A Bit About the History of the Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer

     The Appalachian Mountain dulcimer is unquestionably a uniquely American stringed folk instrument.  It is, however, an American instrument in the same way that a banjo is.  Both the banjo and the mountain dulcimer are "refinements" of stringed instuments that were brought from other parts of the world by early immigrants to our Nation.  The history of the banjo can be traced to Africa while many contend that of the Appalachian Mountain dulcimer is traceable to several European stringed zithers.  It is, however, not the purpose of this blog to provide a concise history of the instrument. 


     If you are interested in learning more, here are a few Wikipedia links that can get you started:

• Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/zither to learn more about the zither.
• Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epinette_des_Vosges to learn more about the Epinette des Vosges of France.
• Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheitholt to learn more about the scheitholt of Germany.
• Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hummel_(instrument) to learn more about the of hummel of the Netherlands.
• Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langspil to learn more about the  langspil of Iceland.
• Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langeleik to learn more about the langeleik of Norway.
• Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_dulcimer to learn more about the dulcimer.

      After starting with Wikipedia, you may want to look at these additional links to historical information regarding the Appalachian Mountain dulcimer:

• This brief history of the dulcimer, written by Sharon Kimple of Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina in 2002, is interesting: http://www.museum.appstate.edu/christmas2002/pages/dulcimer.shtml.
• Lee Cagle, of Memphis, Tennessee, has been playing the mountain dulcimer since 1988.  She has put together some interesting facts about the history of the mountain dulcimer which are available at: http://www.leecagledulcimers.com/id62.html.
• In 2003, the late David Schnaufer, Adjunct Associate Professor of Dulcimer at Vanderbuilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, published an article about the history of the mountain dulcimer.  This article can be read at: http://www.leecagledulcimers.com/id64.html.