Thank you Jan for your input, and I was really happy to see the response from Mark.

That must have been awesome to have Bill for a week-long class!

Sounds awesome!!!

 

Mark!  Thank you so much for responding to this!  I hope all is well with Bill and his family.  It makes me very sad to know that he has stopped playing and stopped building dulcimers.  I only ever had the privilege of meeting Bill the one weekend at the KADC retreat.  He is a truly a wonderful person, and sooooo talented.  The dulcimer I have is beautiful and has such a wonderful sound.  One of the fun moments (one of many) from that weekend was when Bill played and sang "The Preacher and the Bear". 

When you see him again - please tell him I said hi.  He won't know who I am, but he made such an impact on me....I was pretty new to the dulcimer, and he showed me what the dulcimer community is all about!

Thank you again!  And sorry for rambling.......

It would be my privilege to get to meet Mr Taylor!  

 

Mark, I'm so glad you saw this question and responded to it, knowing what a great friend Bill is to you.  I was waiting to see if anyone was going to respond and if there was no response, I was going to suggest they contact you--I knew you'd know!

I had Bill for a week-long class at Dulcimerville (I think), held in Black Mountain, NC and my friends and I still talk about what a great class that was.  He was a great instructor, luthier, and is, as you relate so well, continues to be a kind, wonderful man.  Thank you for writing this message!

--
Jan Potts, Lexington, KY
Site Moderator

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." Henry Van Dyke

Bill stopped playing last year. And I can say with all the love and humility I can muster that I helped him finish his last dulcimer. 

He is still kicking around Pine Mountain and Maryville. I talked with him and Barbara tonight, and they said they've been working in the garden--mostly feeding a really fat groundhog! 

He's got some instruments left for sale in a shop, but I forget which one. I'll try to find out if someone is looking for one.

His ability and desire to work with any pretty wood he could find drove me to explore other woods, too, and he helped me take my building to a higher level because of that. His instruments are beautiful and play so well. They are a reflection of this kind, wonderful man.

Does anyone here know if Bill Taylor is still building and/or playing the mountain dulcimer?

I have one of his dulcimers and I love it!  Many years ago I went to a KADC (Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club) weekend workshop.  Bill was a part of it.  He is a wonderful person and a great player!  It would be so nice to hear from him!

Thanks!

updated by @cindy-stammich: 10/27/19 12:02:25PM