| |
|
|
|
The Appalachian Dulcimer, also known as the mountain, lap, or fretted dulcimer is a relatively modern instrument which was born in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. It has some ancestral ties to earlier German and Scandinavian instruments, and the French Epinette de Vosges. Its distant lineage can be traced to the box Zithers brought from the Middle East to Europe during the Crusades. The most likely explanation for the application of the name Dulcimer to the Appalachian Dulcimer is that the name for the Appalachian instrument was taken from the Biblical reference to the hammered Dulcimer (from the Greek: dulce/menos, sweet/song).
Though its roots go back a long way, the Appalachian Dulcimer as we know it is relatively young. Most of the different shapes and woods were introduced in the middle 1800s and early 1900s. It is said to have developed primarily as a womens instrument, as women were not allowed to play a stringed musical instrument standing up in front of men. Designed to lay flat on a lap or table, the Appalachian Dulcimer was the ideal instrument for women.
The body extends the length of the fingerboard and traditionally has an hourglass shape. A traditional way to play the instrument is to lay it flat on the lap and pluck or strum the strings with one hand, while fretting with the other. In practice, a wide variety of playing styles are used.
The frets of the Appalachian Dulcimer are arranged in a diatonic scale. Traditionally, there are three or four strings. When four strings are used, the first two strings are placed close together and tuned the same. This can be used to emphasize the melody, while the other two strings are used as drone strings. Traditional songs use a variety of tunings to achieve different voices. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
