Just a note:

I heard that Paul Clayton (many, many records), who played the guitar mostly, took up the lap dulcimer. After awhile, he picked it up off his lap and held it more like a guitar. Then he made one with a neck that extended beyond the body so it would be easier to get at the fingerboard in that position. Then, to increase its range, he made another one, set up for six strings.

A friend of his suggested that a good tuning for it might be E A D G B and E. . . .

Don Firth