I had the recent good fortune of being gifted a hammered dulcimer. The instrument was crafted by James Hamilton, an instrument maker from Burnt Cabins, PA. He is the same craftsman that made the Bowed Psaltry that I wrote about in a previous post. I realized in acquiring the instrument that I knew nothing of its origins or how to play it for that matter, so I thought I could dive into its history and design this week and share my findings here.
The instrument itself is a trapezoidal shape and has two middle bridges. The treble bridge separates the treble strings into two rows of notes with one side of the division being 1.5 times the other. This results in a ratio of 3:2 or perfect fifths (Example: A to E) sounding on opposite sides of the bridge (34 notes total). The bass bridge provides another set of 16 notes played only on the left side of the bridge.The total of 50 notes are as follows C (2 Bass, 2 Treble), C#[Db] (2 Treble), D (3 Bass, 4 Treble), D# [Eb] (1 Bass, 1 Treble), E (2 Bass, 5 Treble), F (1 Bass, 2 Treble), F#[Gb](1 Bass, 3 Treble), G (2 Bass, 3 Treble), G#[Ab] (2 Treble), A (2 Bass, 5 Treble), A#[Bb] (1 Bass, 1 Treble), B (1 Bass, 4 Treble). This is to say that, unlike the instrument with which it shares a name (the mountain dulcimer), this is a chromatic instrument capable of playing in any key. There is, however, some logic applied to the layout making it much easier to play in certain keys. By playing up the right side of the bridge four notes from one of the following notes: A,D,G,C, or F and then matching that motion on the opposite side of the bridge, you complete one octave in that key. You can extend that range to two octaves for D,C, or F by using the bass bridge: First playing four notes upwards, matching that on the right side of the treble clef and continuing the pattern from before. To make a natural minor scale (Aeolion), you simply shift up one position from any of your major scale tonics, move upwards one octave, then complete the second octave on the right hand side with the second scale degree. Similarly you can extend the scale on the bass bridge for E, A, D, and G. In summary, you can easily play in the following keys: C, D, F, G, A, B minor, E minor, A minor, D minor, and G minor. That covers 1/3 of all the available keys. It is possible to play in any of the other 20 keys, but you will have to jump around a little more and it will sound less traditional. If you are a visual learner, just ignore all that and take a look at this video.
The dulcimer famously shows up in the biblical text centered around Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, who I can't help but think of as the Beastie Boys. King Nebuchadnezzar issues a decree stating that when they hear the sound of the instrument (and just about any other instrument for that matter) they must bow down and worship "the image of gold." Shad, Mesch, and Abe disobey, are sent to the fiery furnace and hang out a while unscathed. That's Daniel 3:10-30 if you're interested. I say all this to point out that the instrument has been around a little bit longer than the saxophone or the Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer for that matter, which dates back about 200 years.
It is estimated that the ancient origins of the Dulcimer date back about 5,000 years to the Middle East. If I did my math correctly, that is about 2,400 years before the biblical story just mentioned. Dulcimers with bass bridges started showing up in Europe around the 16th century.
The word dulcimer comes from the Latin and Greek dulce and melos, meaning "Sweet Tune." Many regions around the world have their own unique version musical stylizations of this instrument. In Greece they have the Santouri, in India the Santur, in China the Yang Ch'in, and in Mexico they have the Salterio a kind of hybrid between the psaltry and dulcimer.
The Cimbalon which was introduced to the orchestra by Franz Lizst in 1876 was developed in Hungary. It is an instrument with a range of four chromatic octaves that is also equipped with a damper mechanism. The instrument became popular among American settlers, most notably in the lumberjack camps of Maine and Michigan where it became known as the "Lumberjack's Piano." Another ridiculous American name for the instrument is the "Whamadiddle."
The instrument had a brief revival in the 1920s through the 1940s when Henry Ford put the instrument into his Early American Orchestra which released records on the Victor and Columbia labels and aired a weekly radio show.
Perhaps the instruments most lasting legacy may be its connection to the development of the piano. With its capability for large jumps in dynamic range and hammers that strike the strings, it is easy to see how Bartolomeo Cristofori, who developed the fortepiano ("loud-soft") around 1700 could be inspired to add keys to this beautiful and dramatic instrument. The piano would, of course, would continue to grow in popularity. The Hammered Dulcimer would come to take its place alongside the largely forgotten Harpsichord and Clavichord.