Wally, thanks for your comments. I found no evidence of shops making musical instruments in Pennsylvania making zitters. There were some violin makers and of course by 1839 C.F. Martin was making guitars in Nazareth, PA. Of course, the absence of evidence doesn't mean it didn't happen, only that there was evidence that it did. Henry Mercer mentions one builder, but he made bowed zitters.

As to the linguistic issue, scheiße is the German word for sh*t. Scheit in the 16th century was log or piece of wood. I think that is still the translation today according to my German friends.

You are in good company in thinking scheitholt "has been established in dulcimer history too long to just kill off." That was Ralph Lee Smith's attitude as well. I argued with him that we should be precise and correct in identifying these instruments that are not scheitholts as what they were called "back in the day," namely zitters.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Ken Longfield and Ken Hulme said"
"These instruments were constructed by craftsmen on an individual basis probably in home workshops. There is no record of musical instrument shops in the new world building these Pennsylvania German instruments."

I have begun writing a bit of stuff for the Nonsuch Dulcimer newsletter in Britain about making and fixing Appalachian Dulcimers. In the first piece  have written:

"Historically, the LD is not a musical instrument created by skilled luthiers. It is a folk-craft item, like a quilt or a sweater. They were made by simple crafters working with locally available materials and simple tools. That practice is still alive in the USA, along with a handful of highly skilled, but mostly self-taught shops producing high priced instruments."

and

"My guess is that the 19th Century makers were also involved in making simple furniture and other household items, and that many of the instruments were made for family members and close friends."

Before 1900, making stuff for home use from wooden boxes and branches was commonplace in farm homes. I opine that is was about as common among men as needle craft was among women. The Boy Scouts taught this level of craftsmanship to townies when I was a boy. It was a common sort of magazine or newspaper story, just as boat-building was.

On the linguistic side, "scheit" in German translates as "shit" in English. I can imagine some of us saying "This piece of shit I made works pretty well for playing on the porch, although I wouldn't recommend it for public performance."

I agree that we should try to take scheitholt out of regular polite communication, but I think it has been established in dulcimer history too long to just kill off.

Interesting and persuasive stuff, Ken.  Thanks for sharing.

There will be no burning of mountain dulcimers here at my house!  

A comment I received via email suggested a better way of saying:  In German, scheit means log or piece of wood, while holt or holz means wood. I like the suggestion below and have replaced this sentence in the original with the two sentences below.

In German, scheit means log or piece of wood, while adding holt or holz means firewood. This is a way of something is garbage; i.e., something to be burned.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks, Ken L & Ken H for the research and your article!  One thing I realize is the story of the Appalachian dulcimer and its origins is still being written-- a good thing!  

Here is a bibliography for the article.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song." 

Bibliography - Scheitholt No More.pdf  •  60KB

I learned today that theme of February, 2026 issue of Dulcimer Players News will not be "tradition." I submitted an article in 2024 and was asked if it could be held until the December, 2025 issue originally scheduled to have the "tradition" theme. I agreed. It was postponed from November, 2025 until February, 2026 and now postponed again. I decided to wait no more and share this pdf of the article. I hope you enjoy it and it causes you think about the mountain dulcimers ancestors.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Scheitholtnomorev5.b.pdf  •  252KB