The Dusty Blog

After her organization received funding for a harp that will live at a local hospital for a rotating crew of therapeutic harpists to play, Nancy Hartwig wrote us to say how much she loves her Ravenna 34 and to fill us in on some of the wonderful things that are happening in the Northern California CMP community.

Take this quiz to find out if your personality matches your harp!

This is the first in a series of stories about the gift of music and its ability to soothe and heal.

One of our favorite questions to ask new dulcimer players is what sort of music they plan to play. Many of the answers have been the same for 35 years ("hymns," "Celtic music," and "Stairway to Heaven," for example), but these days there is also a liberal sprinkling of "I'm a film composer." We've been hearing this more and more lately, and when a co-worker mentioned noticing hammered dulcimer in the Game of Thrones theme, I decided to compile some examples of the ways this fascinating instrument is used in movie and TV scores.

This virtual dulcimer for iPad uses sound samples recorded from an actual D550 and plays just like the real thing (except with your fingers instead of hammers). It can be a learning tool, an aid for traveling musicians, and a fun addition to any impromptu jam session.

Have you ever come across a particularly gorgeous instrument with a wonderfully lush tone and fallen instantly in love? Maybe you were looking, or maybe you were just wandering along minding your own business when you were struck by Cupid’s arrow. There probably followed a period of bliss as you drooled over the possibilities, and then the practical part of your brain kicked in and said, “Wait, I don’t play well enough yet to deserve such a nice instrument.”

It's easy to get caught up in the daily business of making, selling and supporting our harps and hammered dulcimers, but every once in a while a customer tells us a story that reminds us of why we are really doing this. Time after time, we hear about the ways in which music has enriched the lives of both players and listeners, and often about a particular experience that inspired someone to learn the harp or hammered dulcimer. Here is one such story, told by Stephen Peterson of Arlington, VA.

We have one set of parts for an FH36S staveback harp made out of rare, highly-figured pommele sapele. Here's your chance to design the harp of your dreams!

People often ask us what kind of music can be played on a hammered dulcimer, and the short answer is that you can play pretty much anything. The longer answer is that it does depend a lot on the range and chromatic capability of your particular instrument. So what better way to give you a taste of the grand possibilities than to show you a few videos of people playing our largest chromatic hammered dulcimer in a variety of styles!