The hammered dulcimer is a musical instrument with a uniquely bright and ringing sound.

Although it has strings to produce its sound, those strings are set into motion by being struck by small mallet hammers.  Hence it is generally considered to be a percussion instrument, in the same way that a piano is considered to be a percussion instrument.

The strings of a hammered dulcimer are usually found in pairs, two strings for each note and stretched over a sounding board.

It is related to but different from the Appalachian (or mountain) dulcimer, which is a fretted string instrument whose origins are in the Appalachian region of the United States.

We are awaiting our next student of the hammered dulcimcr.