Appalachian dulcimer
Encyclopedia
The Appalachian dulcimer (or mountain dulcimer) is a fret
ted string instrument
of the zither
family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachia
n region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic.
and others have speculated the Appalachian dulcimer is related to similar European instruments like the langeleik
, scheitholt
and épinette des Vosges
.
Charles Maxson, an Appalachian luthier from Volga, WV, speculated that early settlers were unable to make the more complex violin in the early days due to lack of tools and time. This was one of the factors which led to the building of the dulcimer, which has less dramatic curves. He too cited the langeleik, scheitholt and épinette des Vosges
as ancestor instruments. He built at least one of each.
Few true specimens of the mountain dulcimer exist from earlier than about 1880, when J. Edward Thomas of Knott County, Ky began building and selling them. The instrument became used as something of a parlor instrument, as its modest sound volume is best-suited to small home gatherings. But for the first half of the 20th century the mountain dulcimer was rare, with a handful of makers supplying players in scattered pockets of Appalachia. Virtually no audio recordings of the instrument exist from earlier than the late 1930s.
The Appalachian dulcimer achieved a renaissance in the 1950s urban folk music revival in the United States through the work of Jean Ritchie, a Kentucky musician who introduced the instrument to New York City audiences. In the early 1960s, Ritchie and her partner George Pickow began distributing dulcimers made by her Kentucky relative Jethro Amburgey, then the woodworking instructor at the Hindman Settlement School. They eventually began producing their own instruments in New York City. Meanwhile, the American folk musician Richard Fariña (1937–1966) was also bringing the Appalachian dulcimer to a much wider audience, and by 1965 the instrument was a familiar presence in folk music circles.
In addition to Amburgey, by then winding down his production, influential builders of mid-1960s included Homer Ledford, Lynn McSpadden, A. W. Jeffreys and Joellen Lapidus. In 1969 Michael and Howard Rugg formed a company called Capritaurus. As well as being the first to mass-produce the instrument, they made design changes to make it both easier produce and to play. The body was made larger, and they installed guitar tuners to make tuning easier for players. This became known as the "California style" dulcimer.
The traditional way to play the instrument is to lay it flat on the lap and pluck or strum the strings with the right hand, while fretting with the other. The dulcimer may also be placed in a similar position on a piece of furniture, such as a table or chest of drawers, to enhance the sound. There are two predominant methods of fretting. First, the strings may be depressed with the fingertips of the fretting hand. Using this technique, all the strings may be fretted, allowing the player to produce chords. Second, the melody string, the string closest to the player, may be depressed with a "noter," typically a short length of dowel or bamboo (see photo at left). Using this method, only the melody string is fretted and the other strings act as drone
strings (the melody string may be doubled, so that the melody can be better heard over the drones). In this second style of playing, the combination of the drone strings and the buzz of the noter on the melody strings produces a unique sound.
In practice, a wide variety of playing styles have long been used. Jean Ritchie's The Dulcimer Book has an old photograph of Mrs. Leah Smith of Big Laurel, Kentucky, playing the dulcimer with a bow instead of a pick, with the tail of the dulcimer held in the player's lap, and the headstock resting on a table pointing away from her. In their book In Search of the Wild dulcimer, Robert Force and Al d'Ossché describe their preferred method as "guitar style": The dulcimer hangs from a strap around the neck, and the instrument is fretted and strummed like a guitar. They also describe playing "autoharp
style" where "the dulcimer is held vertically with the headstock over the shoulder." Lynn McSpadden, in his book Four and Twenty Songs for the Mountain Dulcimer, states that some players "tilt the dulcimer up sideways on their laps and strum in a guitar style." Still other dulcimer players use a fingerstyle technique, fingering chord positions with the fretting hand and rhythmically plucking individual strings with the strumming hand, creating delicate arpeggio
s.
Contemporary players have also borrowed from chord theory and guitar analogues to create a variety of more complex ways to play the dulcimer. Some dulcimers are constructed with four equidistant strings to facilitate playing more complex chords, particularly for playing jazz. In another line of contemporary innovation, electric dulcimers have been used in rock music. The Appalachian dulcimer is both easy to learn to play, and capable of complexity, providing scope for a wide range of professionals and hobbyists.
s of the Appalachian dulcimer are typically arranged in a diatonic scale
. Traditionally, the Appalachian dulcimer was usually tuned to DAA, or notes with this I V V relationship. That is, the key note is on the bass string and the middle and melody strings are at an interval
of a perfect fifth above it. The melody string is tuned so that the key note is at the third (diatonic) fret. This facilitates playing melodies in the Ionian mode
(the major scale
). The melody is played on the top string (or string pair) only, with the unfretted drone strings providing a simple harmony, giving the instrument its distinctive traditional sound. To play in a different key, or in a different mode, a traditional player would have to retune the instrument. For example, to play a minor mode melody the instrument might be tuned to DAC. This facilitates playing the Aeolian mode
(the natural minor scale
), where the scale begins at the first fret.
Modern instruments usually include an additional fret, a half step below the octave position, the so-called "six and a half" fret. This enables one to play in the Ionian mode when tuned to DAD, the traditional tuning for the Mixolydian mode
, where the scale starts on the open fret. This arrangement is often found to be more conducive to chordal playing, as opposed to the more traditional dronal style. Among modern players, it is fair to say that the instrument is most commonly tuned to DAD. So-called "chromatic dulcimers," with twelve frets per octave, are sometimes made, to permit playing in any key without re-tuning.
While the most common current tuning is DAD, it is often easier for the beginning player to tune to DAA or the so-called "Reverse Ionian" tuning, DGD. "Reverse" tunings are ones in which the key note is on the middle string and the bass string is the fifth of the scale, but in the octave below the middle string. This is sometimes suggested as an easier tuning. From DGD one can put a capo
on the first fret to play in the Dorian mode
, or retune the second string (to A), to play in the Mixolydian mode
, then from Mixolydian, capo the first fret to play in the Aeolian mode
. DAA tuning should not be thought of as simply a "beginner's" tuning, however. Many accomplished, innovative players use this tuning.
tradition. But styles performed by modern dulcimer enthusiasts run the gamut from traditional folk music through popular and experimental forms, although most perform in more-or-less traditional styles. Some players exploit its similarity in tone to certain Middle East
ern and Asia
n instruments. Increasingly, modern musicians such as Lindsay Buckland, Bing Futch
, Butch Ross, Cristian Huet in France and Quintin Stephens have contributed to the popularity of the solid-body electric dulcimer. Dulcimer festivals take place regularly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, as the Appalachian dulcimer has achieved a following in a number of countries.
Though the mountain dulcimer has long been associated with the elder generation, it has gradually attracted a number of younger players who have discovered its charms. Due to its ease of play, many music teachers consider it to be an especially good educational instrument. Because of this, they are often used in educational settings, and some music classes make their own dulcimers. However, because of budget, time, and craftsmanship skill issues, these are usually made from cardboard.
One of the most famous players of the Appalachian dulcimer is, perhaps, folk singer Joni Mitchell
, who has been playing it since the late 1960s on studio recordings (for instance on her famous album Blue
(1971)) and also in live concerts. Cyndi Lauper
is also a high-profile mountain dulcimer player, having studied with the late David Schnaufer
. Lauper plays dulcimer on her ninth studio album The Body Acoustic
, and the tour to support the record featured her performing songs like "Time After Time" and "She Bop" solo on the mountain dulcimer. Contemporary professional musicians who view the dulcimer as their primary instrument include Stephen Seifert
of Nashville, TN and Aaron O'Rourke of Tallahassee, FL.
and particularly in Appalachia
. Cheap imports from Romania, Pakistan and China are slowly making inroads into the American market. John Bailey
's book, Making an Appalachian Dulcimer, is one of several still in print that provide instructions for constructing a dulcimer.
Fret
A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck. On most modern western instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard...
ted string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
of the zither
Zither
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
n region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic.
Origins and history
Although the Appalachian dulcimer first appeared in the early 19th century among Scots-Irish immigrant communities in the southern Appalachian Mountains, the instrument has no known precedent in Ireland or Scotland. However, several diatonic fretted zithers exist in Continental Europe that have a strong similarity to the dulcimer. Jean RitchieJean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie is an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player.- Out of Kentucky :Abigail and Balis Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky had 14 children, and Jean was the youngest...
and others have speculated the Appalachian dulcimer is related to similar European instruments like the langeleik
Langeleik
The langeleik also called langleik is a Norwegian stringed folklore musical instrument, a droned zither.-Description:The langeleik has only one melody string and up to 8 drone strings....
, scheitholt
Scheitholt
The scheitholt or scheitholz is a traditional German stringed instrument and an ancestor of the modern zither. It falls into the category of drone zithers.-History:...
and épinette des Vosges
Epinette des Vosges
The épinette des Vosges is a traditional plucked-string instrument of the zither family, whose use was confined to two areas in the Vosges mountains of France approximately 50 km apart: around Val-d'Ajol and around Gérardmer.-Origins:...
.
Charles Maxson, an Appalachian luthier from Volga, WV, speculated that early settlers were unable to make the more complex violin in the early days due to lack of tools and time. This was one of the factors which led to the building of the dulcimer, which has less dramatic curves. He too cited the langeleik, scheitholt and épinette des Vosges
Epinette des Vosges
The épinette des Vosges is a traditional plucked-string instrument of the zither family, whose use was confined to two areas in the Vosges mountains of France approximately 50 km apart: around Val-d'Ajol and around Gérardmer.-Origins:...
as ancestor instruments. He built at least one of each.
Few true specimens of the mountain dulcimer exist from earlier than about 1880, when J. Edward Thomas of Knott County, Ky began building and selling them. The instrument became used as something of a parlor instrument, as its modest sound volume is best-suited to small home gatherings. But for the first half of the 20th century the mountain dulcimer was rare, with a handful of makers supplying players in scattered pockets of Appalachia. Virtually no audio recordings of the instrument exist from earlier than the late 1930s.
The Appalachian dulcimer achieved a renaissance in the 1950s urban folk music revival in the United States through the work of Jean Ritchie, a Kentucky musician who introduced the instrument to New York City audiences. In the early 1960s, Ritchie and her partner George Pickow began distributing dulcimers made by her Kentucky relative Jethro Amburgey, then the woodworking instructor at the Hindman Settlement School. They eventually began producing their own instruments in New York City. Meanwhile, the American folk musician Richard Fariña (1937–1966) was also bringing the Appalachian dulcimer to a much wider audience, and by 1965 the instrument was a familiar presence in folk music circles.
In addition to Amburgey, by then winding down his production, influential builders of mid-1960s included Homer Ledford, Lynn McSpadden, A. W. Jeffreys and Joellen Lapidus. In 1969 Michael and Howard Rugg formed a company called Capritaurus. As well as being the first to mass-produce the instrument, they made design changes to make it both easier produce and to play. The body was made larger, and they installed guitar tuners to make tuning easier for players. This became known as the "California style" dulcimer.
Playing
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
strings (the melody string may be doubled, so that the melody can be better heard over the drones). In this second style of playing, the combination of the drone strings and the buzz of the noter on the melody strings produces a unique sound.
In practice, a wide variety of playing styles have long been used. Jean Ritchie's The Dulcimer Book has an old photograph of Mrs. Leah Smith of Big Laurel, Kentucky, playing the dulcimer with a bow instead of a pick, with the tail of the dulcimer held in the player's lap, and the headstock resting on a table pointing away from her. In their book In Search of the Wild dulcimer, Robert Force and Al d'Ossché describe their preferred method as "guitar style": The dulcimer hangs from a strap around the neck, and the instrument is fretted and strummed like a guitar. They also describe playing "autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
style" where "the dulcimer is held vertically with the headstock over the shoulder." Lynn McSpadden, in his book Four and Twenty Songs for the Mountain Dulcimer, states that some players "tilt the dulcimer up sideways on their laps and strum in a guitar style." Still other dulcimer players use a fingerstyle technique, fingering chord positions with the fretting hand and rhythmically plucking individual strings with the strumming hand, creating delicate arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s.
Contemporary players have also borrowed from chord theory and guitar analogues to create a variety of more complex ways to play the dulcimer. Some dulcimers are constructed with four equidistant strings to facilitate playing more complex chords, particularly for playing jazz. In another line of contemporary innovation, electric dulcimers have been used in rock music. The Appalachian dulcimer is both easy to learn to play, and capable of complexity, providing scope for a wide range of professionals and hobbyists.
Strings, frets and tuning
The fretFret
A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck. On most modern western instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard...
s of the Appalachian dulcimer are typically arranged in a diatonic scale
Diatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note, octave-repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps...
. Traditionally, the Appalachian dulcimer was usually tuned to DAA, or notes with this I V V relationship. That is, the key note is on the bass string and the middle and melody strings are at an interval
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
of a perfect fifth above it. The melody string is tuned so that the key note is at the third (diatonic) fret. This facilitates playing melodies in the Ionian mode
Ionian mode
Ionian mode is the name assigned by Heinrich Glarean in 1547 to his new authentic mode on C , which uses the diatonic octave species from C to the C an octave higher, divided at G into a fourth species of perfect fifth plus a third species of perfect fourth : C D...
(the major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
). The melody is played on the top string (or string pair) only, with the unfretted drone strings providing a simple harmony, giving the instrument its distinctive traditional sound. To play in a different key, or in a different mode, a traditional player would have to retune the instrument. For example, to play a minor mode melody the instrument might be tuned to DAC. This facilitates playing the Aeolian mode
Aeolian mode
The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale called the natural minor scale.The word "Aeolian" in the music theory of ancient Greece was an alternative name for what Aristoxenus called the Low Lydian tonos , nine semitones...
(the natural minor scale
Minor scale
A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...
), where the scale begins at the first fret.
Mixolydian mode
Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek harmoniai or tonoi, based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; a modern musical mode or diatonic scale, related to the medieval mode.-Greek Mixolydian:The idea of a...
, where the scale starts on the open fret. This arrangement is often found to be more conducive to chordal playing, as opposed to the more traditional dronal style. Among modern players, it is fair to say that the instrument is most commonly tuned to DAD. So-called "chromatic dulcimers," with twelve frets per octave, are sometimes made, to permit playing in any key without re-tuning.
While the most common current tuning is DAD, it is often easier for the beginning player to tune to DAA or the so-called "Reverse Ionian" tuning, DGD. "Reverse" tunings are ones in which the key note is on the middle string and the bass string is the fifth of the scale, but in the octave below the middle string. This is sometimes suggested as an easier tuning. From DGD one can put a capo
Capo
A capo is a device used on the neck of a stringed instrument to shorten the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch. It is frequently used on guitars, mandolins, and banjos. G.B...
on the first fret to play in the Dorian mode
Dorian mode
Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...
, or retune the second string (to A), to play in the Mixolydian mode
Mixolydian mode
Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek harmoniai or tonoi, based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; a modern musical mode or diatonic scale, related to the medieval mode.-Greek Mixolydian:The idea of a...
, then from Mixolydian, capo the first fret to play in the Aeolian mode
Aeolian mode
The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or, in modern usage, a diatonic scale called the natural minor scale.The word "Aeolian" in the music theory of ancient Greece was an alternative name for what Aristoxenus called the Low Lydian tonos , nine semitones...
. DAA tuning should not be thought of as simply a "beginner's" tuning, however. Many accomplished, innovative players use this tuning.
Contemporary Usage
The Appalachian dulcimer is now a core instrument found in the American old-time musicOld-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
tradition. But styles performed by modern dulcimer enthusiasts run the gamut from traditional folk music through popular and experimental forms, although most perform in more-or-less traditional styles. Some players exploit its similarity in tone to certain Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n instruments. Increasingly, modern musicians such as Lindsay Buckland, Bing Futch
Bing Futch
Bing Futch is a musician whose primary instrument is the mountain dulcimer. In 1986 he co-founded Christian techno-punk trio Crazed Bunnyz along with Marc "Gadget" Plainguet and Sean "Shaka" Harrison. He relocated to Orlando, Florida in 1993.Futch has composed and produced soundtracks for film,...
, Butch Ross, Cristian Huet in France and Quintin Stephens have contributed to the popularity of the solid-body electric dulcimer. Dulcimer festivals take place regularly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, as the Appalachian dulcimer has achieved a following in a number of countries.
Though the mountain dulcimer has long been associated with the elder generation, it has gradually attracted a number of younger players who have discovered its charms. Due to its ease of play, many music teachers consider it to be an especially good educational instrument. Because of this, they are often used in educational settings, and some music classes make their own dulcimers. However, because of budget, time, and craftsmanship skill issues, these are usually made from cardboard.
One of the most famous players of the Appalachian dulcimer is, perhaps, folk singer Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, who has been playing it since the late 1960s on studio recordings (for instance on her famous album Blue
Blue (Joni Mitchell album)
Blue is the fourth album of Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Exploring the various facets of relationships from infatuation on "A Case of You" to insecurity on "This Flight Tonight", the songs feature simple accompaniments on piano, guitar, and Appalachian dulcimer...
(1971)) and also in live concerts. Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
is also a high-profile mountain dulcimer player, having studied with the late David Schnaufer
David Schnaufer
David Schnaufer was an American folk musician. He is widely credited with restoring the popularity of the Appalachian dulcimer....
. Lauper plays dulcimer on her ninth studio album The Body Acoustic
The Body Acoustic
The Body Acoustic is the ninth studio album released by Cyndi Lauper. It consists of ten previously released tracks which have been re-recorded and re-arranged acoustically, as well as two entirely new songs. The album title is a play on Walt Whitman's poem I Sing the Body Electric, with the word...
, and the tour to support the record featured her performing songs like "Time After Time" and "She Bop" solo on the mountain dulcimer. Contemporary professional musicians who view the dulcimer as their primary instrument include Stephen Seifert
Stephen Seifert
Stephen Seifert is an American folk musician and virtuoso of the Appalachian dulcimer. He has released many educational DVDs and videos on the subject of dulcimer playing.-References:...
of Nashville, TN and Aaron O'Rourke of Tallahassee, FL.
Variants
As a folk instrument, wide variation exists in Appalachian dulcimers.- Number of strings: Dulcimers may have as few as two or as many as 12 strings (in six coursesCourse (music)A course is a pair or more of adjacent strings tuned to unison or an octave and usually played together as if a single string. It may also refer to a single string normally played on its own on an instrument with other multi-string courses, for example the bass string on a nine string baroque...
). Instruments with only one string would more properly be termed monochordMonochordA monochord is an ancient musical and scientific laboratory instrument. The word "monochord" comes from the Greek and means literally "one string." A misconception of the term lies within its name. Often a monochord has more than one string, most of the time two, one open string and a second string...
s. In the 1950s and 1960s most mountain dulcimers had three strings. The most popular variant today is four strings in three courses, with doubled melody strings.
- Fret patterns: Until the late 1970s, most Appalachian dulcimers were made with a purely diatonic fretboard. A few years later, an added 6½ fret (and where the instrument fretboard is long enough, the 13½ fret, an octave higher) had become standard. Most makers now offer 1½ and 8½ frets as options, and the fully chromatic dulcimer is rising in popularity.
- Body shapes: Dulcimers appear in a wide variety of body types, many of which are recorded in A Catalog of Pre-Revival Dulcimers. A representative array would include: hourglass, teardrop, trapezoid, rectangular, elliptical ("Galax-style"), violin-shaped, fish-shaped, and lute-back.
- Materials: In addition to plywood, laminates, and solid woods, some builders are using experimental materials such as carbon fiber. Dulcimers are also made of cardboard. Often sold as low-cost kits, cardboard dulcimers offer surprisingly good sound and volume. Their low cost and resistance to damage make them particularly suited to institutional settings, such as elementary school classrooms.
- "Courting dulcimers": One unusual variant is the "courting dulcimer." This instrument consists of one large dulcimer body with two separate fingerboards. The instrument is laid across the laps of two facing individuals (the eponymous "courting" pair) and used to play duets.
- "Double-Neck Dulcimers": Somewhat the same as a "courting dulcimer", but with both fretboards (or "necks") facing the same direction. Popularized by performer Bing FutchBing FutchBing Futch is a musician whose primary instrument is the mountain dulcimer. In 1986 he co-founded Christian techno-punk trio Crazed Bunnyz along with Marc "Gadget" Plainguet and Sean "Shaka" Harrison. He relocated to Orlando, Florida in 1993.Futch has composed and produced soundtracks for film,...
, it allows for multiple tunings without changing instruments.
- "Bowed Dulcimers": Dulcimers that can be played with bows; in the modern era heavily modified variants have been made exclusively for bowed playing.
Modern dulcimer variants
- Guitar Dulcimer: the instrument is a hybrid of guitar and dulcimer, with the body more closely resembling a guitar, but the string configuration and pegs of a dulcimer. This variant was first explored, and later patented, by Homer LedfordHomer LedfordHomer C. Ledford was an instrument maker and bluegrass musician from Kentucky who specialized in making dulcimers....
, and called the "dulcitar."
- Banjo dulcimerBanjo dulcimerA banjo dulcimer is an Appalachian dulcimer modified by adding a vibrating membrane to the body of the instrument. This changes the tone and volume of the instrument, operating on the same principle as the banjo....
: Resembling a standard dulcimer, but with a banjo-head on the body. This variant was first explored, and later patented, by Homer LedfordHomer LedfordHomer C. Ledford was an instrument maker and bluegrass musician from Kentucky who specialized in making dulcimers....
, and called the "dulcijo." Similar instruments include the "Ban-Jammer" (Mike Clemmer), the "Banjimer" (Keith Young) and the "Banj-Mo" (Folk Notes).
- Cardboard dulcimer: cardboard dulcimers are produced primarily as student instruments or for teaching workshops. Though not as refined as higher-end dulcimers, they are considered serviceable and practical instruments. High-quality cardboard has good resonance and acoustic response.
- Resonator dulcimerResonator dulcimerA resonator dulcimer is an Appalachian dulcimer which features a metal resonating cone inset in the body, which receives and acoustically amplifies the vibration of the strings....
: a standard dulcimer, with a resonatorResonatorA resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonant frequencies, with greater amplitude than at others. The oscillations in a resonator can be either electromagnetic or mechanical...
added to the body, in imitation of the resonator guitarResonator guitarA resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
. This variant was first explored, and later patented, by Homer LedfordHomer LedfordHomer C. Ledford was an instrument maker and bluegrass musician from Kentucky who specialized in making dulcimers....
and called the "dulcibro."
- Electric dulcimer: acoustic dulcimers may be electrified with pickups, and several builders produce solid-body electric dulcimers.
- AquavinaAquavinaThe aquavina was an experimental musical instrument created by Jacques Dudon.It was essentially a variant of the Appalachian dulcimer, but with a metal resonator body partially filled with water. The player would agitate the instrument while playing, resulting in a constant acoustic phasing effect...
: a dulcimer employing a metal resonator filled partially with water. The resonator is agitated while playing, producing an eerie oscillation of the harmonics.
- DulcitarDulcitarDulcitar is one of a great many names used to describe a necked lute instrument with diatonic fretting, based on the Appalachian dulcimer.Other names used for this instrument include:*Walkabout dulcimer *Strumstick...
or stick dulcimer: a long-necked fretted instrument, similar to a guitar or mandolin, with diatonic dulcimer fretting. These instruments are known by a wide variety of names, with the most common commercial model being the McNally Strumstick.
Production
Appalachian dulcimers are often made by individual craftsmen and small, family-run businesses located in the American SouthSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and particularly in Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
. Cheap imports from Romania, Pakistan and China are slowly making inroads into the American market. John Bailey
John Bailey (luthier)
John Bailey was a British luthier who made and repaired guitars and other stringed instruments during the 1960s revival of English folk music and beyond. Bailey lived in London until 1972 when he moved to Dartmouth in Devon...
's book, Making an Appalachian Dulcimer, is one of several still in print that provide instructions for constructing a dulcimer.
External links
- In Search of the Wild Dulcimer - free online version of the book on the author's site.
- Dulcimer Players News, a magazine in publication since 1974, for hammered and fretted "dulcimer" enthusiasts.
- Everything Dulcimer - Online community featuring articles, listings and discussion forums.
- Dulcimerica Video Podcasts
- Friends of the Mountain Dulcimer - a supportive online learning community of mountain dulcimer players.