Appalachian dulcimer
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The Appalachian dulcimer ( dulcimer , ['dʌlsɪmə] , derived from Latin / Greek dulce melos , "lovely sound"), also mountain dulcimer , is a drone zither played in the United States that is related to the European log . The name Appalachian dulcimer refers to the region of origin, the Appalachians , and is used to distinguish it from the dulcimer , as a dulcimer is commonly called in English . Hammered dulcimer is the American version of a trapezoidal chopping board.
Design
The Appalachian dulcimer belongs to the box zither and has a flat body on which the fingerboard is placed directly, as well as three to five strings. Most instruments are only fretted diatonic ; some also have additional frets for some semitones so that you can play more than one key . In the meantime there are also instruments with chromatic frets. The mood is therefore adapted to the respective melody; common tunings are d - a - a (- a), d - a - d ′ (- d ′) or d - a - c ′ (- c ′).
Origin and Distribution
The Appalachian dulcimer came to America mainly with the Anglo-Saxon immigrants from Europe and was there especially in the Appalachians. Related European drones are the Swedish bumblebee , the French Épinette des Vosges and the Norwegian Langeleik . In the 1960s the Appalachian dulcimer was rediscovered by the folk movement and experienced an increase in popularity until the mid-1970s. It is mainly played in old-time , folk and country music and partly in medieval music. The Canadian musician Joni Mitchell in particular accompanied herself to an Appalachian dulcimer for several of her songs , for example A Case of You on her album Blue from 1971. Brian Jones , the guitarist of the Rolling Stones , played in 1966 on I Am Waiting and Lady Jane on the album Aftermath an Appalachian dulcimer .
Playing technique
When playing, the instrument lies on the lap or in front of the player. The strings are gripped from above. Like a guitar, the strings can be plucked individually ( finger picking ) or struck with a pick at the same time. Although you can also play simple chords , the melody is often only played on the highest string and the bass strings are used as drones . A variation of this playing technique is also widespread, in which the melody on the Appalachian dulcimer (similar to a slide guitar ) is played with a bamboo stick. In contrast to the slide guitar, the bamboo stick ( noter ) is placed between the frets and pressed down. A slide game in the classic sense with bottlenecks made of glass or brass is also possible. This playing technique is particularly interesting because it makes accessible many nuances that are otherwise intangible on the Appalachian dulcimer .
Similar names
Dulcimer was the project name for Apple's iPod before it was presented to the public on October 23, 2001.
literature
- Randall Armstrong: The Adaptable Appalachian Dulcimer. In: Music Educators Journal, Vol. 66, No. February 6 , 1980, pp. 38-41 (Sage Publications)
- L. Allen Smith: Toward a Reconstruction of the Development of the Appalachian Dulcimer: What the Instruments Suggest. In: The Journal of American Folklore , Vol. 93, No. 370. American Folklore Society, October-December 1980, pp. 385-396
