The mountain dulcimer -- also known as the Appalachian dulcimer, the lap dulcimer, the Kentucky dulcimer, and the hog fiddle -- only has three strings, usually tuned to "fifths," which consist of ...

Wendy Grethen first touched the strings of a mountain dulcimer at a fair 27 years ago. She learned to play the Appalachian-region American folk instrument as a child in Illinois -- then stopped ...