World Musical Instruments

Meinl Headliner Series Cajon with Mahogany Front Plate On Sale

2011-11-30T17:02:00.001-06:00

Check out this Meinl Headliner Series Cajon with Mahogany front plate, on sale with special extra discount coupon thru 12/31/2011. This Meinl Cajon is great for acoustic gigs and is great when a full drum set is not practical. Get your discount coupon code for a terrific price on the Meinl Headliner Series Cajon with Mahogany front plate:

Meinl Aluminum Doumbeks On Sale Discount Coupon

2011-11-29T15:22:00.001-06:00

Visit WorldMusicalInstruments.com for Meinl Aluminum Doumbeks on sale with item coupons for an extra 15% off specific items. Click the pictures below to get the coupon codes. Choose from copper finish, black vinyl finish (really cool matte black finish), or hand engraved aluminum doumbek:

World Musical Instruments On Sale Discount Coupon

2011-11-28T15:45:00.003-06:00

Enjoy savings on World Musical Instruments - use a discount coupon:

11holiday15

$15.00 off orders over $129.00

Coupon will be honored even if items ordered are out of stock and customer agrees to backorder (we will hold your order until stock is available and provide discounted price when your order ships). Coupon valid on new orders only. One coupon per order. Coupon may be used on more than one order. Coupon code valid through December 24, 2011

Read more about how to use discount coupon on WorldMusicalInstruments.com.

PLUS hundreds of musical instruments on sale!

Aluminum Darbukas from Meinl On Sale Now

2011-06-17T15:16:00.004-05:00

WorldMusicalInstruments.com is offering Aluminum Darbukas from Meinl in several sizes and two styles - all on sale now.

The plain aluminum darbukas are available in 5 sizes: from 5 1/3 inch diameter to 8 inch diameter, and height from 9 3/4 inches to 14 1/2 inches. Here's a picture of the smallest plain Aluminum Darbuka:

The hand-hammered aluminum darbukas are beauties with jingles, with 2 models: 8 inch x 14 1/2 inch and 8 1/4 inch x 16 inch. Here's a picture:

These darbukas are great for drum circles, light and convenient to transport. Check out the aluminum darbukas on sale now at WorldMusicalInstruments.com!

Logos Imprinted on Wooden Shakers Instruments

2010-06-07T16:18:00.003-05:00

Ever wanted to imprint a corporate logo on a shaker wooden musical instrument? WorldMusicalInstruments.com can apply corporate logos to musical instruments or just provide the musical instruments and the advice so you can apply the corporate logo yourself.

Here's an example of a logo'd wooden egg shaker. The wooden egg shaker has a finish on it, so we found the best way to apply a logo to the curved egg shaker surface was to imprint the corporate logo onto a clear sticker, then apply the sticker to the egg shakers. A neutral color of egg shaker was chosen so that the logo shows up nicely.

Before the logo:

After the logo:

Contact WorldMusicalInstruments.com for help putting logos on musical instruments!

Child Percussion Set Helps Children Make Fun Rhythms

2010-05-24T15:06:00.006-05:00

Here's a great childrens percussion set to help children make fun musical rhythms. The Meinl NINOSET12 Rhythm Set is great for schools and daycare. Specifically crafted for child sized hands, Meinl's NINO® Percussion line of musical instruments is great for early childhood education. NINO musical instruments are well-suited for use in Kindergartens, Elementary Schools, Music Therapy, and for musical activities in a day care environment.

The NINOSET12 is On Sale with Free Shipping Now!

This discounted NINO® Child Percussion Set by Meinl includes 12 individual percussion instruments. The childrens percussion instrument set is perfect for use in kindergarten, schools, or percussion groups. This collection of different percussion instruments is the ideal way to explore the complete NINO® world of percussion and rhythm.
Contents:
1 x Wood Claves, large
1 x Triangle, 6 inch
1 x ABS Hand Drum, 10 inch (color may vary)
1 x Wood Tambourine, One Row
1 x Skin Maracas pair, medium
1 x Single Energy Chime, Medium
1 x Wood Guiro
1 x Rattan Shaker, either a Ganza or a double( pictured)
2 x Egg Shakers (color may vary)
1 x Wood A-Go-Go, Two Rows

NINO® instruments have been tested by the Landesgewerbeanstalt Bayern, Germany (LGA), Institute for the Testing of Goods and Quality Monitoring and have been awarded with the LGA Test Certificate. This means that NINO® musical instruments comply with the strict requirements of the European Community Directives 88/378EC and 87/357/EC.

NINO® instruments pass the following tests:

Testing in dependance on the Toy Safety Directive (88/378/EC)

Mechanical and physical characteristics

Inflammability

Migration of certain parts

Saliva and perspiration resistance

Colorfastness

Determination of the content of Pentachlorphenol (PCP)

Testing with regard to pesticides

Valuation in accordance with EC Directive 87/357/EC

After passing all tests, the internationally accepted LGA Test Certificate was awarded for all NINO® percussion instruments. This certificate vouches for quality and safety.

Pants on the Ground, Neil Young Rendition with Harmonica and Acoustic Guitar

2010-01-25T08:58:00.003-06:00

"Pants on the Ground" has gotten lots of attention since being seen on American Idol. Check out Neil Young's rendition with harmonica and acoustic guitar on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon blog.

Coupon for World Musical Instruments Expires 12/24/2009

2009-12-01T09:07:00.003-06:00

Choose your coupon for WorldMusicalInstruments.com - pick either Free Shipping Coupon for orders $299 and up OR $5 off coupon for orders of $50 or more. Both coupons expire 12/24/2009. Must enter coupon code on Shopping Cart page before you checkout. View details on the coupon codes and how to enter the coupon code.

Visit WorldMusicalInstruments.com for hundreds of musical instruments on sale: didgeridoos, sitars, gongs, world drums, and more!

Shakira Performs Did It Again with Drum Dancing

2009-10-13T22:53:00.003-05:00

Shakira performs "Did It Again" on "Dancing with the Stars" on October 13, 2009, featuring some great drum dancing with Asian drums. It's always great to see Shakira's moves, but it added an interesting dimension to see the drummers moving along with their drumming - seems like it would be called drum dancing.

The drums at the beginning of the song look like talking drums:

Click to view larger

The drums shown during most of Shakira's performance (2-headed drums on wooden stands) look like Japanese taiko drums or Chinese thunder drums. A video of Shakira performing "Did It Again" on Jimmy Kimmel shows drums like marching band drums or tabor drums.

What kind of drums do you think were used in Shakira's performance of "Did It Again" on Dancing with the Stars?

Harmonica Music in Cadillac Records Movie Creates Interest in Original Blues Artists

2008-12-13T08:01:00.008-06:00

If you've seen the movie Cadillac Records, featuring classic blues music of Muddy Waters on guitar and Little Walter on harmonica, most people agree on one thing: the movie creates a desire to listen to the original musical artists perform their original renditions of the classic blues music featured in the movie. Hearing the harmonica music and classic blues guitar music in the movie is one thing, but you just can't listen to the covers in the movie, you're drawn to searching for the original Muddy Waters on guitar and Little Walter on harmonica for a true dose of the blues.

You may not like the Cadillac Records movie, but I liked the nostalgia it created for me based on the movie music.

If you want to give the harmonica a try, WorldMusicalInstruments.com is offering the Bends brand harmonicas from Brazil, which are just being introduced into the US market. Bends Harmonicas start around $30:

Didgeridoo Making - How It Is Done

2008-11-29T10:21:00.013-06:00

Didgeridoos from WorldMusicalInstruments.com are hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind instruments made by Tree Thump Didj Co. that not only create the unique didj buzz, but are also finished to last a long time. Here's a brief look at the didgeridoo production process of turning a tree branch into a beautiful, long-lasting musical instrument, the didgeridoo:

Tree branches are selected for the didgeridoo production process. These didgeridoos are made in Illinois, so are made from limbs of pine, poplar, or birch trees.

The bark is removed and the branch is shaped and sanded, then split in half, ready to be carved.

Branches are carved to specifications to create didgeridoos in various keys. After carving, the two halves are glued back together and coated inside with a protective resin and hung to dry.

A final sanding, then finishing artwork and/or stain are applied, followed by a glossy protective resin coating. What was once just a tree branch is now a custom didgeridoo!

Please note: Since the didgeridoos hang to dry, there may be some hardened resin drips at the bell of the didgeridoo as pictured here, which in no way impact the great didj buzz:

Duduk Tips for Ghamish Reed

2008-11-24T21:12:00.008-06:00

This post provides tips for working with the ghamish reed for the Professional Duduk:

Make sure ghamish is open before playing. If it is not completely closed you can blow warm air through it to get it to open a little more so it will play better. If the ghamish is completely closed, you can do one of three things:

- make sure cap is on and run some warm water into the bottom (open) end, shake it with your finger covering the hole and then pour out. Leave sitting with cap down in a vertical position for up to 20 minutes.

- an alteration of the above is to leave the warm water in the ghamish and let it sit for awhile with cap on, upside down.

- on a really dry day with a very closed ghamish you can take the cap/bridle off and set the top upside down into about 1/2 to 1 inch of warm water. This can be dangerous if you forget and leave it! The ghamish is not a split reed like bassoon or oboe; it will want to revert to a round shape if left in that water. This is not good and you would need to carefully put the cap back on and hope it comes back down to a reasonable opening with time.

Once it is open enough to play (you never want it too open- if so it will feel really hard to blow) you can use the bridle to make very slight adjustments to the pitch. Remember that ghamish can change pitch in the middle of a tune with no warning so that bridle needs to be able to hold on to the reed a little for adjustments. In dry environments you can put a little water under the bridle on the ghamish to help it grab.

The duduk is played with very little reed in the mouth. Just a quarter inch or so. The embouchure is not like oboe or any other double reed woodwind in that the reed is not held between the teeth with the lips covering them. You must keep the reed/ghamish in front of the teeth controlled by the lip muscles. The whole top minor third of the range (on an A duduk from G to the highest B) is all achieved by squeezing the reed so the opening has to be good to allow for the control to get these notes. If the opening is too little, or the ghamish is dry many times these notes can be very sharp. And conversely if it is too wet and open you will have great difficulty playing the top part of the range.

These tips for working with the duduk ghamish reed were provided by professional woodwind player Chris Bleth.

To purchase the Professional Duduk from Armenia, visit WorldMusicalInstruments.com.

Chinese Instruments Featured in Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

2008-08-09T17:02:00.007-05:00

I am so glad I watched the entire Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. I was unable to leave the room, even during commercials, for fear of missing any part of the most awesome live performance ever! Chinese musical instruments played a vital role in the performance, providing a glimpse into Chinese culture from many perspectives: historical, spiritual, and emotional. It's difficult to find words to describe this amazing performance. I encourage you to view these beautiful still photos (be sure to flip thru all the pages of photos).

We witnessed innovative use of Chinese musical instruments to not only provide music but set the mood and provide quite a light show! The 2008 drummers wowwed us by playing a version of an ancient Chinese instrument called the Fou drum. In its original form, I understand that it was a type of jug drum which is also seen in other cultures. If anyone knows where to get a drum like those used toward the beginning of the ceremony (even without the "light up" effect), I'd love to hear about it.

We heard the Chinese Guzheng during the calligraphy dancing performance.

Also spotted throughout performances were the Chinese Erhu, Chinese Pipa, and the ever popular Chinese Wind Gong.

Please let us know if you identified any other Chinese musical instruments during the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, or if you have any more information about the drums played by the 2008 drummers.

World Music Resource

2008-06-21T14:21:00.002-05:00

WorldMusicalInstruments.com recently found a great resource web site for those interested in World Music, World Music Central. This site provides a wealth of information including World Music News and World Music Resources for artists and for everyone who wants to hear and learn more about world music. Check it out!

Best Kalimba Thumb Piano

2008-06-09T16:26:00.007-05:00

According to Nicole F. from Denver CO, WorldMusicalInstruments.com offers the best kalimba thumb piano ever!

Nicole ordered the large thumb piano (item code THMP) in mid-April, and patiently waited for more stock to arrive. When notified that her kalimba was ready to ship, she conveyed how much she liked this particular thumb piano because of the beautiful rosewood body, which resonates really well, and because of the substantial adjustable keys. According to Nicole, this is the best thumb piano on the market and she has used quite a few. Thanks Nicole!

Click here to buy a large kalimba thumb piano.

Chicago Area School Assembly Supports Music In Our Schools

2008-05-29T10:00:00.012-05:00

In March 2008, World Musical Instruments delivered the World Musical Instrument Experience school assembly program at Harrison School in Wonder Lake IL, a suburb northwest of Chicago. This elementary school assembly program was provided in support of Music In Our Schools month.

Elementary school children got hands-on use of musical instruments from around the world including African drums (djembe, djun djun, talking drum, ashiko), Middle Eastern drums (doumbeks, darbuka), instruments from India (tabla, ghungroos ankle bells), percussion instruments (gongs, shakere, rain sticks, agogo, tambourines, ratchets, kokinko, kalimba) - over 50 instruments were presented to the children, reviewing the country of origin, and we played along to music from Africa, sitar and tabla music from India, duduk flute music from Armenia, and didgeridoo music from Australia.

To support the school's goal of hands-on use of the world musical instruments, groups of about 50 children each were brought into the music room. Sessions were conducted all morning to allow music-making by the children, using techniques similar to drum circles. With instruments in their hands, the students are very engaged and learn more about the instruments and the variety of sounds.

Our thanks for Harrison School for inviting WorldMusicalInstruments.com to share our joy of musical instruments from around the world!

Play Name-It Contest to Win $50 Musical Instruments Shopping Spree

2008-04-30T21:39:00.007-05:00

WorldMusicalInstruments.com is giving you the opportunity to win a 15% off discount coupon (valid on orders of $99 or over; coupons are awarded each Sunday and are valid for one week). To play our contest, simply identify a world musical instrument from a picture. If you're right (or close enough), we'll email a coupon code to you and enter your email address in a drawing to win $50 store credit.

Name-It!

Don't know this instrument? Check back each Monday for a new instrument. Contest ends June 1 2008 with a drawing for one $50 store credit from all correct submitted entries (no minimum order value; chances of winning are not increased by multiple submissions).

Answers will be posted. FYI, the pictures used in this content were taken at the NAMM show in January 2008. WorldMusicalInstruments.com visits this show of musical instrument manufacturers to look for new products and strengthen relationships with our suppliers. And we have tons of fun, which we want to share!

Thanks for playing!

Vantage Point Movie Music - Listen for Duduk World Wind Instrument

2008-02-15T15:54:00.011-06:00

In the upcoming movie "Vantage Point", don't expend all your energy solving the puzzle. Be sure to listen to the music throughout the movie to see if you can hear world flutes such as the duduk.

In a recent conversation with Chris Bleth, professional woodwind player, he told me a story about duduk music working its way into the "Vantage Point" sound track. Chris was warming up with the duduk, even though it was not originally intended for use in the movie. Suddenly he heard "What's that sound - we've got to have it in the movie music!". And with that, plans were underway to include duduk music played by Chris Bleth in the "Vantage Point" movie music.

Chris does a variety of work in the Los Angeles area playing duduk for films (Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Island), TV shows (Path to 9/11, Over There, Star Trek Enterprise), TV and radio commercials, video games, albums and live concerts.

In the picture on the right, Chris is playing beautiful duduk music with an ensemble in the Ararat Music booth at the NAMM 2008 show in Anaheim CA.

Chicago Area School Presents Awesome Meet the Artist Concert

2008-01-11T09:12:00.000-06:00

On January 10, 2008 I attended the Waubonsie Valley High School Music Department's Meet the Artist Concert and can only describe it as awesome! Music in our schools is very important at every level in schools. First a bit about Waubonsie Valley High School's Music Department:
- The GRAMMY Foundation® Signature Schools program, recognized the top 22 public schools across the country for outstanding commitment to their music education programs. Determined by a blue-ribbon panel of top music educators and professionals, schools are awarded grants for their music departments. In 2007, Waubonsie Valley High School located in Aurora IL was among the top 3 schools in the country, which gave it GRAMMY Signature Schools Gold status.

Last night's concert featured only the Freshman students from the following groups: Concert Bands, Concert Orchestras, Bass Chorus, Cecillian Singers. Each group performed individually. And the entire group (nearly 200 students) performed with an Artist-in-Residence, Tom Sharpe. Tom is an internationally recognized, award-winning composer, performer, and recording artist (read more about the artist).

The concert was about 2 hours worth of excellent music. All performances were great! Particularly enjoyable was the Percussion Ensemble performance of Nutcracker Sweets arranged by David Steinquest.

But they truly saved the best for last with all performance groups and Tom Sharpe performing Tom's World Percussion Symphony #1 in C minor. This is my type of music - lots of world percussion, lots of keyboard, and an inspiring combination of orchestra, band and vocals.

This artist-in-residence program was funded by a grant from the Indian Prairie Education Foundation, which supports all elementary, middle and high schools in Illinois' Indian Prairie School District 204. WorldMusicalInstruments.com is proud to be a fine arts patron to help support these wonderful school music programs.

Multicultural Instruments for School Assembly

2008-01-09T11:36:00.000-06:00

WorldMusicalInstruments.com provides school assembly presentations to elementary schools in the Chicago area. We customize these school assemblies to fit with the school theme, like Multicultural Week, or Fine Arts Week, or Music in the Schools Week. WorldMusicalInstruments.com offers instruments from around the world, so the emphasis of our grade school assembly programs is showcasing a wide variety of instruments that represent many world cultures, as well as featuring music from around the world.

We're often asked about the instruments that we bring to these school assemblies.

Here is a general guideline of what types of instruments to include in school assemblies:
- durable musical instruments
- safe musical instruments
- lightweight musical instruments
- fun musical instruments

Durable musical instruments - We avoid ceramic doumbeks, because they easily crack if the edge is banged on the floor. Since we work with elementary school children, when they have hands-on experience with the drums and move from instrument to instrument, accidents do happen. With some items made from gourds like the shakere, a not-so-gentle dropping can cause a crack in the gourd.

Safe musical instruments - Safety is always important in the classroom, especially with the younger school children. Crowd control is also an issue during a drumming circle experience. We usually avoid putting "sticks" in the hands of the children. A lot of our drums are hand drums, which is best for the young elementary school crowd. Beaters can accidentally poke an unsuspecting classmate. Beaters can also be used on drums that are intended for hand drumming, which can damage drum heads. For items like the gong which require a beater, we like to have a teacher or assembly presenter manage the gong, passing the beater from child to child as they take turns banging the gong. Be sure to clean all instruments after each assembly presenation if the students have hands-on use of the instruments.

Lightweight musical instruments - We bring some heavy items to school assembly presentations, but keep them in contol of an adult or keep them on the ground. The gong is one that an adult must control. The djun-djun drum is kept on the floor and played by hand, unless the assembly presenter uses it to lead a drum circle. Fiberglass doumbeks are great for elementary school drumming circles because they are so lightweight but have big sound.

Fun musical instruments - When deciding what instruments to include in a school assembly presentation, include fun items like a bulb horn (brings in wind family of instruments without the saliva issues!). The gong is big fun, of course. The bull roarer makes an interesting sound, but needs a lot of room and can only be used by the assembly presenter.

The big question is - what instruments do you bring to a school assembly presentation? We're constantly adding to the collection, but here is a list of the main instruments (some of which are pictured):

ashiko drum

djun-djun

doumbeks (fiberglass and aluminum)

tabla set

kids conga drum

damroo monkey drum

stir drum

rain stick

shakere

kalimba

bulb horn

gong

gungaroos ankle bells

egg shakers

bongos

tambourines

maracas

Do you conduct school assembly presentations using musical instruments? Let us know what instruments you include!

Justin Timberlake Mixes New Music with Middle Eastern Oud

2007-05-25T08:55:00.000-05:00

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?

2007-03-26T14:26:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-14T09:04:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-02T16:20:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-20T09:06:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-13T15:06:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-12T12:45:00.000-06:00

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.