Justin Timberlake Mixes New Music with Middle Eastern Oud

New music meets old world instrument in Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around... Comes Around", the third single from Justin Timberlake's second solo album FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). The song begins with about 15 seconds of a guitar-type solo which is played on an oud.

Throughout history, versions of the oud instrument have made their mark in various civilizations from Spain to China. Today, the oud is known as ut or ud in Turkey, laouta in Greece, udi in Africa and barbat in Iran. The oud is considered the most important Arab instrument and is called the prince of the instruments.

The sound of the oud is similar to the guitar but more mellow and more rich. Kudos to Justin Timberlake for giving this beautiful sound lots of radio play time.

The Bigger The Gong, The Bigger The Sound?

When shopping for a gong, should you go with a large gong for a large sound? Maybe . . .

Generally speaking, the bigger the gongs will have a bigger sound. Also, large gongs have vibratioins that you can feel. At NAMM 2007, a trade show for musical instrument manufacturers, I stood behind a 70 inch gong (yes, that's a gong over 5 feet across!!) while someone else struck it. You can really feel the vibration - it was awesome!

WorldMusicalInstruments.com is now offering some very large gongs, including the 39 1/2 inch wind gong and the massive 70 inch chao gong.

Keep in mind that you don't have to strike a gong real hard. A nice firm strike will product great resonance. For a sustained sound, strike repeatedly in a rapid fashion.

School Assembly Presentation on Musical Instruments from Around the World

WorldMusicalInstruments.com provides presentations at school assemblies and recently provided one at Freeman Elementary School in Aurora IL. Freeman was celebrating Fine Arts Week, and wanted to include music and instruments as part of this celebration. We worked with 2 groups of grades K-5 to listen to music, learn about instruments, and drum in a drum circle.

The music featured ethnic instruments such as the duduk, bloul, shvi, oud, tabla drums, doumbek, ashiko, sitar, and many small percussion instruments. Musical instruments demonstrated include:
djun-djun drum
doumbek drums
ashiko drum
tabla Indian drum set
conga drum
tambourine
Tibetan gong and Chinese wind gong
chick shake eggs
ankle bells
hand cymbals
caxixi Brazilian percussion instrument
bull horn
cuica Brazilian friction drum
bongos
rain stick
bull roarer Australian instrument
shakere
temple blocks
toke
agogo

Then the fun part: drumming. Since each group had about 150 children, it is not practical for everyone to play a drum. However, everyone can clap or pat on their laps, so the children use their "built in" instruments to participate in the drum circle. For groups which include all ages, we learn some basic drumming rhythms, work with volume changes, and have 2 groups play different rhythms at the same time.

We concluded the program with some thoughts toward world peace. The children briefly tried the instruments on their way out of the gym.

Fun was had by all at Freeman Elementary School, and we thank them for inviting us to share their Fine Arts Week celebration.

If the school assembly group consists of just older children, we use more complicated drumming rhythms for the drum circle portion and are able to give the children hands on use of the instruments.

Please consider WorldMusicalInstruments.com for your next school assembly program in the Chicago IL area. We tailor the assembly presentation to your theme, whether it's a focus on a country like Africa, a multi cultural celebration, or a tribute to the fine arts.

Schools Embrace Ethnic Musical Instruments, Buying on School Purchase Orders

This has been a big week for schools to buy ethnic musical instruments. In this one week alone, WorldMusicalInstruments.com has sold musical instruments to schools in California, Missouri, Minnesota, and Illinois. WorldMusicalInstruments.com accepts purchase orders from schools buying musical instruments. That makes the purchasing process easier for the schools, getting the instruments in their hands as soon as possible.

So what instruments do schools buy? Here are some of the small handheld percussion instruments that schools have recently purchased:
- kalimba
- castanets
- maracas
- caxixi, a Brazilian percussion instrument
- singing bowls
- gongs

In addition to small percussion instruments, schools like drums like:
- djembe
- doumbek

Occassionally schools will buy string instruments like:
- lute
- oud

It's great to see school music programs branching out to non-traditional instruments. School children of all ages enjoy learning about instruments that reflect cultures from around the world.

Cuica Brazilian Friction Drum

What's hot and what's not in the world of ethnic drumming? Lately there is a lot of interest in the Cuica Drum. It's mostly a Brazilian drum, used primarily in samba music, but it has been used in a few songs you may have heard of:
- Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard"
- Barenaked Ladies' "Enid"
- Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved"

The cuica is also found in other regioins such as Africa, and all over the world. It is also known as a puita, boi, or onca. The body of the cuica is usually metal with a goat skin head.

The cuica is not like many other drums in terms of the way it is played. A thin stick is attached to the center of the drum head, and goes into the interior of the drum. The drum is usually held on your lap so you can have one hand inside the drum and the other hand on the head of the drum. The drummer rubs the stick up and down with a wet cloth using the hand inside the drum. Use the thumb or fingers of the other hand to apply pressure to the cuica drum head. The friction from the rubbing motion produces a squeaky sound, and the pitch is varied by changing the thumb pressure.

Listen to the Cuica drum or buy a cuica drum online. The small cuica with 5 inch head is currently out of stock, with our next shipment expected toward the end of March 2007. The large cuica with 8 inch head is in stock now.

The Police Play the Grammys

Did you catch the Police reunion on the Grammy Awards show? It's good to see Sting back with the band. I thought he'd play one of his new medieval pieces on the lute, but that probably wouldn't be in the spirit of the reunion. If you're not familiar with the lute, you can see it here. He has some recently recorded medieval pieces, but has also played some of his solo stuff like "Fields of Gold", which sounds great with the lute.

Buy a Gong - Bang a Gong

Since the beginning of 2007, the gong has increased in popularity. Gongs are being purchased mostly by businesses (car dealerships, hockey teams), but also by schools and individuals.

Businesses use their gong to celebrate success (such as a new car sale). Who gets to bang the gong, the new car owner or the successful car salesperson?

Perhaps we can thank the likes of Target for starting to carry gongs, putting them in the public eye.

Any gong is fun to strike. You don't need to hit them very hard to get some great sound. Gongs come in various sizes and types. There are Chinese wind gongs, Chao gongs, Bao gongs.

So if you've never tried it, bang a gong for a good feeling.