Making gourd musical instruments: Over 60 string, wind & percussion instruments & how to play them - Tapa blanda

In this title, readers will enjoy learning how to make instruments from every corner of the planet, including an African shekere or a Caribbean guiro. Pluck them, bang them, shake them and blow into them! These instruments, from wood temple gongs to water drums and stamping tubes, produce every type of joyful noise. You can make a fun 'gourd orchestra' of rattles, like a Mesoamerican Indian rain stick and African shekere; a Caribbean guiro; a gorgeous mbira or thumb piano; and friction drums that wail or roar. There are instruments from near and far, from the unusual to the familiar banjo and guitar. Tips on choosing, cleaning, and sealing a gourd and decorating and playing the finished instrument, help to create beautiful music.

Ginger Summit and Jim Widess have written several gourd craft books, including the bestseller, The Complete Book of Gourd Craft (Lark Books, 1996). Ginger and Jim both live in California, USA.