Those Amazing Musical Instruments! with CD: Your Guide to the Orchestra Through Sounds and Stories (Naxos Books) [Hardcover]

Genevieve Helsby (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 1, 2007 | Age Range: 9 and up | Series: Naxos Books | Lexile Measure: 870L (What's this?)

From the cello to the clarinet to the trumpet to the drums, Those Amazing Musical Instruments! takes readers on a musical tour, with notes on the history, construction and sounds of the instruments from each of the major instrument "families." They can see the parts of the violin working together, read about the flute in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," or hear the different sounds of the tuba on the included CD-ROM. This interactive CD-ROM includes individual musical samples giving readers an audible taste of each instrument, as well as full orchestra pieces showing how they play together.

Those Amazing Musical Instruments! features noted conductor Marin Alsop as kids' guide to the instruments, offering helpful comments and tips throughout the book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Genevieve Helsby graduated from Durham University with an MA in music, was Literary Editor at Chandos Records, then served at Oxford University Press before becoming Editorial Manager with Naxos.

Marin Alsop guides readers through the instruments, offering helpful tips and commentary throughout the book. She is Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony and Gramophone magazine's 2003 Artist of the Year.

Product Details

• Age Range: 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; 1 HAR/CDR edition (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402208251
• ISBN-13: 978-1402208256
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Music

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! March 13, 2008

By Karen W. Bouton

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book/CD is REALLY AMAZING! I couldn't believe the information in this book and the accuracy. I teach music in a public school and ordered this for a unit I will be teaching on the orchestra. The interactive CD-ROM can be used with a projector so the entire class can view it.

The book is set up in sections: Introduction/Orchestra/Seating/Sound Waves; Strings; Woodwinds; Brass; Percussion; Keyboards; Voice; Electronic Instruments; Conductor; and even a Dictionary! An overview is given for each of the sections and each instrument has sound files on the CD-ROM. The photographs of each instrument are colorful, with the parts labeled. The descriptions include famous people who learned to play that instrument, how it is played, different genres where it is used; ranges of the instrument and it's relationship to the range of the entire orchestra.

This book not only includes orchestral instruments, but some folk instruments such as guitar (acoustic and electric) and mandolin. The Woodwind section includes 5 of the recorders, great bass, bass, tenor, alto, soprano, and sopranino! Awe shucks, they left out the little garklien!

I let children check out materials from my room and I want more copies of this book for them and one for myself!

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars All you need to teach kids about instruments! December 28, 2007

By Jeannine Thomas

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is absolutely fantastic. My 3 year old is getting interested in music and I came across this by chance. It has really clear explanations and pictures of all the instruments in the orchestra (and their obscure relatives you don't often see)and very clever and humorous narrative for when they get older. It also has a CD rom to demonstrate the instruments. I can't recommend this highly enough.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A glorious tale of musical instruments and their sounds May 31, 2008

By Schuyler T. Wallace VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Most of us either fiddled or tootled as youngsters. Grammar school bands and orchestras sounded all the better for our efforts. Now, in this amazing book, author Genevieve Helsby explains how that happened (or was supposed to happen).

Under the direction of noted conductor Marin Alsop, musical instruments are described, their history explored, the complexity of their construction is illustrated and then the sounds are heard on the accompanying CD-ROM. They are heard alone, in groups, and finally in full orchestral glory. The book contains beautiful illustrations and captivating narrative and, together with the CD-ROM, makes a wonderful read aloud opportunity for youngsters of all ages. All the reader needs is a DVD player or laptop computer to present a wonderful program guaranteed to captivate the audience.

Each family of musical instruments--string, woodwind, brass, percussion, and keyboard--is explained through word, illustration, and sound. The reader and audience will learn what inspired the shape of stringed instruments or the construction of woodwind mouthpieces, and that the nose was once used to play the flute instead of the mouth. And who knew that paper bags, toy frogs, tin foil, metal trash cans, or trays of dishes have all been used in the percussion section? These are just some of the tidbits of information that add to the joy of reading this book, either to self or aloud.

Talented artists worked with the author to develop and design the book and the final product is a work of art. Don't miss this one.