Editing Cimbalom (section)

{{Short description|Hammered dulcimer musical instrument}}
{{For|the chordophone instrument occasionally called a cembalo|Harpsichord}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2008}}
{{Infobox Instrument
| name           = Cimbalom
| background     = string
| image          = Cimbalom (from Emil Richards Collection).jpg
| image_capt     = Top view and playing area of a modern concert cimbalom
| classification = * [[String instrument]] (struck or [[pizzicato|plucked]])
* [[Chordophone]]
| range          = Various (see {{section link||The concert cimbalom}} below)
| related        = * [[hammered dulcimer]]
* [[Santoor (Persian instrument)|santoor]]
* [[tsymbaly]]
* [[yangqin]]
}}

[[File:Taraf_de_Akácfa_-_Geamparale_de_la_Clejani_-_2025-03-18_-_1080p.webm|300px|thumb|right|Taraf de Akácfa performing "Geamparale de la Clejani" on [[violin]], [[accordion]], [[double bass]], and [[cimbalom]].]]
The '''cimbalom''', '''cimbal''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|m|b|ə|l|ə|m|,_|-|ˌ|l|ɒ|m}}; {{IPA|hu|ˈt͡simbɒlom|lang}}) or '''concert cimbalom''' is a type of [[chordophone]] composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by [[József Schunda|V. Josef Schunda]] in 1874 in [[Budapest]], based on his modifications to the existing [[hammered dulcimer]] instruments which were already present in Central and Eastern Europe.<ref name="Gifford 115-6">{{cite book |last1=Gifford |first1=Paul M. |title=The hammered dulcimer : a history |date=2001 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-1-4616-7290-6 |pages=115–6}}</ref>

Today the instrument is mainly played in [[Hungary]], [[Slovakia]], [[Moravia]], [[Belarus]], [[Romania]], [[Moldova]], and [[Ukraine]].<ref name="Gifford 115-6" />

The cimbalom is typically played by striking two sticks, often with cotton-wound tips, against the strings which are on the top of the instrument. The steel treble strings are arranged in groups of 4 and are tuned in unison. The bass strings which are over-spun with copper, are arranged in groups of 3 and are also tuned in unison. The [[Hornbostel–Sachs]] [[musical instrument classification]] system registers the cimbalom with the number 314.122-4,5.<ref>{{cite book |last=Baran |first=Taras |title=The Cimbalom World| publisher=Lviv: Svit |year=1999 |page=15 |isbn=5-7773-0425-7 }}</ref>

The name “cimbalom” is also sometimes used to describe other types of dulcimers, which may have different tuning systems and which may lack the dampers and heavy construction of the concert instrument.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} Additionally, "cimbal" has many alternate spellings; e.g., ''tsimbal'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feldman |first1=Walter |title=Klezmer: music, history and memory |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-024451-4 |page=101}}</ref> {{lang|ro|țambal}} in [[Romanian language|Romanian]], or {{lang|uk|цимбали}} [<nowiki/>[[tsymbaly]]] in [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]).{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}