This extraordinary book explores the richness of sound, instruments, and music from the world's astonishing variety of cultural and musical traditions. David Reck is one of the few musical scholars to realize that music can be broken down into a few basic ideas, and to show how those ideas manifest themselves in disparate cultures. Here he discusses the similarities and differences between the Western oboe and the Indian shehnai, between our large orchestras and Bali's gamelans, between a Mozart symphony, a Japanese noh drama, and a Tibetan chant.Profusely illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams, and even instructions on how to make one's own instruments, Music of the Whole Earth helps to narrow the gaps between audience and performer and between our own musical culture and that of other people. For anyone who has ever been puzzled by the unfamiliar strains of non-Western music, Music of the Whole Earth is the ideal answer--an exciting and accessible companion to the sounds of the world.
