Welcome!

Welcome to the Talisman Music website. Here you will find musician and teacher Carl Thor, Celtinalia, Hands4/Stepwise, and Bandwidth. We also for a decade hosted the web site for Vancouver's monthly 2nd Friday contra dance, Contra in the Couve! which, sadly, is no longer happening.

Featured events

See our Calendar for all our events.

[1/20/24] Upcoming: Bandwidth will play for the Corvallis contra dance February 3. The Occasionals (Alan Snyder and Carl Thor will play for the Eugene contra dance February 24. See our calendar page for all the details and more future dates.
We are deep into the process of updating our book of tunes written by Carl Thor, "Come to the Dance Hall." Every tune in the (2009) 2nd Edition is being reviewed and edited, and dozens of newer tunes will be added for this 3rd Edition. After a trip to Arizona and the holidays, this project is ramping up again. The plan is to make the new book available in print or as a digital download. Watch here for updates.
Although we have been performing less often since the start of the pandemic, we have not been idle during this time. See below for some new ways to engage with our music.

Find us online

Music lessons: I am conducting hammered dulcimer and piano lessons remotely over the internet, using the Zoom video conferencing platform. In this new environment, there is zero risk of infection, and geography is not a limiting factor! On-site lessons in Vancouver are now also an option. If you would like to begin lessons, please get in touch.
BandCamp: Did you know that musicians only earn a fraction of a cent when you listen to their music through a streaming service like Spotify? Even if you buy a download through a service like Apple Music, only a small part of the sale trickles down to the artist. But there is a better way for you to support us and the other musicians you love! We are now on BandCamp, a site where you can purchase downloads and physical recordings (streaming comes along with your purchase), and the artist receives about 80% of your payment! We'll be adding more of our music over time, so keep an eye on our BandCamp site.
“Follow” us to be notified of new releases.
Facebook: You can keep track of what we're up to by visiting our Facebook page.
“Like” us to see our posts in your feed.
YouTube: We've produced and participated in some cool music videos over the past four years, which you can find on our YouTube channel. You'll find playlists of our commercially available recordings, as well as a playlist of stuff we like from other sources.
For best results, subscribe to our channel.
Sheet Music Plus: A growing number of our compositions and arrangements can be purchased as PDF downloads through the Sheet Music Plus online store. Visit our page here to explore our titles!
For some unknown reason our server will not reliably display the above link.
If you don't see the link, please copy the following URL and paste it into your browser to go to our SMP page:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/publishers/carl-thor-talisman-music/14002?aff_id=657155
SoundCloud: We primarily use SoundCloud as a platform for band demo tracks, new recordings that aren't quite “studio quality” and some of our more “esoteric” music. Stuff you won't find anywhere else. Listen for free. Check us out here.

Listen

With so much work out in the world cancelled, we've had more time to devote to composition, recording, and publishing, and we have launched a Talisman Music Facebook page, where we will announce new events and projects. Check us out at: facebook.com/TalismanMusicWA

The CDBaby Store for purchasing physical CDs and digital downloads has shut down, and we're in the process of adjusting to that loss. You may still find some dead-end links to the CDBaby store throughout this website, but we'll be correcting those as we continue our migration to BandCamp.
And, of course, you can always find CDs and other products in our Web Store.

No Caravan of Despair, music by Carl Thor and the Talisman Digital Symphony Orchestra, is now available for download. Lush and exotic, this four part suite evokes images of desert caravans and celebrations under the starlit sky. Find it at our BandCamp site.
Here's a sample.

See video of Celtinalia playing the great Irish tune, “Banish Misfortune” — our blessing for these troubled times.

See video of Hands4 playing “A Happy March for David” — written in 2020 by Carl Thor and dedicated to our now-departed friend, David Kaynor.

See video of Celtinalia performing “Crossing the Bar” at the Northwest Folklife Festival, 5/26/19. Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson set to music by Rani Arbo.

I was honored to play hammered dulcimer for a recording of “I Wonder As I Wander” by the Chor Leoni Men's Choir, directed by Erick Lichte.
Listen here: https://youtu.be/iCxnMik0W7o and find their albums here.

Learn

I offer private lessons on hammered dulcimer and piano in Portland or Vancouver, and occasional dulcimer workshops in Portland and the Willamette Valley. Most teaching is still remote, over Zoom, due to COVID, but I am beginning to see students on site in Vancouver. See Lessons or Contact us for more info.

Dance

We had a contra dance in Vancouver, WA from 2010 until 2020. Sadly, with COVID-19, the closure of the Hazel Dell Grange and various other factors, Contra in the Couve! is now history. It was great fun while it lasted. Many thanks to all the dancers, volunteers, musicians, and callers who came out to support our dance.

Dulcimer News

Spring Dulcimer Rendezvous

Registration is now open for the 2024 Hammered Dulcimer Rendezvous, to be held May 16-19 at Oral Hull Park just outside of Sandy, OR. Visit nwdulcimer.com for more information.

Services offered by Talisman Music

Live Music

Music for stage shows, weddings, parties, and other events
Music for contra dancing, English Country dancing, family dancing, waltz

Recordings, Published Music and Other Products,
available through our Web Store

Recordings by Talisman Music artists and others
Sheet music and tunebooks by Carl Thor, Hank Laramee, and others
The Portland Collection tune books and CDs
Hand-crafted hammered dulcimer ornament and other music themed ornaments

Composition and Arranging

Downloadable sheet music of our original compositions is now available at: SMP Press
For some unknown reason our server will not reliably display the above link.
Please copy the following URL and paste it into your browser to go to our SMP page:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/publishers/carl-thor-talisman-music/14002?aff_id=657155
Original music for folk dancing, special occasions, film and video, etc.
Music arranging and production of lead sheets, scores, and parts for your music

Education

Private lessons and group instruction in hammered dulcimer and piano
Hammered dulcimer instruction materials

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