Categories for News

Diatonic vs. Chromatic Hammered Dulcimers

February 22, 2025 Leave your thoughts

By Nicolette Foss There are a few terms that you may hear in hammered dulcimer circles, like “diatonic” or “chromatic.” In this blog post, we will break down exactly what the terms diatonic and chromatic mean, and how they apply to the hammered dulcimer. If you aren’t knowledgeable in music theory, don’t worry, this blog post was made just for you. Here is a video we made to sum it all up: Standard/Diatonic and Chromatic Hammered Dulcimers EXPLAINED!Watch... Read More →

17/16/8 Festival model “Gumballs” with case Free Shipping

January 29, 2025 Leave your thoughts

This is one of my personal dulcimers. I like color! Built in 2014, I played it for quite a few years, but haven’t used it much for the past several years so it should go on to a good new home. It is quite loud and projects over a noisy jam session very well! Also has stereo pickup system which has lots of gain. The story behind it is: A lady wanted us to build her a custom Festival model... Read More →

Can I Take My Hammered Dulcimer on a Plane?

December 24, 2024 Leave your thoughts

By Nicolette Foss The allowed parameters of carry-on luggage can be stress-inducing for musicians. You may think, “How will my odd-shaped dulcimer fit on an airplane?” If you’ve ever questioned whether or not you can carry your musical instrument onboard a plane with you, question no further. It is actually American federal law that musical instruments can be treated as a carry-on, as long as your instrument falls under certain guidelines. Let’s clarify this topic so you can easily... Read More →

Hammered Dulcimer Festivals to Attend Spring/Summer 2023

March 16, 2023 Leave your thoughts

By Nicolette Foss Attending a music festival is some of the most fun you can have with your hammered dulcimer. And not only will you get to jam out and meet more people on the music scene, but you’ll also be able to attend workshops to improve your playing skills. Many of these festivals include concerts, vendors, lodging, and meals. Find one near you and make it a weekend getaway! You’ll be glad you did. Check out these hammered dulcimer... Read More →

How to Determine What Key a Song is In For Hammered Dulcimer

January 11, 2023 4 Comments

By Nicolette Foss Are you struggling to learn new music? For those of us who don’t know music theory when learning to play the hammered dulcimer, it can be difficult to pick up on songs we want to learn. And if you don’t have a trained ear, it can be even harder to identify what key a song is in. While it isn’t necessary to know or understand what the key of a song is in, it can be extremely... Read More →

Why We are Switching Away from Baltic Birch

December 1, 2022 2 Comments

By Nicolette Foss For years, we’ve been using Baltic Birch on many of our hammered dulcimers. It was economical and built good, solid, durable instruments. However, the conflict with Russia has made the wood harder to get, forcing us to switch our materials. Some other problems with Baltic Birch include: Getting woods shipped from far away lands adds to the carbon footprint It is not managed for sustainability The Birch grown in Siberia is slow growth A Word on... Read More →

Our Top 6 Summer Hammered Dulcimer Festivals

May 4, 2022 2 Comments

By Nicolette Foss Are you ready to get out of your COVID bubble this year? Come out and visit one of the many hammered dulcimer festivals this summer! Advance your hammered dulcimer skills by attending workshops and jamming along with old and new friends. There are two types of festivals now, thanks to the pandemic. So if you aren’t ready to leave your house, you can still attend virtual festivals. No one is left behind! We picked our six favorite... Read More →

Now Making Our Very Own Hammered Dulcimer Cases

February 18, 2022 3 Comments

By Nicolette Foss The pandemic hit everyone hard. Here at Songbird Dulcimers, the supply chain debacle caused us to run out of the cases we’ve been importing for about 20 years. We scrambled to find American companies that could undertake such a project, but as you can imagine, everyone was swamped. In the meantime, we slapped together some makeshift hammered dulcimer hard cases to get us through. We were sweating. But with every hardship, there is always a silver lining.... Read More →

How Humidity Affects Your Hammered Dulcimer

May 11, 2020 5 Comments

Wood is constantly in motion. The technical term is hygroscopic, meaning it will absorb or release water based on the relative humidity at the time. As it absorbs or releases the water it shrinks or swells across the grain but not along the grain. This means your dulcimer can be affected by the amount of water in the air, causing its construction to shift and thus change the sound of your instrument. The amount of change can be quite a... Read More →