What is a dulcimer and why are there two different types?
Dulcimer comes from the Latin, dulce melos, meaning sweet sound. The mountain dulcimer is a uniquely American instrument, coming to us from the Appalachian mountains. It is descended from the European zither. The hammered dulcimer comes to us from Persia, many centuries before Christ. It is trapazoid shaped and generally played by strking with mallets or hammers, hence the name. These instruments produce two different sounds and are played in different ways.
