By all means, get a hammered dulcimer. Anyone who can play a simple tune by ear on the piano can play a hammered dulcimer. By striking 2 strings at the same time, or course you get a 2 note chord. To get a 3 or 4 or even 5 note chord, you arpeggiate it. The 4 notes of a 5 note chord are in a parallelogram shape, or the notes of a 3 note chord in a triangle, so it is quite easy to learn. By the use of drone notes, one can add some additional old timey harmony. There are many dulcimer festivals around the country where one can attend workshops to help you learn to play. The largest of all hammered dulcimer festivals is coming up July 15-18 in Evart, MI. They expect around 8,000 in attendance, with over 200 workshops all day Thurs. through Sunday. If you're interested in details, I can get them to you.