Links

Hammered Dulcimer:

• The Southern California Dulcimer Heritage is a non-profit organization devoted to all things dulcimer (hammered and fretted). They sponsor several house concerts and jams throughout the year from San Diego to Los Angeles, as well as the Harvest Festival of Dulcimers every September in Orange County, California.
• The Official Hammered Dulcimer Web Site
• Everything Dulcimer is a new site devoted to both types of dulcimers, with a lot of information, links, an on-line forum (message board) and other good stuff.
• Dulcimer Players News
• The Dulcimer Times
• The Kitchen Musician is run by Maynard and Sara Johnson. In addition to exhastive studies of the hammered dulcimer, they also have a great library of traditional Celtic and American music in sheet music (GIF) and MIDI formats.
• Griffin Music's Hammered Dulcimer Site
• Sharon Skaryd's Hammered Dulcimer Site
• Maggies' Music features recordings by many talented artists in the folk community, including Maggie Sansone and Karen Ashbrook.
• hammered_dulcimers is an automated, unmoderated email list, which usually sends out new posts in a matter of minutes. To subscribe, send an email to hammered_dulcimers-subscribe@lists.fmp.com. (The email for posts is hammered_dulcimers@lists.fmp.com.)
• Griffin Music Instructor Listing Service
• Song of the Sea Folk Directory

Hammered Dulcimer Musician Sites:

• Bonnie Carol
• Russell Cook
• Madeline McNeil
• Walt Michael
• Judi Morningstar
• Cliff Moses
• No Strings Attached
• Sam Rizetta
• Steve Schneider
• Jerry Read Smith
• Linda Lowe Thompson
• Rick Thum

Music Collections: Besides my own (see Traditional Music) and other hammered dulcimer sites including those noted above, there are many good collections of traditional music in various forms. What follows is a brief list; some of these will direct you to others.

• Ceolas, a source for Celtic music in sheet music (GIF), MIDI, and ABC formats.
• JC's Tune Finder, a huge inventory of traditional tunes compiled by John Chambers, in MIDI and sheet music (GIF, EPS, and PS formats).
• The Mudcat Cafe presents The Digital Traditions Folksong Database Search Page, a source for folk songs. Includes lyrics for a wide variety of songs, both traditional and credited. It doesn't contain any sheet music, but most songs have a MIDI file so you can hear the tune.
• The abc Web Site, a source for abc music software and music collections in "abc" format, which works without a sound card.

Southern California Bands: There are many excellent musicians in Southern California, and they're represented, in part, by the following links:

• The Seisun (pronounced "session"), my latest band. We're a quartet playing mostly Celtic music (songs and instrumentals), with a mix of fiddle, whistle, hammered dulcimer, harp, concertina, guitar, and bouzouki. Stop by for a look!
• Banshee in the Kitchen: This talented trio based in Bakersfield plays mostly Celtic music with a modern twist.
• Dulcimania: "Mostly Celtic Music, Mostly On Hammered Dulcimer" (note that this link is for an email address).
• Stinkeye (their real name): An L.A.-based band that plays a lot of the regular Celtic repertoire mixed liberally with music from eastern Europe.
• Highland Sun, an Irish band based in L.A.
• The Cottonwood String Band, an Orange County Band specializing in American Old Time music.
• The Tinker's Own, an Irish band based in Orange County.

Groups/Organizations in Southern California:

• CRAIC, the Celtic Regional Arts Institute of California, a non-profit organization devoted to Celtic arts
• The Orange County (CA) Folk Circle, a monthly gathering of folk musicians for fun and relaxation

Miscellaneous:

• acousticmusic.net An excellent source for acoustic music in Southern California, including artists, recordings, shops, and the like.
• The Jester's Court, a clearinghouse for recorded and printed music by folk and Renaissance music from California.