What is a dulcimer? A psal- tery? A lyre? And why did our forefathers some- times refer to the Psalms
as the Psalter? As we read through the
Old Testament, we find numerous mentions of stringed instruments. Sometimes we see different terms used for the
same instrument. Understanding what
instruments were used in Old Testament
worship can enhance our knowledge of
the Bible and our own enjoyment of the
worship experience.
Old Testament Stringed
Instruments
One of the better known stringed instruments mentioned in Scripture is the
harp. This instrument is mentioned many
times in the Bible, from Genesis 31: 27 to
Revelation 18: 22. The Old Schoolhouse®
Magazine’s September-October 2014 issue contained a quite interesting article
about the history of the harp and a brief
mention of Old Testament passages dealing with this well-known instrument.
Other musical instruments mentioned in
the Bible are not as familiar to modern-day readers. The psaltery still exists, but
very few people have attended a psaltery
concert. What is the difference between a
psaltery and a lyre?
The psaltery finds early mention in the
Old Testament ( 1 Samuel 10: 5) with a
number of references in the Psalms; collections of the Psalms, along with other
devotional material, were often referred
to as a psalter. This small instrument had
as many as fifteen strings and was usually plucked with the fingers or some sort
of pick. It was popular until the 1500s,
when the complexities of baroque compositions were more than the psaltery
was capable of producing.
The lyre was somewhat similar in structure to the psaltery and played much the
same way. Depending on the Bible translation used, the term “lyre” may or may
not appear. The King James Version of
Psalms 57: 8 (for example) uses the term
“psaltery,” whereas the New American
Standard Bible and other modern translations use the term “lyre.” The two instruments were very similar in construction
and mode of playing, so the word could
be used to describe either instrument.
The term “dulcimer” is mentioned in
the King James Version three times in
Daniel (chapter three). In other versions,
it is translated as “bagpipes,” and most
commentators indicate that this was not
a Jewish instrument. The word “
dulcimer” comes from the Latin and Greek
terms meaning “sweet sound.”
Construction of the Dulcimer
There are two major types of dulcimers
in use today: the hammered dulcimer
and what is colloquially called the mountain or Appalachian dulcimer. The hammered dulcimer will have somewhere
around thirty strings and is played by
striking the strings with wooden mallets.
This article will focus on the mountain
dulcimer, which commonly has three or
four strings and is played with a pick or
by being plucked with the fingers.
The dulcimer is usually about 27 to 35
inches in length. The two most common
shapes are the hourglass and teardrop
shapes, both usually with small heart
cutouts (see photos). One unique traditional dulcimer is the “courting dulcimer,” which is essentially two dulcimers
connected facing one another so that the
couple could be close and face-to-face
while playing duets.
The mountain dulcimer is a fretted
instrument, similar to the guitar and the
mandolin, but there are differences in the
spacing of the frets. For the guitar and
mandolin, frets are spaced so that each
fret represents a half step from the next
note. The dulcimer, on the other hand,
has some frets spaced at whole-step in-
tervals. The tuning for a dulcimer is in
a single key (often D major). Shifts to
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
by Donald Calbreath
Strings!
The dulcimer is indeed a sweet sound—easy for beginners to play,
yet versatile enough for advanced musicians.
Homeschool Music
