Is the dulcimer easy to play for a person who has experience playing other instruments?
It depends. While a vast music background will give you the ability to read music readily (unless you’ve played by ear all this time), reading music well has nothing to do with playing the dulcimer. The dulcimer is a more perceptual and physical instrument than most, so in my teaching I emphasize that my students learn to play themselves instead of the dulcimer (as mentioned two questions ago). Of the many students I’ve taught since 1980, I’ve had some with music backgrounds who got along well, and others who struggled. (The strugglers are mostly pianists who find it tricky to see the scale backwards to the keyboard, and who have trouble realizing that sometimes the hammers have to head lower on the dulcimer to strike a higher tone.) Conversely, I have some first-timers to music who do quite well, while others of that group struggle, too. So there are no guarantees, although I would say that those who have a strong determination to play will probably more than succeed. Also, among my b
