Can someone tell me please what is the name of the string instrument at the front? The one that the players hit the strings with…? Let call it sticks. It is many years that I was trying to find out more about it.
Thanks
Look here and observe the plethora of variations both on the instrument itself and on its naming.
Simpler versions go by the names of “hammer dulcimer” (english) , “Hackebrett” (German), “hakkebord” (Dutch) and likely many more.
The true cymbalon has at least one pedal, sometimes several, and may in fact be considered a grand piano minus keyboard, hammers and their mechanisms. and outer casing.
This instrument is essential to the folk music of central Europe (say Hungary, Slovakia, southern Poland, most of Romania (a fair part of which was Hungarian till a hundred years ago), Western Ukraine &c &c ; and is generally used in a way remarkably similar to the piano in a big band. It is however most unusual to see more than one at a time, let alone six like in your video. Gypsies, who have a long tradition of professionally playing all those traditions, are today the prime masters of the instrument.
And no, I think the “sticks” are properly called hammers. They are usually covered with felt.
A more common usage of the instrument can be seen in
; ( it is called “Slovakian” but the music and the dancing and the costumes look rather Hungarian to me). The fiddle has the solo, double bass makes the fundament; viola (“Bratsche”) mostly adds the chords on top of the bass notes; cimbalom has the lowly yet demanding job of applying putty to all and any possible “voids”.
Cimbalom
This instrument is a basic instrument for groups in souteast of the czech republic as well as slovakia. Czech name is cimbal.
Thank you guys, I knew that someone here will know. I was not aware that the Cimbalom is so common in Eastern Europe.
Thanks again.
Ben
I was expecting to see a Garmin 1000 in Budapest!
