How to pronounce chaldeans

1a : a member of an ancient Semitic people that became dominant in Babylonia. b : the Semitic language of the Chaldeans. 2 : a person versed in the occult arts.

The Chaldeans were an ethnic group that lived in Mesopotamia in the first millennium B.C. The Chaldean tribes started to migrate—from exactly where scholars aren’t sure—into the south of Mesopotamia in the ninth century B.C. At this time, they began to take over the areas around Babylon, notes scholar Marc van de

Meaning & History

From נְבוּכַדְנֶאצֲּר (Nevukhadnetzzar), the Hebrew form of the Akkadian name Nabu-kudurri-usur meaning “Nabu protect my eldest son”, derived from the god’s name Nabu combined with kudurru meaning “eldest son” and an imperative form of naṣāru meaning “to protect”.

The word psaltery derives from the Ancient Greek ψαλτήριον (psaltḗrion), “stringed instrument, psaltery, harp” and that from the verb ψάλλω (psállō), “to touch sharply, to pluck, pull, twitch” and in the case of the strings of musical instruments, “to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, and not with the

1 : a stringed instrument of trapezoidal shape played with light hammers held in the hands. 2 or less commonly dulcimore ˈdəl-​sə-​ˌmȯr : an American folk instrument with three or four strings stretched over an elongate fretted sound box that is held on the lap and played by plucking or strumming.

Origin of dulcimer

First recorded in 1560–70; alteration of Middle English dowcemere, from Middle French doulcemer, dissimilated variant of doulcemele, from Old Italian dolcimelo, dolzemele, from Latin dulce melos “sweet song”; see dulcet, melic.

Dulcimer, stringed musical instrument, a version of the psaltery in which the strings are beaten with small hammers rather than plucked. Dulcimers probably entered central Europe from Persia about the 15th century.

The traditional way to play the instrument is to lay it flat on the lap and pluck or strum the strings with the right hand, while fretting with the left. Alternatively, the dulcimer may also be placed on a wooden table, using the table as an extended resonator to boost volume.

The Mountain Dulcimer is a true American instrument. It dates back to the early 1800’s, originating in the Appalachian mountains of southwest Virginia. Western Europe had many kinds of fretted lap zithers from the Norwegian Langeleik, the Swedish Hummel, and the French Epinette.

Easy to Play

The fact that the dulcimer has only three strings makes it much easier to play than a guitar, banjo, mandolin, or fiddle. It is also not as hard to push the strings down as it is on a guitar. Simple songs can be played by fretting just the first string and strumming across the instrument.

Often, you need two things to produce the highest array of sounds that the dulcimer is capable of. These are the plectrum, or guitar pick, and the noter. While you may play your dulcimer with a guitar pick, some dulcimer players also make use of a noter. Find out more about a noter here!

The pick, held in the right hand, can be a guitar pick, a thumb pick (for modern playing styles), or, if available, a turkey quill. A turkey quill is often used in traditional styles of playing.

Pricing. As a quick overview, our harps range in price from under $900 up to around $6,600. Our dulcimers range from about $550 to about $4,000.