A very cheap psaltery is actually sold as a Music Maker.  Look for lap harps for examples of a simple diatonic plucked psaltery.  You can also find these pretty cheap on shopgoodwill.com.  That said, they are the charming cheapie, typically not a great instrument.  There are a number of other makers of "lap harps" that are actually just plucked psalteries in a trapezoidal shape.  Being a fairly simple instrument to make, even really good makers often don't charge all that much for them.  James Jones makes one, for example.  

It looks like you already found your solution, so I only mention it here because there are times I find good information from many years back and someone in the future may be looking for ideas for an inexpensive simple psaltery.  

And I was wondering why I’d let Ron Ewing talk me into a 1.5 fret on the beautiful dulcimer he just made for me…now I know how to use it!

"You can use a straightened out paper clip for the extra fret if you don't have one.  Back in the stone age, before I had 6 1/2 and 1 1/2 frets I used to use a paper clip which I attached with rubber cement so I could come off easily."

This simple statement sums up SO very well, what being a Friend of the Mountain Dulcimer is all about!

Thank you

I do understand the purist mentality though my experience and research have taught me that the "folk" never paid much attention to the view that there is a right and a wrong way to play.  A lot of folks in the past did a lot of experimenting and ended up playing whatever they felt sounded best, although there were certainly strong traditions in style which only changed when someone well respected contradicted them.  

I play Gaudete in D-A-D with a capo on the 4th fret, but you can get the melody with no problem by playing across the strings with a capo on the 1rst fret.  The easiest way to play it in noter/drone is to tune C-G-D (D in the bass), but this requires that your dulcimer has a 1 1/2 fret (so now you've had to break tradition again).  But you might want to try it as it sounds really nice.  You can use a straightened out paper clip for the extra fret if you don't have one.  Back in the stone age, before I had 6 1/2 and 1 1/2 frets I used to use a paper clip which I attached with rubber cement so I could come off easily.

Thanks for sharing! Sounds fantastic.

I’m very interested in early music. I know this sounds silly, but I feel somehow “wrong” playing it on my mountain dulcimer. I feel a bit of the “purist” vibe that I just should stick to noter and drone. I only ever play chords in my larger dulcimer group when absolutely forced upon me! They’re very accommodating otherwise and let me miter away while they struggle with complicated fingering, god bless them 😉

I know music and instruments are organic and ever evolving, and I needn’t put them in specific boxes. That being said, I’ll prob buy the psaltry from hobgoblin within the month!

I have never tried playing Gaudete (16th century), but it's pretty syncopated, so you'll have to be nimble. Plus there are two parts, which are significantly different from each other. Most versions of Gaudete are sung, but here's an instrumental where the melody is fairly easy to hear:

If you need sheet music, maybe one of these images may be of help for the version you want to play.

It suggests to me like it has enough minor notes that it'd be best played in either Aeolian or Dorian mode on the dulcimer.

Hobgoblin and Song of the Wood are just two companies that make accessible plucked psalteries. You can find other nice ones on Etsy. You may have to decide whether you want a diatonic or a chromatic one. Also the shape is varied depending on the maker, including 'hog-nosed' shaped psalteries.

Hope this helps.

Hello all, as I sit here trying to tune my diatonic and them my more modern dulcimers to somehow play “Gaudete,” I’m thinking maybe I need to add a plucked psaltry to my collection. I’ve always loved early music, used to play harpsichord. I’ve wanted to learn to play the lute since I was a kid, but the instruments and instructors are hard to come by. I think a plucked psaltry might scratch the itch. Any ideas of starter psaltries (not bowed) around $300? It needs to be good enough to not be discouraging.

also, any suggestions on how to play “Gaudete” on either my Ewing dulcimer (1.5, 6.5) or my Dan Cox dulcimore?

thanks!