Best instruction material?
Dulcimer Resources:TABS/Books/websites/DVDs
It really will be pretty easy to for you to learn the basics, you have 11 years of music background to help. Many folks start with with with none.
Remember back when you started with the banjo. You probably started with a childs song and picked it out one note at a time on one string. With the dulcimer that's the standard, normal way for n/d and finger dancing. You pick out a melody on the melody string, one note at a time, with no concern for any of the other strings [the're just drones to fill out the sound]. Then you do the same thing but strum across all of the things at the same time as you fret the note. When you've gotten to this point you've caught up with 50% or more of MD players.