(from Gk. kymbalon).
A Hungarian dulcimer. There are two main types: a small portable one, whose use may be traced back to the 16th century, very similar to English dulcimers; and a large chromatic concert version fitted with a damper pedal, invented by Jozsef V. Schunda in Budapest, in about 1870, and used occasionally in symphonic works (see Dulcimer, fig.17). The strings are divided by one or two bridges, in the ratio 3:2 (or 4:3). The range of the later instrument is usually D to e'''. For a discussion of the instrument’s history and repertory, see Dulcimer, esp. §6. See also Hungary, §II, 6(iii), esp. fig.7.
Closely related forms of the dulcimer exist in southern and eastern Europe with names cognate with cimbalom. In Romania, the ţambal (ţimbală, ţîmbulă, ţimblon; Moldavia, ţimbal) is used in the taraf ensemble. Small instruments, with 20 to 25 courses of strings, are used by country musicians, particularly in the Oltenia, Muntenia and Moldavia regions; town musicians from the whole country use larger ones which allow for 35 groups of strings and a pedal mute. The strings are struck with two mallets, the ends of which are wrapped in cotton wool.
In Greece the term ‘tsimbalo’ denotes a Hungarian-style cimbalom, now found only rarely, and, more commonly, an instrument similar to the sandouri but strung and tuned differently. It is played solo and in ensembles.
In Poland, the cymbały is popular in the Rzeszów, Warmia and Mazury areas; instruments have from about 10 to 20 courses of strings. In Belarus the tsďmbalď has 12 to 24 courses, with three to eight strings in each. Three sizes of folk instrument exist, with ranges of one and a half to two and a half octaves, and there are four sizes of concert instrument. Similar instruments are also used in Bohemia (cymbal), the Ukraine (tsymbaly) and in the Baltic countries, where the cimbole (Latvia) and cimbolai (Lithuania) have 12 to 26 courses, usually double or triple strung, divided by bridges and with a range of up to three octaves.