To most Americans, the hammered dulcimer is a new and unfamiliar instrument. Even people who know much about American music often confuse the hammered dulcimer with the three- or four-stringed ...

Four years ago, I had never heard of a dulcimer, which is a musical instrument. Now, it seems like everyone plays it, including me. Just recently, I was in the library and ran into a co-worker.

Ask her about the dulcimer. Three strings. Four, five; even those with scores. Mountain or hammered. Teardrop, hourglass or box. It doesn't matter. Just run any question about the dulcimer past Ruth ...