- The hammered dulcimer is of Near Eastern origin, thought to be around for about 5,000 years. Before the modern era, it was referred to as a santir or psanterium, perhaps inspired by the Greek stringed instrument, the psalterion.
Its use began to spread beyond the Near East in the 12th century when Arabs, or Moors, transported the boards to Spain. It later got to the Far East, where the Chinese referred to it as the "yang ch'in" or "foreign zither." - The mountain dulcimer is virtually a unique American innovation. First brought to North America from England during the colonial era, it became the trademark musical instrument of the Scots-Irish inhabitants in the Appalachian mountains in the 19th century due to its portability and user-friendliness (particularly in comparison to the piano). Indeed, it is named so (as well as "Appalachian dulcimer") because of this association. Other names for this instrument include "lap dulcimer," "Kentucky dulcimer," "delcumer," "dulcymore," "harmonium" and "hog fiddle."
- The hammered dulcimer is played through striking the strings stretched over it with hammers, producing a variance of sounds. It was widely used throughout Europe until the 19th century for concerts. The cimbalom---an elaborate hammer dulcimer consisting of steel strings---was created in Austria-Hungary.
- The traditional way of playing the mountain dulcimer is placing it on the lap and plucking or strumming the strings with one hand while fretting it with the other. The instrument was used to play folk music, which encompasses ballads, play and party songs for dances such as square and buck dance. Style of play in musical accompaniment was not awfully complicated, with chords continuously sounded throughout most or all of each piece.
- The hammered dulcimer has largely faded into obscurity, possibly superseded by the similarly built piano. Meanwhile, the mountain dulcimer has enjoyed fame stretching beyond the Appalachians since the 1950s and is widely used today by folk musicians.
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