FOLK INSTRUMENTS

Dulcimers

The dulcimer family covers more ground than most people realize. The Appalachian mountain dulcimer that anyone can pick up and play in an afternoon, the hammered dulcimer that fills a hall, and the specialty builds in between. All of them built in a workshop refining the craft since 1973.

Roosebeck Grace Mountain Dulcimer — 4-String Sheesham alternative front view

Mountain Dulcimers

Open-tuned, lap-played, set up so a chord rings out on day one.

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Roosebeck Hammered Dulcimer DH12-11R Main photo

Hammered Dulcimers

Two hammers, dozens of strings, a sound that fills the room.

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Roosebeck Wildwood Dulcimer Rosewood 3 Round Openings Flat Pegbox Main photo

Specialty Dulcimers

Compact trail models and Wildwood designs for players who want something different.

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Roosebeck Padded Gig Bag for Mountain Dulcimer Main photo

Dulcimer Accessories

Capos, gig bags, and stands sized to fit Roosebeck dulcimers specifically.

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1973

Year founded

Roosebeck has built folk instruments since 1973, working with the same solid tonewoods and the same craft refined over five decades.

DAD

Ships in tune

Every mountain dulcimer ships strung and set in DAD tuning with a noter and pick included. No separate setup needed.

Solid

Tonewoods only

No plywood tops, no laminate bodies. Solid wood throughout, the same standard across the entire Roosebeck dulcimer range.

About Dulcimers at Roosebeck

Two completely different instruments

Mountain dulcimers and hammered dulcimers share a name and little else. The mountain dulcimer lies flat in the lap, has three or four strings, and is played with a noter and a strum. A complete beginner can produce a correct-sounding melody on the first sitting. The hammered dulcimer stands on its own frame, has dozens of strings arranged in a chromatic pattern, and is struck with two small hammers. It takes more practice to develop facility, but it produces a sound that fills a room and carries across a field.

Mountain dulcimers

Roosebeck mountain dulcimers ship in DAD tuning with a noter and pick included. The hourglass body shape is the traditional Appalachian form, and every model uses solid tonewoods throughout, no laminate or plywood tops. The fret layout means the melody string plays a diatonic scale in the home key; no wrong notes are possible within that mode, which makes early learning far easier than on a fully chromatic instrument.

Hammered dulcimers

The Roosebeck hammered dulcimer range includes 12/11 and 15/14 configurations. The 12/11 model covers about two and a half octaves and is the right starting point for most players. The 15/14 extends the range in both directions and suits players who want to work with a wider chromatic vocabulary. Both models come with hammers and a tuning wrench. The instrument holds pitch well once broken in.

Specialty dulcimers

The specialty range includes trail dulcimers built for portability and Wildwood design variants for players who want something visually distinctive. All specialty models use the same solid wood construction as the standard line.

Common Questions

What is the difference between a mountain dulcimer and a hammered dulcimer?

A mountain dulcimer is a fretted instrument held in the lap and played with a noter and a strum. It has three or four strings and produces a soft, drone-based sound well suited to Appalachian and folk music. A hammered dulcimer is a completely different instrument: it stands on its own legs, has dozens of strings arranged in a chromatic pattern across a trapezoidal frame, and is played by striking the strings with two small wooden hammers. The two instruments share a name and little else.

Is the mountain dulcimer easy to learn?

The mountain dulcimer is one of the most accessible folk instruments to pick up. Because it ships in DAD open tuning, running the noter along the melody string while strumming the drone strings produces a correct-sounding chord from the first attempt. Most players work out a simple melody on the first sitting. Reading music is not required; tablature is the standard notation for dulcimer, and there is a large library of free tabs available online.

What tuning do Roosebeck dulcimers ship in?

Mountain dulcimers ship in DAD tuning: the bass string to D, the middle string to A, and the melody string to D an octave above the bass. This is the standard Appalachian tuning and the one most instruction books, tabs, and online resources are written for. Some players also use DAA or CGC tuning for different modal sounds; the instrument retunes easily with a standard chromatic tuner.

What does the 12/11 or 15/14 notation mean on a hammered dulcimer?

Those numbers describe the string courses on each side of the bridge. A 12/11 hammered dulcimer has 12 courses on the treble side and 11 on the bass side, giving a range of about two and a half octaves. A 15/14 model adds more courses in both directions, extending the range for players who want access to more chromatic material. The 12/11 is the right starting instrument for most players; the 15/14 suits those who want to move into more complex repertoire once they have the basics.

Do I need to know music theory to play dulcimer?

No. The mountain dulcimer is designed so that its open tuning and fret layout guide you to the right notes naturally. The noter acts as a capo sliding along the melody string; you hear when it sounds right. Hammered dulcimer takes longer to learn and a basic understanding of scales and intervals helps, but it is still a very accessible instrument taught mostly by ear and by tablature. Many players go years without learning to read standard notation.