Santoor
Persian Hammered Dulcimer
The Persian Hammered Dulcimer is smaller than the American Hammer Dulcimer yet still wider than the Santoor. It is trapezoidal in shape. The left courses are steel and the right courses are brass. They alternate over movable bridges. It has individual movable bridges for each course. It may be picked, plucked, or played with a bow, quill or hammer.
Indian Santoor
The Indian Santoor is trapezoidal in shape. It is not as wide as the Persian Hammer Dulcimer or the American Hammer Dulcimer. The strings run between the non-parallel sides in courses over individual movable bridges. A course is composed of consecutive strings, tuned to the same note. The courses alternate over the left bridge then the right and back and forth. In this way each course of strings provides two tones, one to each side of the bridge. Also, by alternating courses over two bridges four playing surfaces are available, though usually only three are used. These playing surfaces are struck or stroked with light wooden hammers.
