Selected Pages and Projects from:
"Making Gourd Musical Instruments"
By Ginger Summit and Jim Widess

Making Gourd Musical Instruments
Throw away those oatmeal boxes and rubber bands!
You don't even need a special work area.

Using only your basic household tools and throwaways from your garage or garden shed, you can make any of the musical instruments in this books.

gourd musical instruments in Berkeley Making gourd musical instruments in Berkeley
Gourds are natural resonators, already formed, waiting to be strung, blown or struck. You don't have to do anything with a gourd but cut it open and clean it out. Presto! You have a banjo body, a drum frame, a bell for a wind instrument, or even a hollow tube for a flute. Some of the instruments you'll make with Making Gourd Musical Instruments: rattle, drum, rainstick, shekere, guiro, kalimba, xylophone, musical bow, lyre, guitar, spike fiddle, banjo, reed flute, clarinet and recorder.

 

Making Gourd Musical Instruments is the book for anyone who has ever wanted to make a musical instrument. These ageless instruments are made using the simplest of tools and skills, yet still bring delight to musicians around the world today.
#01573 - $14.95

Gourd Music Berkeley gourd musical instruments in California

About the Authors:

Ginger Summit and Jim Widess are co-authors of The Complete Book of Gourd Craft, Lark Books, 1996. (over 40,000 in circulation!)

Ginger Summit has been crafting and growing gourds for 15 years. She is also author of Gourds in Your Garden, Hilway Press, 1998. (over 15,000 in circulation)

Jim Widess, owner of The Caning Shop, has provided gourds, supplies and tools and sponsored gourd crafting classes for 16 years. He is the book's photographer and also co-author of The Caner's Handbook, Lark Books, 1991. (over 40,000 in circulation)


What people are saying about this book:

"Long-time gourders themselves, with excellent earlier books already to their credit on gourd growing and gourd craft... The authors researched gourd instruments from around the world… they then set about producing dozens of the most practical, effective and home-buildable gourd instrument types… These are described in the book, with step-by-step construction photographs and descriptions. Most of the instruments are simple to make, requiring a minimum of special tools or materials. Photographs of and background information on many more beautiful gourd instruments… further enrich the book." - Bart Hopkin, Experimental Musical Instruments, Journal of EMI

"There is an amazing wealth of information here, covering not only how-to's and history, but also extending into the social sciences and even science. Actual instructions... are included... a book that patient crafters will appreciate." - Booklist, February, 2000

"I was amazed at the variety of gourd instruments the world has produced, and over 60 are pictured or described in a clear, straightforward [manner]… [the] history alone makes the book worth the price… the raison d'être of the book is the detailed directions with step-by-step pictures for making 20 instruments from gourds…this is how-to; written and illustrated at its best. - The Gourd, the Journal of the American Gourd Society

"Historically, ethnic groups in many countries have used a great number of musical instruments made from gourds. In North America these instruments are used mainly by percussionists. Most of the step-by-step projects in this book by gourd artists Summit and Widess (The Complete Book of Gourd Craft) are for percussion or stringed instruments such as the Latin American guiro (gourd scraper) or the spike fiddle. There are also a few from the wind family, such as the fipple flute. These are legitimate musical instruments made from traditional materials, and they are fully playable as well as being beautifully crafted. Highly recommended for general crafts as well as ethnomusicology collections." - Library Journal, February, 2000

"Well written." - Jim Story, gourd grower

"I highly recommend The Complete Book of Gourd Craft." - Organic Gardening Magazine

"Delightful to read." - Jim Linthicum, AGS President

"A treat for the eyes." - Basketry Express

"The projects, presented by experienced gourd crafters, are artistic and imaginative and cover all techniques of dealing with gourds." - Library Journal

"A written detail of arts which have over the centuries been passed along by only word of mouth." - Bay Area Antiques

"This book gives wonderful history and inspiration to anyone interested in crafting musical instruments from gourds." - a customer

"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!" - a customer

"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?" - Andria Redlin

"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." - P. Kamler, "PLK Gourds", St. Louis, Missouri

"It was interesting from a historical folk instrument aspect but was not functional for helping one learn to create gourd instruments." - a customer

"This book gives wonderful history and inspiration to anyone interested in crafting musical instruments from gourds." - a customer

"This review is from: Making Gourd Musical Instruments: Over 60 String, Wind & Percussion Instruments & How to Play Them (Hardcover)
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!" - a customer

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