Articulations

A full range of hammered dulcimer articulations is included, from long and damped notes to harmonics, triple strikes, tremolos and ebows.

Most articulations were recorded across three dynamic layers for expressive control.

All articulations include two recorded repetitions, combined with a scripted repetition engine that helps keep repeated notes varied and natural.

Hammers

Most articulations were recorded using both wooden and felt-covered mallets, allowing you to vary the character of the sound.

Articulations that aren’t labelled Wood or Felt in the articulation list were recorded using wooden mallets only. The exceptions are the Jim Bow and Ebow articulations.

Measured Articulations

Tremolo and Jim Bow articulations labelled Measured were recorded to a fixed tempo of 140 BPM. Time-stretching is used to adapt them to the tempo of your DAW.

In the standalone version of Rhapsody the tempo is set from Settings Panel > Engine > BPM.

Important

Time-stretching is CPU-intensive, so you may see CPU spikes when using these articulations.

This is particularly noticeable when playing complex chords, using long envelope release times, or playing many notes in quick succession.

The amount of CPU usage will also depend on the capabilities of your computer.

Sustain

This is the default articulation. The hammer striking the string and the note ringing out. You can control the decay using the envelope shape.

Damped

Similar to the sustain but less resonant, providing a rounder sound that tails off a little more quickly.

Strike & Mute

For these Nuno hit the string then a moment later palm muted it. The result is a short, staccato articulation with a definitive stop.

Triple Strike

Three notes played as a quick triplet. Great for use as an ornament or to add texture.

Harmonics

A bell like sound with a short release time.

Tremolo

Tremolo consists of repeated strikes on the same note, creating a continuous, sustained sound. The samples are looped, allowing the tremolo to be sustained for as long as required.

The three dynamic layers can be crossfaded in real time using the Tremolo DXF knob, allowing you to control the playing intensity.

Two versions are available: Unmeasured, which plays freely without being locked to the project tempo, and Measured, which uses tempo-based time-stretching to synchronise the tremolo rate to your DAW’s tempo.

Jim Bows

A Jim Bow is a small bowing device used to produce a sustained, bowed sound from the dulcimer’s strings.

Unlike conventional dulcimer playing, where the strings are struck with hammers, the Jim Bow draws a bow across the strings, producing a continuous tone with a distinctive sustained and textured character.

Nuno Silva’s Hammered Dulcimer includes three Jim Bow articulations:

Jim Bows Short
A single, short bow stroke.

Jim Bows Long
A single, longer bow stroke, allowing the bowed sound to develop and sustain.

Jim Bows Measures
Repeated back-and-forth bow strokes recorded as a loop. The loop is tempo-locked and uses time-stretching to synchronise the bowing rate with your DAW’s tempo.

Ebow

An Ebow is an electromagnetic device that sustains a string by continuously exciting it, producing a long, sustained tone without repeated striking.

The library includes two Ebow articulations:

Strike & Ebow
The string is struck initially, then sustained with the Ebow. This produces a slow, evolving sound with a relatively quiet sustain.

Ebow
A sustained Ebow drone with no initial strike.