Customer Reviews

Making Gourd Musical Instruments: Over 60 String, Wind & Percussion Instruments & How to Play Them

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book does not compare to Ginger Summit's previous books on gourd crafts. The material lists are incomplete and the instructions are poorly written. It was extremely frustrating, particularly to construct the thumb piano, to have incomplete parts list and the book assumes that the user has a fairly extensive knowledge of tools. I do NOT recommend this book to anyone who wants a quality folk type instrument. I have constructed four instruments and found the general directions poor. It was interesting from a historical folk instrument aspect but was not functional for helping one learn to create gourd instruments.

This book gives wonderful history and inspiration to anyone interested in crafting musical instruments from gourds. Having crafted several instruments myself, I found the real, usable information in this book rather limited, especially if you're looking to build a quality instrument. I would suggest the gourd crafter check out the book "Making Wood Folk Instruments" by Dennis Waring. The instructions are much better and in many cases can be altered to use gourds rather than wood.

A fantastic companion to "The Complete Book of Gourd Craft" (by the same authors). The history lesson on each type of instrument is wonderful for both adults and children. The photos of both ancient and new instruments are a pleasure to look at and an inspiration to get going on a project while the instructions for making the instruments are basic enough to get started and then let your imagination run wild. If you need more help with basic gourd craft, just refer to "The Complete Book of Gourd Craft" Happy Gourding!

First things first: Buy the book.

I can't tell you how many hours I've sat with this book open. If there's a better resource on the subject of using gourds to make musical instruments, I haven't found it. The photography is excellent from cover to cover, and the how-to's are useful and just as importantly - believable.

I make musical instruments as a hobby, and after making one from a gourd, I went out and scored a boat load of gourds. This book really expanded my thinking, and has resulted in countless cool and useful projects.

The only thing I don't like are the chapter titles. They make me think too much. I mean, "Idiophones", "Chordophones", and "Aerophones"?

Seriously - If you want a book that serves as entertainment, reference, and inspiration all at once, "Making Gourd Musical Instruments" is the next best purchase you'll make.

...And check out Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart. See some of the instruments in action. AWESOME! Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart

Already an instrument maker, this well illustrated book has given me some really good new ideas.

Great book for those wishing to learn how to make their gourd into a musical instrument. Good detail on how to do it. Recommend highly.

For the most part, this is a nice book for a person who wants to make a good instrument, but does not have a woodworking shop at their disposal, though having a small electric saw does help, because there are some projects where wood must be cut, drilled, etc. The only thing I didn't really like about the book was the fact that there were some really cool instruments in there that there were no instructions for. On a more positive note, the book provided a lot of interesting information about how the various types of instrument groups make their sound, along with how they are played, and variations on how to make them. The book also told of the instruments' origins, which was nice to know. I am currently building a Kenyan lyre, called a nyatiti, which was pictured in the book on page 77. This book has really inspired me to begin creating my own musical instruments, which I think all serious musicians should do. I believe a musical instrument is almost like an extension of the essense of the musician who plays it, and what better way is there to display their own personality?

This book is amazing. I've already made the kazoos. There's a few that I'd like a bit more detail in the instructions, but overall it's an interesting and useful book about Gourd Musical Instruments.

The book is well written, documented, and illustrated. While not written as a Dummy's guide type book, it is a great source of inspiration to help to create your own designs and instruments. This is a great quiet evening's read to stir the imagination and fire up the desire to turn the lights back on in the hobby section of your work shop.

Great collages of fine music will not beat down my door to get me on their roles, but I'll play my thump minbia happily anyway. Well done book on making musical instruments based on a gourd sounding board. I have enjoyed the book a great deal.

Dave