The hammered dulcimer is a string instrument played with wooden hammers. Sometimes the sounds are also produced by plucking the strings with the fingers. Many are fascinated by its typical beautiful, soft sound. Hammered dulcimers can be found all over the world. These instruments can vary in size, tuning, number of strings, and playing methods. The names also differ by country: dulcimer, doulcimer (United States and Great Britain); dulcimer, tympanon (French-speaking regions); santoor, santur (Turkey and Asian countries); hackbrett (Central Europe); hakkebord (Dutch-speaking regions), cymbalom (Eastern Europe); yangqin (China). The hammered dulcimer is used in various music genres: blues, classical music, improvisations, modern compositions, and jazz. Classical composers such as Koldály, Bartok, Liszt, and Stravinski wrote music for the hammered dulcimer (cymbalom). Nowadays, this instrument is mainly used in folk and traditional music. It is played as a solo instrument or accompanied by accordion, hurdy-gurdy, diatonic accordion, flute, guitar, mandolin, or violin.

The trapezoidal instrument that is most common in Belgium, Great Britain, and the United States is tuned in fifths: the two bridges over which the strings are stretched divide the instrument into three playing zones that differ from each other by a fifth (five tones). Each tone is formed by a group or «choir» of two, sometimes three or four strings. Our instrument has 16 groups of two strings on the treble bridge and 15 groups of two strings on the bass bridge. As a result, the instrument can be played in a limited number of keys: G, D, C, A, F, Am, and Em, spread over 1, 2, or 3 octaves. The sound is produced by tapping the strings with two wooden hammers. The player can play both pure melodies and melodies enriched with harmonic tones and rhythmic chord accompaniment.