History and Origins of the Ducimer

ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE DULCIMER The dulcimer is a member of the string family. It is further categorized into the Psaltrey family, a group of instruments that are comprised of strings stretched across a frame and played by plucking or drumming. The only difference, in fact, between the dulcimer and the psaltrey is the fact that one is plucked and the other is drummed. The dulcimer family is divided into two sections. The dulcimers …

…highly accepted, for the reverberation created in the larger sound chamber made the performance of rapid passages impossible, and the longer strings were harder to keep in tune. Again the dulcimer lay dormant. Although the dulcimer escaped the Western orchestral music, it was accepted amongst the folk musicians of places like Ireland. It has really only gained popularity in the past fifteen years, although it has been a member of some Irish ensembles throughout history.