Hammer Dulcimer
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The Hammer Dulcimer is a stringed instrument that uses a shallow, wooden box to carry the sound. The instrument shown here is an English hammer dulcimer, although many different types of dulcimer exist. Dulcimers are usually portable and played horizontally. Their most common use is in folk and popular music.
| Family |
| Strings |
| Pitch range |
| One to two octaves. |
| Material |
| Wooden soundbox, metal strings. |
| Size |
| Variable : this dulcimer is 32 in (81 cm) long. |
| Origins |
| The hammer dulcimer is well-documented since the 15th century in Europe. It was also, by this time, used in Eastern Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, India, Korea, and China. |
| Classification |
| Chordophone: an instrument that produces its sound by the vibration of strings. |
| And also... |
| The French philosopher, Diderot (1713-84), described a huge version of the hammer dulcimer as having been 8 ft (2.40 m) long. |
