Origins and History of The Dulcimer The dulcimer is a member of the string family. It is further categorized into the Psaltrey family, a group of instruments that are comprised of strings stretched across a frame and played by plucking or drumming. The only difference, in fact, between the dulcimer and the psaltrey is the fact that one is plucked and the other is drummed. The dulcimer family is divided into two sections. The dulcimers with keys and dulcimers without keys. A dulcimer with keys would be played by depressing a key which would move a mechanism that would cause a hammer to strike the string. The most improved instr