Music~Guitarron Mexican Salterio Hammered Dulcimer Musical Instrument

Description: The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer, dulcimer, santouri, or tympanon) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more traditional styles may sit cross-legged on the floor, or in a more modern style may stand or sit at a wooden support with legs. The player holds a small spoon-shaped mallet hammer in each hand to strike the strings. The Graeco-Roman dulcimer ("sweet song") derives from the Latin dulcis (sweet) and the Greek melos (song). The dulcimer, in which the strings are beaten with small hammers, originated from the psaltery, in which the strings are plucked. Hammered dulcimers and other similar instruments are traditionally played in Iraq, India, Iran, Southwest Asia, China, Korea, and parts of Southeast Asia, Central Europe (Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland (particularly Appenzell), Austria and Bavaria), the Balkans, Eastern Europe (Ukraine and Belarus), and Scandinavia. The instrument is also played in the United Kingdom (Wales, East Anglia, Northumbria), and the US, where its traditional use in folk music saw a notable revival in the late 20th century. Strings and tuning A dulcimer usually has two bridges, a bass bridge near the right and a treble bridge on the left side. The bass bridge holds up bass strings, which are played to the left of the bridge. The treble strings can be played on either side of the treble bridge. In the usual construction, playing them on the left side gives a note a fifth higher than playing them on the right of the bridge. Today the hammered dulcimer is played in some of the farthest crevices of the world. Its music has enriched the lives of people everywhere; from the traditional silk and bamboo genre of China to the folk music festivals of the U.S. But where did this instrument come from and how has it intermingled with history? In this article, we will take a trip back in time to discover the instrument’s humble beginnings and follow the evolution of hammered dulcimer history. Come geek out with us as we explore the dulcimer’s rich and varied past! When Was the Hammered Dulcimer Invented? To be clear, the hammered dulcimer, sometimes called the “hammer” dulcimer, is an old instrument. But how old is it? Old. Some speculate that it can be traced back centuries and centuries to some of the first stirrings of human society. But the Bible times? The jury is still out on that one. Myth: The dulcimer was mentioned in the Bible. In the Bible, a dulcimer was said to be a part of Nebuchadnezzar’s band in the King James Version of the book of Daniel. Myth BUSTED: It has been found that the Hebrew word that was first thought to mean dulcimer instead meant either a bagpipe, string drum, or even a flute. The translators of the King James version mistakenly translated it to “dulcimer.”Hammered Dulcimer OriginsSo, when did it originate and where are hammered dulcimers from? Unfortunately, the origin of the hammered dulcimer will probably forever remain a mystery. However, there are several theories of where this instrument originated: 1.) Persia: Most commonly, it is believed that the hammer dulcimer originated in Persia around 900 A.D. The instrument is more than likely related to one of the early models of the psaltery of those days. Who invented the hammered dulcimer? This answer has been lost in the annals of history, but we thank them! After its possible conception in Persia, the dulcimer was then said to have arrived in North Africa. And sometime between 900 and 1200 AD, the Spanish Moors and returning Crusaders brought it to western Europe where it was popularized. The Roma people then carried it along with their caravans to eastern Europe. Either the Europeans or Persians brought the instrument to China, where it spread to countries like Thailand and Korea.2.) Europe: Paul Gifford brought about another opinion about the origins of the hammered dulcimer in his book, The Hammered Dulcimer. He believes that the dulcimer originated in Europe in the 15th century, descended from the European psaltery (which was likely related to the psaltery of the Middle East).3.) Ancient Assyria: Let’s go back even further. In 704–681 BC, the Assyrian king Sennacherib decorated rooms and courtyards of the Palace at Nineveh, located in modern-day Iraq. The king implemented carved stone panels detailing the Assyrian life of those times, including bas-reliefs of musicians. One of these reliefs displays the playing of what is said to be a lyre but is hit with what seems to be wooden batons. This could be the early makings of the modern hammered dulcimer.Though the exact origins are still unknown, we do know that the dulcimer was around during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance throughout Europe. And in the 17th century during King James I’s rule in England, it had an explosion of popularity. This is probably the main reason for the mistaken translation of the King James version; they had dulcimer on the brain. We can so relate! How is the Hammered Dulcimer Related to the Piano?Believe it or not, the dulcimer is related to the modern-day piano. If you think about it, the strings of the dulcimer are very similar to the strings inside the piano. And there is a good reason for this similarity. You can see the family resemblance of the hammered dulcimer when you look inside a piano. You see, in the 1690s a German dulcimer player named Pantaleon Hebenstreit decided he wanted to combine elements of the harpsichord and the hammered dulcimer. The harpsichord, though full of wonderful tone and range, does not have the same ability as the dulcimer to strike the strings at varying degrees of softness or loudness. Its strings are plucked when the keys are depressed, so it is unable to make this volume distinction. So, Hebenstreit built a dulcimer that was over nine feet long, boasting a whopping 200 strings! Wow! The next evolution of Hebenstreit’s instrument was created by Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori. He built the first fortepiano (Italian for loud-soft), which was essentially a keyed dulcimer. This instrument was the original pianoforte, or what we now call the piano. The sounds of this model were produced by keys that activated hammers. The harder you struck the keys, the louder the sounds. These days you will see the term pianoforte shortened simply to “piano.” The piano is still a much-beloved instrument to this day thanks to the existence of its ancestor, the hammered dulcimer. Hammered Dulcimer History in America So back to our evolutionary history of the hammered dulcimer. We left off in Europe, where the dulcimer was much beloved by King James’ England, commonly used in street music there. From Europe, it made its journey across the ocean with the colonists to America in the early 1700s. Samuel Sewall, a judge in Salem, Massachusetts, was the first to mention the instrument in 1717. American Settlers’ Music CompanionIt then spread Westward with the settlers across North America and was often coined terms like “whamadiddle” or “hackbrett” (“chopping board” in German). You could even say it accompanied the building of America. In 19th-century lumber camps of Maine and Michigan, the dulcimer was known as the “lumberjack’s piano.” Often played at home and even in concerts, they were said to be quite common music-makers of 18th and 19th century America. This is probably due to their relative portability compared to the piano, making it an attractive choice to mobile settlers. Early Hammered Dulcimer ProductionDulcimers were often homemade or produced in small shops and factories. This bred wide variations of the instrument which were manifestations of the varying styles and folk tradition that surrounds it (and still do). Some of the earliest producers of hammered dulcimers were in New York and Connecticut in the 1850s and 1860s. These producers sent their salesmen as far as the Midwest to play and sell their products. Also, Lyon and Healy, a piano manufacturer in the late 1800s, began producing dulcimers due to the two instrument’s similarities. There were ads for dulcimers in catalogs like Sears and Roebuck and Montgomery Ward circa 1900. But just as the dulcimer industry experienced this boom, it quickly became a discarded trend. In 1906, Lyon and Healy no longer produced them, and they were not available in catalogs. The reason for this is most likely the influence of music players to tend toward the more popular piano. The dulcimer quickly fell out of the public limelight, except for a momentary spotlight in Henry Ford’s Early American Orchestra from the ‘20s to the ‘40s. To this day, old-timey dulcimers from this early American era are still found under piles of dust in places like New York, Maine, the Appalachians, and parts of the Midwest. The Dulcimer in the USA TodayAfter a relatively quiet period of the history of the hammered dulcimer in the early 20th century, the ‘60s was the beginning of its comeback. Among this shift in popularity were other previously discarded folk instruments, which have resulted in a modern-day folk revival. Today you can find tons of dulcimer players in the U.S., plus lots of fun festivals to go to, and even professional players (thank you, Internet!). And folk music is not the only kind of music we like on the dulcimer. Some of the best hammered dulcimer songs are the ones you least expect. This is evident in renditions of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” to Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” which we have linked below. Nothing Else Matters - Hammer DulcimerEverybody Wants To Rule The World - instrumental hammered dulcimerThe instrument also appears in music soundtracks in the epic “The Lord of the Rings” saga, as well as the dragon-infested, gruesome smash-hit series “Game of Thrones.” Keep your ear open and listen closely, the dulcimer is very much alive and well in today’s music! Hammered Dulcimer Around the World TodayShow the dfference between santoor and hammered dulcimerMadan Oak plays the santoor in India. Santoors are played while sitting in an asana called ardha-padmasana with the instrument placed in the lap. And the U.S. is not the only place that still celebrates this somewhat obscure instrument in the hidden pockets of its society; dulcimer music is still played throughout the world! As the instrument has evolved in varying countries, it has taken on different designs, names, and places in its history, music, and culture. Here are common names for the hammered dulcimer types used in other countries: Chinese: YangqinFrench: TympanonGerman: HackbrettHungarian: CimbalomItalian: SalterioSpanish: DulcémeleUkrainian: TsymbalyPolish: CymbalyPersian: Santoor, Today the hammered dulcimer is played in some of the farthest crevices of the world. Its music has enriched the lives of people everywhere; from the traditional silk and bamboo genre of China to the folk music festivals of the U.S. But where did this instrument come from and how has it intermingled with history?In this article, we will take a trip back in time to discover the instrument’s humble beginnings and follow the evolution of hammered dulcimer history. Come geek out with us as we explore the dulcimer’s rich and varied past! When Was the Hammered Dulcimer Invented? To be clear, the hammered dulcimer, sometimes called the “hammer” dulcimer, is an old instrument. But how old is it? Old. Some speculate that it can be traced back centuries and centuries to some of the first stirrings of human society. But the Bible times? The jury is still out on that one. Myth: The dulcimer was mentioned in the Bible. In the Bible, a dulcimer was said to be a part of Nebuchadnezzar’s band in the King James Version of the book of Daniel. Myth BUSTED: It has been found that the Hebrew word that was first thought to mean dulcimer instead meant either a bagpipe, string drum, or even a flute. The translators of the King James version mistakenly translated it to “dulcimer.”Hammered Dulcimer OriginsSo, when did it originate and where are hammered dulcimers from? Unfortunately, the origin of the hammered dulcimer will probably forever remain a mystery. However, there are several theories of where this instrument originated: 1.) Persia: Most commonly, it is believed that the hammer dulcimer originated in Persia around 900 A.D. The instrument is more than likely related to one of the early models of the psaltery of those days. Who invented the hammered dulcimer? This answer has been lost in the annals of history, but we thank them! After its possible conception in Persia, the dulcimer was then said to have arrived in North Africa. And sometime between 900 and 1200 AD, the Spanish Moors and returning Crusaders brought it to western Europe where it was popularized. The Roma people then carried it along with their caravans to eastern Europe. Either the Europeans or Persians brought the instrument to China, where it spread to countries like Thailand and Korea.2.) Europe: Paul Gifford brought about another opinion about the origins of the hammered dulcimer in his book, The Hammered Dulcimer. He believes that the dulcimer originated in Europe in the 15th century, descended from the European psaltery (which was likely related to the psaltery of the Middle East).3.) Ancient Assyria: Let’s go back even further. In 704–681 BC, the Assyrian king Sennacherib decorated rooms and courtyards of the Palace at Nineveh, located in modern-day Iraq. The king implemented carved stone panels detailing the Assyrian life of those times, including bas-reliefs of musicians. One of these reliefs displays the playing of what is said to be a lyre but is hit with what seems to be wooden batons. This could be the early makings of the modern hammered dulcimer.Though the exact origins are still unknown, we do know that the dulcimer was around during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance throughout Europe. And in the 17th century during King James I’s rule in England, it had an explosion of popularity. This is probably the main reason for the mistaken translation of the King James version; they had dulcimer on the brain. We can so relate! How is the Hammered Dulcimer Related to the Piano?Believe it or not, the dulcimer is related to the modern-day piano. If you think about it, the strings of the dulcimer are very similar to the strings inside the piano. And there is a good reason for this similarity. You can see the family resemblance of the hammered dulcimer when you look inside a piano. You see, in the 1690s a German dulcimer player named Pantaleon Hebenstreit decided he wanted to combine elements of the harpsichord and the hammered dulcimer. The harpsichord, though full of wonderful tone and range, does not have the same ability as the dulcimer to strike the strings at varying degrees of softness or loudness. Its strings are plucked when the keys are depressed, so it is unable to make this volume distinction. So, Hebenstreit built a dulcimer that was over nine feet long, boasting a whopping 200 strings! Wow! The next evolution of Hebenstreit’s instrument was created by Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori. He built the first fortepiano (Italian for loud-soft), which was essentially a keyed dulcimer. This instrument was the original pianoforte, or what we now call the piano. The sounds of this model were produced by keys that activated hammers. The harder you struck the keys, the louder the sounds. These days you will see the term pianoforte shortened simply to “piano.” The piano is still a much-beloved instrument to this day thanks to the existence of its ancestor, the hammered dulcimer. Hammered Dulcimer History in America So back to our evolutionary history of the hammered dulcimer. We left off in Europe, where the dulcimer was much beloved by King James’ England, commonly used in street music there. From Europe, it made its journey across the ocean with the colonists to America in the early 1700s. Samuel Sewall, a judge in Salem, Massachusetts, was the first to mention the instrument in 1717. American Settlers’ Music CompanionIt then spread Westward with the settlers across North America and was often coined terms like “whamadiddle” or “hackbrett” (“chopping board” in German). You could even say it accompanied the building of America. In 19th-century lumber camps of Maine and Michigan, the dulcimer was known as the “lumberjack’s piano.” Often played at home and even in concerts, they were said to be quite common music-makers of 18th and 19th century America. This is probably due to their relative portability compared to the piano, making it an attractive choice to mobile settlers. Early Hammered Dulcimer ProductionDulcimers were often homemade or produced in small shops and factories. This bred wide variations of the instrument which were manifestations of the varying styles and folk tradition that surrounds it (and still do). Some of the earliest producers of hammered dulcimers were in New York and Connecticut in the 1850s and 1860s. These producers sent their salesmen as far as the Midwest to play and sell their products. Also, Lyon and Healy, a piano manufacturer in the late 1800s, began producing dulcimers due to the two instrument’s similarities. There were ads for dulcimers in catalogs like Sears and Roebuck and Montgomery Ward circa 1900. But just as the dulcimer industry experienced this boom, it quickly became a discarded trend. In 1906, Lyon and Healy no longer produced them, and they were not available in catalogs. The reason for this is most likely the influence of music players to tend toward the more popular piano. The dulcimer quickly fell out of the public limelight, except for a momentary spotlight in Henry Ford’s Early American Orchestra from the ‘20s to the ‘40s. To this day, old-timey dulcimers from this early American era are still found under piles of dust in places like New York, Maine, the Appalachians, and parts of the Midwest. The Dulcimer in the USA TodayAfter a relatively quiet period of the history of the hammered dulcimer in the early 20th century, the ‘60s was the beginning of its comeback. Among this shift in popularity were other previously discarded folk instruments, which have resulted in a modern-day folk revival. Today you can find tons of dulcimer players in the U.S., plus lots of fun festivals to go to, and even professional players (thank you, Internet!). And folk music is not the only kind of music we like on the dulcimer. Some of the best hammered dulcimer songs are the ones you least expect. This is evident in renditions of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” to Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” which we have linked below. Nothing Else Matters - Hammer DulcimerEverybody Wants To Rule The World - instrumental hammered dulcimerThe instrument also appears in music soundtracks in the epic “The Lord of the Rings” saga, as well as the dragon-infested, gruesome smash-hit series “Game of Thrones.” Keep your ear open and listen closely, the dulcimer is very much alive and well in today’s music! Hammered Dulcimer Around the World TodayShow the dfference between santoor and hammered dulcimerMadan Oak plays the santoor in India. Santoors are played while sitting in an asana called ardha-padmasana with the instrument placed in the lap. And the U.S. is not the only place that still celebrates this somewhat obscure instrument in the hidden pockets of its society; dulcimer music is still played throughout the world! As the instrument has evolved in varying countries, it has taken on different designs, names, and places in its history, music, and culture. Here are common names for the hammered dulcimer types used in other countries: Chinese: YangqinFrench: TympanonGerman: HackbrettHungarian: CimbalomItalian: SalterioSpanish: DulcémeleUkrainian: TsymbalyPolish: CymbalyPersian: Santoor, SanturIndian: SantoorKorean: YanggeumThai: ขิม KhimDespite these differences, all these instruments have the same trapezoid shape, have strings running across their body, and are struck with hammers. Indian: SantoorKorean: YanggeumThai: ขิม KhimDespite these differences, all these instruments have the same trapezoid shape, have strings running across their body, and are struck with hammers. The dulcimer comes in various sizes, identified by the number of strings that cross each of the bridges. A 15/14, for example, has 15 strings crossing the treble bridge and 14 crossing the bass bridge, and can span three octaves. The strings of a hammered dulcimer are usually found in pairs, two strings for each note (though some instruments have three or four strings per note). Each set of strings is tuned in unison and is called a course. As with a piano, the purpose of using multiple strings per course is to make the instrument louder, although as the courses are rarely in perfect unison, a chorus effect usually results like a mandolin. A hammered dulcimer, like an autoharp, harp, or piano, requires a tuning wrench for tuning, since the dulcimer's strings are wound around tuning pins with square heads. (Ordinarily, 5 mm "zither pins" are used, similar to, but smaller in diameter than piano tuning pins, which come in various sizes ranging upwards from "1/0" or 7 mm.) The strings of the hammered dulcimer are often tuned according to a circle of fifths pattern. Typically, the lowest note (often a G or D) is struck at the lower right-hand of the instrument, just to the left of the right-hand (bass) bridge. As a player strikes the courses above in sequence, they ascend following a repeating sequence of two whole steps and a half step. With this tuning, a diatonic scale is broken into two tetrachords, or groups of four notes. For example, on an instrument with D as the lowest note, the D major scale is played starting in the lower-right corner and ascending the bass bridge: D – E – F♯ – G. This is the lower tetrachord of the D major scale. At this point the player returns to the bottom of the instrument and shifts to the treble strings to the right of the treble bridge to play the higher tetrachord: A – B – C♯ – D. The player can continue up the scale on the right side of the treble bridge with E – F♯ – G – A – B, but the next note will be C, not C♯, so he or she must switch to the left side of the treble bridge (and closer to the player) to continue the D major scale. See the drawing on the left above, in which "DO" would correspond to D (see Movable do solfège). The shift from the bass bridge to the treble bridge is required because the bass bridge's fourth string G is the start of the lower tetrachord of the G scale. The player could go on up a couple notes (G – A – B), but the next note will be a flatted seventh (C natural in this case), because this note is drawn from the G tetrachord. This D major scale with a flatted seventh is the mixolydian mode in D. The same thing happens as the player goes up the treble bridge – after getting to La (B in this case), one has to go to the left of the treble bridge. Moving from the left side of the bass bridge to the right side of the treble bridge is analogous to moving from the right side of the treble bridge to the left side of the treble bridge. The whole pattern can be shifted up by three courses, so that instead of a D-major scale one would have a G-major scale, and so on. This transposes one equally tempered scale to another. Shifting down three courses transposes the D-major scale to A-major, but of course the first Do-Re-Mi would be shifted off the instrument. This tuning results in most, but not all, notes of the chromatic scale being available. To fill in the gaps, many modern dulcimer builders include extra short bridges at the top and bottom of the soundboard, where extra strings are tuned to some or all of the missing pitches. Such instruments are often called "chromatic dulcimers" as opposed to the more traditional "diatonic dulcimers". The tetrachord markers found on the bridges of most hammered dulcimers in the English-speaking world were introduced by the American player and maker Sam Rizzetta in the 1960s. In the Alps there are also chromatic dulcimers with crossed strings, which are in a whole tone distance in every row. This chromatic Salzburger hackbrett was developed in the mid 1930s from the diatonic hammered dulcimer by Tobi Reizer and his son along with Franz Peyer and Heinrich Bandzauner. In the postwar period it was one of the instruments taught in state-sponsored music schools. Hammered dulcimers of non-European descent may have other tuning patterns, and builders of European-style dulcimers sometimes experiment with alternate tuning patterns. HammersThe instrument is referred to as "hammered" in reference to the small mallets (referred to as hammers) that players use to strike the strings. Hammers are usually made of wood (most likely hardwoods such as maple, cherry, padauk, oak, walnut, or any other hardwood), but can also be made from any material, including metal and plastic. In the Western hemisphere, hammers are usually stiff, but in Asia, flexible hammers are often used. The head of the hammer can be left bare for a sharp attack sound, or can be covered with adhesive tape, leather, or fabric for a softer sound. Two-sided hammers are also available. The heads of two sided hammers are usually oval or round. Most of the time, one side is left as bare wood while the other side may be covered in leather or a softer material such as piano felt. Several traditional players have used hammers that differ substantially from those in common use today. Paul Van Arsdale (1920–2018), a player from upstate New York, used flexible hammers made from hacksaw blades, with leather-covered wooden blocks attached to the ends (these were modeled after the hammers used by his grandfather, Jesse Martin). The Irish player John Rea (1915–1983) used hammers made of thick steel wire, which he made himself from old bicycle spokes wrapped with wool. Billy Bennington (1900–1986), a player from Norfolk, England, used cane hammers bound with wool. Variants and adaptations The hammered dulcimer was extensively used during the Middle Ages in England, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. Although it had a distinctive name in each country, it was everywhere regarded as a kind of psalterium. The importance of the method of setting the strings in vibration by means of hammers, and its bearing on the acoustics of the instrument, were recognized only when the invention of the pianoforte had become a matter of history. It was then perceived that the psalterium (in which the strings were plucked) and the dulcimer (in which they were struck), when provided with keyboards would give rise to two distinct families of instruments, differing essentially in tone quality, in technique and in capabilities. The evolution of the psalterium resulted in the harpsichord; that of the dulcimer produced the pianoforte.

Price: 175 USD

Location: Austin, Texas

End Time: 2024-02-10T17:06:20.000Z

Shipping Cost: 50 USD