The cimbalom is a type of hammered dulcimer found in parts of Europe. It originated as a folk instrument but was developed into a concert instrument in Hungary in the late 19th century. The concert cimbalom is a larger chromatic instrument played with beaters, while regional folk versions are smaller and played differently depending on local styles of music. Many classical and modern composers have incorporated the cimbalom into their orchestral and chamber works to make use of its unique sound.

2. • The cimbalom (most common spelling),
cymbalom, cymbalum, ţambal, tsymbaly,
tsimbl, santouri, or sandouri is a type of
hammered dulcimer found mainly in Hungary,
Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland and
Greece. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia it is
also known as a cimbal.
• Under the Hornbostel-Sachs system of
classification of musical instruments, it has the
catalog number 314.122-4,5.[1] The numbers
used in the Hornbostel-Sachs break down to
give us a description of the instrument as: (3)
chordophone, (1) simple zither, (4) made of
boards (1) with a string plate, parallel to the
sound source, (2) with a resonator, (2) case like,
(4) sound produced by hammers, (5) sound
produced by plucking.

4. History
• The first representation of a simple struck chordophone which we
catagorize as a hammer dulcimer can be found in the Assyrian bas-
relief in dated back to 3500 BC. The peoples of the Mediterranean
all had this instrument as did many people in Asia, however it
existed under different names.
• The folk hammer dulcimer was taken by , a master piano maker
living and working in Pest, Hungary, as the basis for a concert
cimbalom for which he arranged serial production in 1874. The first
textbook for the concert cimbalom was published by , a member of
the Hungarian Royal Opera orchestra in 1889.
• The instrument became popular within the Austria-Hungary Empire
and was used by alll the ethnic groups within the country including
Jewish klezmorim, as well as Slavic and Magyar (Hungarian)
musicians, and Roma (Gypsy) lautari musicians (lăutari). Use of the
instrumemt spread by the end of the 19th century and took the place
of the cobza in Romanian and Moldovan folk ensembles. In
Wallachia it is used almost as a percussion instrument. In
Transylvania and Banat, the style of playing is more tonal, heavy
with arpeggios.

7. Folk hammer dulcimers
Small regional folk hammer dulcimers are usually
referred to by their regional name but occasionally
referred to as cimbalom. These instruments differ
somewhat from concert cimbalom in that they are much
smaller and can be carried by a single musician, using a
strap around the player's neck and leaning one edge of
the instrument against the player's waist. Like in the
cimbalom, the folk hammer dulcimer is played by striking
two beaters against the strings, however these hammers
tend to be much shorter (usually half the length) and
often without soft coverings for the beaters. There are
also no damper mechanisms. Much more use of he hand
and fingers takes place. Tunings are often diatonic,
rather than the chromatic tuning of the cimbalom and are
regional. Construction of these instruments is related to
the style of music it plays.

9. Compositions for cimbalom
Many composer's have written for the cimbalom. Zoltán Kodály
made extensive use of the instrument in his orchestral suite Háry
János which helped make the cimbalom well known outside Eastern
Europe. Igor Stravinsky was also an enthusiast. He owned a
cimbalom and included one in his ballet Renard (1915-16) and also
in his original (1917) scoring for Les Noces. Franz Liszt used the
cimbalom in his Ungarischer Sturmmarsch (1876) and in the
orchestral version of his 6th Hungarian Rhapsody. Bela Bartok used
it in his Rhapsody #1 for violin and orchestra (1928). Other
composers like Pierre Boulez, Peter Eötvös, György Kurtág, Frank
Zappa and Louis Andriessen have made a great use of cimbalom in
their works. Henri Dutilleux used it in Mystère de l'Instant for
chamber orchestra. Elvis Costello's orchestral ballet score Il Sogno
includes several extended cimbalom passages. Harrison Birtwistle's
opera The Minotaur (2008) requires a cimbalom as well.