Dulcimer music has now found its way into blues, gospel, and commercial hillbilly music. Folk music singer and songwriter “Mother of Folk” Jean Ritchie brought the mountain dulcimer from small-town Appalachia to public prominence in the United States.
Stringed instrument forerunner to the guitar professional#
Since the folk revival 1950’s, the dulcimer has gained popularity beyond the Appalachian Mountains, played by professional and amateur musicians. In the 1900’s scholars and folk music lovers further popularized the dulcimer within the United States. Near the end of the 1800’s the dulcimer began to be noticed outside of the Appalachian Mountains, soon becoming a romanticized symbol of Appalachian culture. Stephen Seifert demonstrates a Tennessee "music box" played with a "noter."
Most of the strings acted as drones while the melody was played on the first string, making a sound like bagpipe music. The dulcimer player laid the instrument horizontally across a table or lap, strumming the strings with a turkey feather or pic and fretting with a finger or “noter” made from a twig or rounded stick. Frets were often made from the same wire used for staples and brooms. Because of its gentle sound, the dulcimer was probably mostly played as an accompaniment to singing or instrumental solos, but it was also used in instrumental duets and string bands as a melody instrument or played as a rhythm instrument by the hitting of the pick against the strings.ĭulcimers were made from easily accessible woods, like poplar, cherry and walnut, and were usually painted.
These immigrants called the instrument a “dulcimore”, coming from Greek and Latin, meaning “sweet song”. European Heritage(?)ĭespite the fact that there was never an instrument like the dulcimer in the British Isles, the British, Scottish, and Irish settlers of the Appalachian Mountains claimed the dulcimer as their own and created a huge body of songs, including dance tunes, British balladry and hymnody, and play/party songs. Different makers created different sound hold patterns. The West Virginia dulcimer was hour-glass shaped with 3 strings. They were easily-made instruments and seem to have been largely made by isolated, individual makers.Īfter the American Civil War (1861-1865), the mountain dulcimer traveled to Kentucky and West Virginia, eventually also landing in the Carolinas and Tennessee. These Virgina dulcimers were teardrop shaped with two drone strings (that were constantly played) and two melody strings. Soon, it came down south to Virginia, where it was placed on a larger sound box and simplified, stepping its way to the modern dulcimer. The Scheitholtz was brought to Pennsylvania by German immigrants. Before showing up in North America, the mountain dulcimer found its origins in fretted lap zithers from Western Europe: Langeleik from Norway, Swedish Hummel, French Epinette, and German Scheitholtz, the forefather of modern dulcimer The mountain dulcimer dates back to early 19 th century in the Appalachian mountains of southwest Virginia. Local nicknames include delcumer, dulcymore, hog fiddle, mountain zither, harmonium, harmony box, and music box.
The stick dulcimer owes its existence to the mountain dulcimer, also known as the Appalachian dulcimer, lap dulcimer, plucked dulcimer, and Kentucky dulcimer.
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