history and origins of the ducimer

ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE DULCIMERThe 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 with keys and dulcimers without keys. A dulcimer with
keys would be played by depressing a key which would move a
mechanism that would cause a hammer to strike the string. The most
improved instrument in the keyed dulcimer section is the piano.
Dulcimers that are played without the aid of a key are usually in the
unusual shape of a trapezoid. Early descriptions of this instrument,
dating back to the Middle Ages, describe the instrument as a rectangular
box with strings stretched over two bridges. Both the single and the
double bridged dulcimers are common in traditional Irish music. It is
played by striking the strings with padded wooden hammer.It is commonly
believed that the dulcimer came to Europe from the East sometime in the
fifteenth century. This cannot be true. The dulcimer is closely related to
the yang ch'in from China. However, the yang ch'in was introduced to the
Chinese around 1800. A similar traditional dulcimer found its way to
Korea in about 1725. The dulcimer originated as the santir in what is now
Iraq from a Greek instrument, the psalterion. The santir was a
trapeziodal box covered with strings. It was played by striking the strings
with light sticks. From there the Arabs carried the santir through North
Africa where it was integrated into the Jewish culture. From North Africa
it was taken to Spain, for a carving was discovered in the cathedral
Santiago de Compostela, dated 1184. It is unknown why the Irish make
mention of the timpan, a generic term for any member of the psaltrey
family, being used by St. Patrick in the 6th century, six hundred years
earlier than the dulcimers first introduction into Spain from North
Africa.Dulcimers gained popularity from the churches and cathedrals

throughout the 14th century. But in the 16th century, as the violin and
wind instruments became increasingly fashionable, the dulcimer virtually
disappeared. For the next two hundred years it went unnoticed. In 1705
Pantaleon Hebenstreit presented the French King Louis XIV with a
slightly revised dulcimer. Hebenstreit built a larger sound chamber and
used strings of gut and wire to span five octaves. He hoped to
revolutionize the dulcimer and its capacities. Sadly, the instrument was
not 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.