Hammered dulcimers
The word dulcimer originally referred to a trapezoidal-shaped instrument similar to a psaltery. This instrument has many strings that are struck by handheld "hammers." Variants of this instrument are found in many cultures, including:
- Hammered dulcimer (England, Scotland, United States)
- Hackbrett (southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
- Tsymbaly (Ukraine), tsimbl (Ashkenazi Jewish), țambal (Romania), and cimbalom (Hungary) may refer to either a small folk instrument or a larger classical instrument ("cimbál" in the Czech Republic). The santouri (Greece) (called "santur" in the Ottoman Empire) is almost identical to the Jewish and Romanian folk instruments.
- Santur (Iran and Iraq)
- Santoor (northern India and Pakistan) is constructed and tuned differently from the santur of Iran and Iraq
- Khim (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand)
- Yangqin (China), Đàn tam thập lục (Vietnam), yanggeum (Korea)
Appalachian dulcimer and derivatives
In the Appalachian region of the United States during the nineteenth century, hammered dulcimers were uncommon. In this area, the word "dulcimer," which was known from the King James Version of the Bible, described a three- or four-stringed instrument with frets. This instrument was typically played on the lap by strumming.
- The original Appalachian dulcimer
- Different twentieth-century versions, such as:
- Banjo dulcimer, which has a banjo-like soundboard
- Resonator dulcimer, which includes a cone-shaped piece that helps the sound carry farther
- Bowed dulcimer, which is teardrop-shaped and played upright with a bow
- Electric dulcimer, which uses a device to capture sound and make it louder through an amplifier