What is a Cimbalom?

What is a Cimbalom? How do you play it?

It has an important part in the Intermezzo, the 5th movement in the Háry János Suite by Zoltán Kodály.

Have you been listening to this for GCSE Music? It’s a set work on the AQA syllabus.
 
In this video, Edward Cervenka explains all about the Cimbalom, how to hold the beaters, and what other music you might hear it in.

[ludwigvonsteampole]

Always held a fascination for the Cimbalom. Used in many Films that involved a Cold War theme, that dark suspense sound with a powerful hint of the East that it is able to produce. I first heard it used to maximum effect in the John Barry theme to The Persuaders, which is a personal favourite.

[Sheerspeechcraft]

Had to look up this instrument after hearing it in Aca Čergarć's accordion album. Cimbalom + accordion is an excellent duo

[AlvaroMexRomanianFolk]

Nagyon jó !, very beautiful video;, congratulations to the people who created this video, to the cimbalom player, the film maker, the camera ma/en!! Thanks a lot!, Muchísimas gracias, está increíble su video!, Köszönön szépen!, multumesc fiarte mult!, grazie!
Best regards from,
Alvaro din Mexico 🎉🎉❤

[InsidesAndOutsides]

A really informative short video - excellent stuff, thank you! The note layout looks crazy... Apart from having no room for one of these and no budget to buy one, I'm not sure I could handle the layout of the strings. I'll stick to using the cimbalom programs in Pianoteq :)

[scottpeterMA]

So, is this the instrument which makes the most amazing sounds in the Quincey Jones score to 'the Italian Job' (1969)?

[jorgitoislamico]

You can really notice how these zithers are slowly becoming more similar to a piano

[nanokapp]

You know
It's my own fault
But I misread the title and thought it said, "What is a Cinnabon" and came in expecting to see cinnamon rolls in the making

[jamesparker]

can you tell me what the difference is between this, and the "hammered dulcimer", besides the dampers? I have a chance to buy an old cimbalon; it sounds, to me, subtly different, from the standard

[JosephKastely-mm]

He pronounces it incorrectly. It's not sim-ba-lum, it's TSEEEM- ba-loam.

[doron]

Why not telling us the history of the instrument. Its an instrument that was played in the Holy Tempel in jerusalem as called then "Sentar" . And then it was found in old bible and in the Parsian old history it was called then "Psanterin". This was the promo instrument for the piano that came later. By the way in hebrew piano calls "Psanter" which sound very like its Parsian name "Psanterin". European adopted this instrument and changed its name to Cimbalom and or Tambal❤
But no one on earth play this instrument as amazing as the Romanian.