Terrific thread.

My first exposure to hearing the sound of a hammered dulcimer - the concert was The Whammadiddle Dingbats - 2 dulcimers! It was pure heaven! I fell in love with the sound of the instrument.

The first time I heard Justina Golden sing Dark Eyed Molly. The deep, rich timbre of her voice enchanted me. Still does 12 years later.

The musical flexibility and creativity of Joe Craven amazes me. He not only plays so many instruments, but he makes MUSIC (not just sound) out of many non-instrument objects. What a creative being!

The vocal range and the range of vocabulary used by Shawn Phillips ~ and his mouth music.

The first time I saw live on stage musicians from South America. Different players use varying sized "panpipes". As each of pipes does not contain all of the notes for a song's melody, two players carry the tune cooperatively, alternating notes between the 2 musicians. To carry it off (allowing the audience to hear 1 continuous melody), the musicians must have perfect timing. What a feat! Technically, this blows me away!

Rose