Alfred Publishing has published several books on world percussion. What sets Drum Circle: A Guide To World Percussion apart from the rest is that the book or CD can be purchased together or separately. This aspect alone could be very attractive to educators.
Drum Circle: A Guide To World Percussion seems to be written for music and social studies teachers and drum enthusiasts looking to bring new ideas to their playing. The authors cover 28 different instruments, grouping similar instruments into individual chapters. The format of each chapter is consistent, beginning with interesting background and historical facts. The tuning and playing position are then discussed before technical performance is demonstrated. Nearly 90 black and white photographs accurately demonstrate the position and technique of the game.
Drum Circle: A Guide To World Percussion really is a fantastic introduction to a host of percussion instruments from around the world. Here, the musicians will learn Brazilian, Arab, Cuban, Malian, Guinean, Irish, Syrian and Egyptian instruments and rhythms (among others). The book’s Introduction chapter encourages readers to try other instruments with traditional songs, which is a great way to grow as a musician. We have found this to be a very interesting approach to drumming as well.
Pages 53 to 65 list traditional songs from the Middle East, Africa, Cuba, and Brazil. Pages 65-72 offer modern use of world rhythms in 8 or more sets. Both traditional and modern notations are included.
The book states that the Enhanced Stereo CD is interactive with audio and visual tutorials for Windows-compatible computers.
I was a bit disappointed to learn that although the CD did have an audio track available for computer use, it was just a QuickTime recording, rather than audio/videos, which is what I expected.
Another negative about the CD is that at the end it makes an irritating electronic or static sound that made us run for the stop button. However, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to playing the larger ensembles with our percussionist friends.
Publisher: Alfred Publishing
Author: Chalo Eduardo and Frank Kumar
ISBN numbers: 0-7390-2309-8 (book and CD)
0-7390-2319-5 (CD only)
0-7390-2309-X (book only)
