But as 20th century popular music began to change the way singers and musicians harmonized, dulcimer playing followed, and now it's not uncommon to see dulcimer players fretting all three strings.

"I grew up around dulcimers in Booger County, Ark. -- I believe the official name is Madison County...," said Farinelli.

"The way it was explained to me by my adopted granny is that, in olden times, the dulcimer was supposed to have two different shapes. If it was played in church, it had to be shaped like a fish, and have soundholes shaped like a circle representing eternal life, a cross representing the crucifixion, or a triangle representing the Trinity."

The secular dulcimer was more feminine, with an hourglass shape, and soundholes shaped like a circle or a heart.

The name "dulcimer," said Farinelli, actually comes from "dulce," the Latin word for "sweet" (and the root of the female name "Dulcinae").

So dulcimer means something like, "sweet music," which seems appropriate, considering that, at least in England, and most likely in the Appalachians as well, it was used to woo would-be lovers.

"There was a double-necked version of the dulcimer that had a neck coming out of each end of it, and it was called a 'courting' dulcimer," said Farinelli, adding that a luthier he once apprenticed with made such instruments based on plans he got from England.

Evidently, a young man would take a courting dulcimer over to his potential girlfriend's house, and they'd sit outside and play it together -- not to see if they could harmonize, but to prove to her parents that his intentions were honorable.

"The young man would play on one neck, and the young lady would play on the other," said Farinelli. "And as long as her parents could hear both parts playing, they knew they didn't have to go out and check on them."

Eddie Glenn writes for The Tahlequah Daily Press.