Text: 1) A piece of wood having a padded end or a nob, with which strings are struck. In the case ofthe dulcimer the hammers are held in the hand; in keyed instruments the hammer is acted upon by leverage from the end ofthe key. 2) The iron or wood striker of a bell. According to Denison, the weight ofthe hammer should be a fortieth part of a bell whose diameter is equal to twelve times the thickness of the sound bow. But the distance the hammer is made to rise for the blow must of course influence the weight of the hammer.

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Source: 125