DULCIMER LINKS

DULCIMER, stringed musical instrument. It is a wooden box with strings stretched over it that are struck with small mallets. The number of strings may vary. The dulcimer is related to the psaltery and modern zither It originated in the Middle East and was adopted in Europe in the Middle Ages. It is known, in varying forms, in Turkey, Iran, China (including Tibet), and other parts of Asia, the Middle East, and N Africa. The popularity of the dulcimer continued in Western Europe until the 17th cent., when it sharply declined, though a German, Pantaleon Hebenstreit, enlarged it to make an instrument called the pantaleon in the early 18th cent. It is still much used in Eastern Europe in Gypsy bands. In Appalachia a plucked dulcimer very similar to the zither is popular. It has an elongated hourglass shape and is held on the player's lap.

PSALTERY, stringed musical instrument. It has a flat soundboard over which a variable number of strings are stretched. Its origin was in the Middle East, and it is referred to in the Bible. It appeared in Europe in the 12th cent. and flourished until the late Middle Ages. The term psaltery is sometimes used as a generic term for all plucked zithers having flat bodies. The instrument is similar to a hammered dulcimer but is plucked instead of hammered.

ZITHER, stringed musical instrument, derived from the psaltery. It has a flat soundboard, with metal frets, over which a variable number of strings are stretched. Its origin was in the Middle East, and it is referred to in the Bible.

Definitions courtesy The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia® Copyright© 2005, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/