Tribute to Handmade Instruments & the Artisans Who Make Them

In celebration of Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day, PlaqueMaker.com customer William W. Burrows shares a creation with us!

“I have a unique musical instrument, which I display on my wall,” William tells us. “It is a hand-crafted Mountain Dulcimer. The plaque explains the history of the instrument and credits the designer who built it.”

What is a dulcimer? A mountain dulcimer, like the one pictured here, is a musical instrument with a long rounded body and a fretted fingerboard, played by bowing, plucking and strumming. As William’s plaque explains, the dulcimer is one of the instruments used by the people living in the Southern Appalachian Mountains to play traditional music. The sound and design of each dulcimer is unique, due to the type of wood and technique used to make it.

For his plaque, William chose the artwork from PlaqueMaker’s clipart gallery, the style of the frame and the words he wanted engraved, providing them to our designers, who worked up the design that William approved from a digital proof.

“The plaque is well-made and exactly what I wanted. We are pleased with the result and would recommend PlaqueMaker to anyone requiring such an item. You … handled my order professionally.”

-William W. Burrows

Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day takes place every July 31 to bring attention to all the unique and beautiful instruments of the world, and the music they play. So today, take a moment to enjoy the beautiful sounds of the mountain dulcimer here: