Although the exact origin of the mountain dulcimer remains obscure, there are some clues which historians have put together in tracing the birth of this most personal stringed instrument.

Early settlers of the Appalachian Mountain area longed for the music which had been so much a part of their lives in the old country. Remembrance of such instruments as the French epinette des Vosges, the Dutch humle, the Norwegian langeleik, and the German scheitholt stimulated the handcrafted production of the so-called Appalachian dulcimer-a mellifluous stringed combination of the four popular European instruments.

The first dulcimers were box-shaped but gradually the teardrop and hourglass¹ shapes evolved. All dulcimers are played on a table or, more popularly, on the lap. Various combinations of wood are used in its construction. The number of strings varies from three to six, but the melody is usually played on the first string with the other strings being "drones".

The name "dulcimer" is derived from the Latin dulce (sweet) and the Greek melos (song). To hear the peaceful, soothing tones of the dulcimer is to understand its chosen name.

Although the popularity of the dulcimer as a modern folk instrument has been perhaps not so dramatic as that of the guitar or banjo, it nonetheless remains the choice of the mountain people and has slowly filtered into the cities across the nation. Mass production of the relatively more flamboyant banjo and guitar, coupled with the intense interest in folk lyrics alone, acted to delay interest in the dulcimer in the modern resurgence of folklore fascination. Be that as it may, once again the dulcimer has apparently come into its own.

¹ A double bouted instrument circa 1850