Some great music to read "Common Times" by can be found at http://www.mp3.com This site has a "radio" feature so you can listen to streaming audio of many different genres of music. You can also sample and purchase CD's of any of the music you hear. Click on the link for World and Folk music to get started. I especially enjoy the Old-Time Clawhammer Banjo station and the The Traditional American Old Time Music Station. The Clawhammer station is also useful for banjo students wanting to hear some great examples of traditional clawhammer style playing. Visit these sites at: http://stations.mp3s.com/stations/11/old-time_clawhammer_banjo.html http://stations.mp3s.com/stations/8/the_traditional_american_o.html You'll need software that can play mp3 files in order to listen to the music. My favorite is Winamp, which is freeware found at http://www.winamp.com

If listening to all that old time banjo makes you want to learn to play clawhammer style banjo, a beginning lesson with both audio and video can be found at http://www.kafiristan.com A site called "Old Time Slow Jam" offers some video and audio demonstrations of some basic clawhammer techniques. Check it out at http://www.tandl.vt.edu/rfentres/clawhammer/index.htm For some additional banjo tablature and accompanying audio visit Dwight Diller's page at http://www.dwightdiller.com

Enough of virtual instruction - experience the real thing at an instructional camp or workshop this summer. Acoustic Guitar magazine lists over 100 acoustic music camps and workshops in the US and Europe at web site, http://www.acousticguitar.com/issues/ag100/summer01welcome.shtml

Read this article online with live links and visit the Cyberfolk archive at http://shark.dls.net/~chrismac/cyberfolk

If you have any favorite sites or topics you'd like to see mentioned in Cyberfolk, please let us know. Write to me care of Common Times, or email me at chris.mcintosh@usa.net. See you in Cyberspace.