Customer Reviews

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments

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I looked at several books before deciding. Max Wade-Matthews Encyclopedia of Music: Instruments of the Orchestra and the Great Composers is the best for providing history and overall information on major instruments and composers and uses limited photos. Musical Instruments of the World is organized by instrument with volumes of black and white illustrations of variations and changes over time. It shows how they are held and played and gives a brief history. Robert Dearly's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments is organized by major instruments with a small section of non-western. It covers the history in text but does not picture the derivatives. Contains limited pictures and illustrations. I chose The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments: From All Eras and Regions of the World as the most comprehensive and visual. It does not cover the composers. It is organized by time periods and continents showing the 4 families of instruments and their variations. Brief texts discuss history, how to play, and how they were used. Over 1000 excellent illustrations are a great reminder of the University of South Dakota's National Music Museum's thousands of worldwide instruments displayed. This book is a substitute for all the photos I could not take and the stories behind them. Once you see this book you won't be satisfied with another. I was initially concerned that the illustrations would not be as detailed as photos. They are better. The best features of all the other books seemed to be combined in this one.