Kindred Gathering, by Robert Force
As I sit, hands poised above the keyboard, I am finding it is hard to write about something as close to me as is the Kindred Gathering. I thought it would be easy, but it isn’t. The murmur of voices and the images of faces of friends, some now passed, overwhelm me as I am constantly being dragged away from the task at hand, awash in a parade of the sights and sounds of friendship and remembrance. You see, it is not an event I am writing about, but rather a living, breathing, changing company of souls who choose over and over again to come together — with the centerpiece on the table of our common expectation being the humble mountain dulcimer and the desire for community through music.

Dulcimer Players News Asks: How does the dulcimer community influence the way you build? by Nick Blanton (and 15 other builders)
"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Taking this little fragment from Archilochus, Isaiah Berlin wrote about people as foxes and hedgehogs. It applies to music, too. I’m a fox, and I work mostly for foxes. But once, most hammered dulcimers were played by hedgehogs.  They had a short bass bridge, because nobody could imagine ever needing a Bb, or F.  Why would they?

Technical Dulcimer by Sam Rizzetta
"I want to play dulcimer." That wish, especially in earlier days, was often followed by the thought, “I’ll have to build a dulcimer,” or, “I want to build a dulcimer.” The revival of dulcimers, both hammered and fretted, has been unusual in that it has been driven, in large part, by builders. If you wanted to play most other familiar instruments, say a saxophone or electric guitar, you just went to the nearest music store. At the beginning of the dulcimer revivals that was not possible. Even today few music stores carry dulcimers. And we need to support the ones that do if we want interest to grow.

Artist Profile - Connie Allen, by Judy Ganchrow
Able to leap tall instruments in a single bound! Look, up on the mast! It’s a bird! It’s a’playin’! It’s Amazing Connie Allen, otherwise known in these parts as Connie Dulcimerseed. Many fanciful characters come to mind as one gets to know Connie, even Tinkerbell by her ability to change musical and life directions in a flash and with grace, always with her trusty dulcimer family at her side.

Quick Picks and New Music Reviews, by Neal Walters
Don't just read about the music in Neal's reviews, listen to it! Dulcimer Players News now includes a sample CD. (Available only to subscribers.)

Around the World, by Paul Beck and Christie Burns
It was October 2005, and I was on stage in Beijing, whistling the melody and playing the bass riff from “Big Noise from Winnetka” on a cimbalom while Colleen Meehan drummed along on her bodhrán. That’s American music on a Hungarian hammered dulcimer with an Australian playing an Irish drum in China. International, you say? Not by half.

The Art of Performing, by Steve Schneider
Locked within every hammered and mountain dulcimer is the potential for great beauty, excitement, and mystery. Many people, having heard that beauty, excitement, and mystery, are compelled to play the dulcimer. As with any musical instrument, developing fluency on the dulcimer requires a dedication to the art of practice coupled with a willingness to accept the challenges, joys, and discomforts of learning.

Artist Profile - Moran and Morgan, by Linda Lowe Thompson
David Moran and Joe Morgan are a hammered dulcimer and guitar duo who began taking the world by storm in 1995. While both are well versed in the traditional fiddle tunes that many associate with the hammered dulcimer, M & M have expanded their musical vision to include music from a variety of sources.