[.ca] Making Gourd Musical Instruments: Over 60 String, Wind & ... (ISBN 1402745036)

incomplete directions and materials lists:
This book does not compare to Ginger Summit's previous books on gourd crafts. The material lists are incomplete and the instructions are poorly written. It was extremely frustrating, particularly to construct the thumb piano, to have incomplete parts list and the book assumes that the user has a fairly extensive knowledge of tools. I do NOT recommend this book to anyone who wants a quality folk type instrument. I have constructed four instruments and found the general directions poor. It was interesting from a historical folk instrument aspect but was not functional for helping one learn to create gourd instruments.

Not much for quality instruments:
This book gives wonderful history and inspiration to anyone interested in crafting musical instruments from gourds. Having crafted several instruments myself, I found the real, usable information in this book rather limited, especially if you're looking to build a quality instrument. I would suggest the gourd crafter check out the book "Making Wood Folk Instruments" by Dennis Waring. The instructions are much better and in many cases can be altered to use gourds rather than wood.

Making Gourd Musical Instruments:
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!