Paul Van Arsdale (October 19, 1920 – March 29, 2018) was an American hammered dulcimer player from North Tonawanda in upstate New York.
Paul (the sixth of eleven children) and his brothers Phil and Sterl learned to play from their grandfather, Jesse R. Martin (born June 9, 1854, died January 1, 1939).
In 1930 he went to live with his daughter's family, and for the next four or five years (until he went to a nursing home) he spent evenings teaching Van Arsdale tunes and playing style.
The repertoire that Van Arsdale learned from his grandfather was mostly dance music – jigs, reels, waltzes, and schottisches.
In 1977, Van Arsdale's daughter Janet heard John McCutcheon playing a concert at the University at Buffalo.