ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cimbalom

Okay kiddo, have you seen a piano before? A cimbalom is kind of like a piano, but it looks really different! Instead of being long and having keys that you press, a cimbalom is more like a big box that you sit in front of.

The cimbalom has a lot of strings stretched over it, like a guitar or a harp. But instead of using your fingers to pluck the strings or pressing keys, you use little hammers, kind of like tiny drumsticks, to hit the strings.

When you hit the strings with the hammers, it makes a really cool sound, like a mix between a guitar and a xylophone. People use the cimbalom to play all sorts of music, especially in places like Romania and Hungary.

So, to sum up, a cimbalom is like a big box with strings on it, and instead of pressing keys, you hit the strings with little hammers to make music!