Sweet Melody
The hammered dulcimer’s origin can be traced back to around A.D. 900 in Syria. The Middle Eastern “santir,” which features many of the modern dulcimer’s structural elements, is considered to be the stringed instrument’s original form. Over the centuries, use of the instrument was documented in far-reaching territories, from North Africa and Spain to western Europe.
The first documentation of the instrument arriving to the New World appears in a ledger from a ship in 1609. The first instance of it being played publicly in Colonial America can be found in Judge Samuel Sewall’s writings. He mentioned seeing a musician play the instrument in 1717 while in Salem, Massachusetts.
Ancient Ancestor
The hammered dulcimer was extremely popular during England’s Middle Ages and Renaissance period. Once it arrived in British America, its popularity continued. One main reason for its continued use was that it was easy to transport, an important factor for colonists traveling overseas to start a new life.
The portable instrument’s body has a trapezoidal shape. Each grouping of strings attached horizontally across its body is called a “course.” Hammered dulcimers have on average about 60 strings. Each course of strings is tuned to a specific pitch.
This makes finding melodies to play relatively easy. Because of this, many hammered dulcimer players throughout history learned by ear, rather than by sheet music.
The “hammered” part of the dulcimer’s name comes from the fact that one plays the instrument with two mallets, instead of the modern Appalachian, or “mountain” dulcimer, which is plucked by hand.
The Lumberjack’s Piano
Simplicity was another fashionable aspect of the instrument, and many early colonists made versions of hammered dulcimers at home. Eventually, those who couldn’t make homemade instruments were able to visit specialty shops that employed a small, dedicated staff able to produce hammered dulcimers.The instrument remained a top choice among amateur musicians well into the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States. One reason it maintained prolonged prominence in the American musical landscape was the grassroots approach hammered dulcimer manufacturers used to sell the instrument.
When America’s economy began to take shape and grow in the early 1800s, factories produced more hammered dulcimers as demand grew. Dulcimer salesmen traveled to various parts of the country, including New York and several southern states, and sold the instrument to buyers.
While makers of hammered dulcimers contributed to the instrument’s country-wide popularity, certain areas kept the traditional roots of the instrument alive even as America’s cultural landscape diversified and grew rapidly.
The instrument remained popular among lumber camps in states like Michigan and Maine, leading to it garnering the nickname “the lumberjack’s piano” in honor of the trade closely associated with the playing of the hammered dulcimer.
Its migration into different regions ultimately led to different styles of play. In Kansas, rhythmic playing was the focus, with melodic solos acting as accent pieces. In New York, intricate melodies were favored over more straightforward stylings. Straightforward rhythms were often found in states like West Virginia due to the hammered dulcimer accompanying other instruments like the banjo.
In the late 1800s, American music culture went through several more significant changes. When newer versions of the piano became more portable and affordable, musicians chose the piano over the hammered dulcimer. Music education in schools also became widespread, and teachers opted for a classical music curriculum for their students, which meant they needed violins and pianos often found in orchestral compositions.
By the 1890s, it seemed as though the hammered dulcimer was all but lost to the colonial history of America’s now booming country.
Henry Ford’s Early American Orchestra
The entrepreneur spent most of his time overseeing the manufacturing of America’s first motorized automobiles. However, whenever he had a few minutes to spare, he liked to play his violin.
He felt the traditional folk music he grew up listening to, which left plenty of room for him to fiddle over, underscored the conservative morality he worked to instill in his company and in his personal life.
In 1924, he started his band, “Henry Ford’s Early American Orchestra.” He brought on fellow fiddle player Clayton Perry and acoustic bass player Maurice Castel. Charmed by the sounds of a dulcimer when he was a young boy, he also added a hammered dulcimer player, Edwin Baxter, to his band lineup. William Hallup, a cimbalom player, rounded out the sound. The cimbalom also belongs to the dulcimer family, but differs from the hammered dulcimer. Its sound is classified as a mix between the harp and the piano with a floor pedal that softens the sound of the strings.
His band spent the next several years providing musical entertainment for events the Ford Motor Company hosted.
As a cultural symbol, Ford’s love of the hammered dulcimer helped keep the instrument in the public eye, reigniting interest.
In 1964, at the historic Newport Folk Festival, a traditional hammered dulcimer player from Michigan, Elgia C. Hickok, took the stage for a set, yet again reintroducing the public to its mesmerizing, ancient sounds.
Two years later, in 1966, Michigan musician Chet Parker released an album of traditional folk music played on his hammered dulcimer.
Today, the legacy of the hammered dulcimer lives on in modern recordings, traditional folk festivals, and select independently owned shops that specialize in crafting artisan versions of the enchanting, historic instrument.
