulcimer are often tuned diatonically, according to a circle of fifths pattern. The strings of a hammered dulcimer are can be found in pairs, two strings for each note (though some instruments have three or four strings per note). Our Dulcimer has four strings per note, for a total of eighty-eight strings. |
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| The instrument has been revived in the U.S. in the American folk music traditions. It is not a rareity to see a Hammered Dulcimer in Polka bands in Colorado. In Colorado you will find all musicians playing the Hammered Dulcimer in a Polka band with four strings per note, most with a total of eighty-eight, some with ninety-two, even a few with a hundred. |
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