A “Strumstick” or as the builder of this one called his a “Strumjo”, is an adaptation of the Appalachian lap dulcimer. It is a simple yet charming instrument with only three strings (tuned GDG) and fewer frets than our friends the guitar and ukulele. What this does is take away the possibility of playing a wrong note. You’ve only got notes that are in the scale. Whew! The downside of this, and of course there’s a downside, is that the instrument is restricted to playing almost exclusively in the key of G major. Although by creatively avoiding certain notes and highlighting others you could pull off D and C major.
It is an excellent starting point for children or people with no musical background who want to bring a little music into their lives. Also it’s light, compact design make it an excellent choice for the musician-on-the-go not wanting to take their Vintage Guild or Martin camping or hitchhiking. And the extremely adventurous can explore retuning the high string to access all sorts of different scales. for example dropping the high string one whole step allows for playing in minor keys.
