I finally got to see and hear a hammered dulcimer. It's nothing like the strummed dulcimer that we have. The hd stands up on legs and although I couldn't see the strings, there must have been a lot more of them. There is some similarity in the sounds, but the sd has about a dozen notes compared to hd which has at least as many as a piano.

This instrument was the center piece of a group called Ondras, from the Czech Republic. They are currently playing at Dollywood as part of the Festival of Nations. The group had about a half dozen musicans and a large number of dancers. There was a dulcimer solo that was hard to believe. I think the player holds two hammers in each hand, but he plays so fast it is difficult to tell. With a colorful and tallented dance troup, it was an excellent performance.
Howard