Description

The piano dulcimer represents a great new concept in the dulcimer world – an affordable and simple way to bring the unique sound of the dulcimer into any keyboard player’s realm, whether it’s in a church, band, soundtrack, composer’s studio, at home or around the campfire. Invented by long-time hammered dulcimer designer and builder Sam Rizzetta and based on the piano keyboard, it’s a compact, fully chromatic instrument.
The tuning pattern uses half-step intervals across the bridge. Each course of strings crosses two markers on the top of the bridge, with white markers designating the naturals, or C major scale, and black markers designating the sharps and flats, just like on a piano. To play a C scale, just follow the white markers up the instrument. The sharps and flats are where a keyboard player would expect to find them – next to the naturals. Once you learn the pattern for any scale, it’s easy to change keys, since all the scales follow the same pattern or a mirror pattern.
The piano dulcimer is a very versatile instrument, and is probably best-suited for players who are comfortable exploring on their own. It does not have the long history that the traditional fifth-interval dulcimer has, and is not widely taught. As far as we know, there aren’t any piano dulcimer instruction books in print, but thanks to Sam Rizzetta, you can now download a free PDF of Playing the Piano Dulcimer by Madeline MacNeil.
Solid wood construction, 3.5 fully chromatic octaves, a convenient size, a deep, rich tone, and an attractive price all come together in the PD40 piano dulcimer. An innovative feature is that the dulcimer is « damper ready, » meaning that dampers can be installed when the instrument is ordered, or easily installed by the player at any time. Dampers provide sustain control and greatly increase the versatility of the instrument.
Range
The PD40 has three bridges arranged in the piano dulcimer format. It is fully chromatic for its 3.5 octave range, with bridge cap markers that mimic the pattern of white and black keys on the piano. The overall range is G2 to D6.
Tuning
Superscript numbers indicate octaves (C4 is middle C). Dots indicate marked courses. PB = phosphor bronze. PBW = phosphor bronze wound. Unspecified strings are plain steel.
Features
3.5 octaves
fully chromatic
piano dulcimer tuning
solid sapele soundboard and back
Included Accessories
Gooseneck tuning wrench
Double-sided oval hammers
Owner’s guidebook
Specifications
Dimensions
Bottom Rail: 42″
Top rail: 19.5″
Height: 17.75″
Thickness: 4″
Weight: approx. 14 pounds
Woods
Soundboard and back: solid sapele
Pinblocks and rails: eastern hard maple
Bridges and soundhole inserts: eastern hard maple