User Manual
44 A User’s Guide to Garritan World Instruments
Studying World Music and Cultures
Mastering World Instruments requires study and practice, as does learning any instrument. Learning
more about the music and instruments of dierent peoples will benet your skills. ere are many
excellent resources on ethnomusicology and region-specic books and resources for learning more
about ethnic music styles. Understanding the musical traditions of other cultures will go a long way
and your performance will sound even more authentic. Of course, the best way to learn about how
world music should sound is to listen to ethnic recordings or attend live concerts.
Groups of Instruments in Garritan World Instruments
Wind Instruments
Blowing into a bamboo shoot or a grass reed is one of the most ancient forms of mak-
ing music. Wind instruments have been found in every culture since antiquity. Orig-
inally, wind instruments could play only one note but holes were added later to pro-
duce more pitches. Some instruments were blown on the side (like a Western ute,
Chinese Dizi or Indian Bansuri), others had a pple or mouthpiece at the end (like the Recorder,
Pennywhistle or Chinese Xiao). Other utes and reed instruments evolved over time producing a
wide array of musical colors.
Percussion Instruments
World Instruments includes a vast variety of percussion instruments from Africa,
Asia, India, China, Japan, the Middle East, Europe, Oceania, and Latin America.
ere are more percussion instruments around the globe than any other type of
instrument. In addition to individual percussion instruments there are Percussion
Ensembles such as Taiko Ensemble, Gamelan, Ewe Drums, etc. Each Percussion Ensemble contains
a selection of percussion sounds.