The Appalachian Dulcimer
The instrument appeared in the eastern USA in the 19th century. Used for dancing and vocal accompianment, the dulcimer nearly died out in this century. Present interest stems from a revival of folk music and folk instruments.
The dulcimer is easy to play. The simplest instruments have three strings - one a melody string, the two others drones. One hand strums all the strings while the other slides a noter (wooden rod) over the melody string. Drone strings are, in the traditional manner of playing, never fretted. Modern players use a variety of styles including finger picking, fret the drone strings and have explored many musical avenues on the instrument.
Click on the button below to hear a few seconds of my playing my first Appalachin dulcimer (1987) in the traditional style.
Nonesuch is the British group which caters for both Appalachian and hammered dulcimers.
The newsgroup rec.music.makers.dulcimer is a friendly forum for discussions about dulcimers. For a bit of fun chat on this newsgroup: What's in a name?
