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Musical Instruments

Specialized information on musical instruments for performers and listeners alike

Non-Western Instruments

Find print and electronic resources on non-Western instruments below. Education, Music and Media also holds approximately 90 instruments in its 3-D Collection which can be borrowed by Ball State University students, faculty, and staff. These instruments can be great tools as you begin to explore musical cultures from around the world. See the complete list of instruments at OneSearch as well as photos in the Digital Media Repository.

String Instruments of Asia

Guitar Explorer: A Guitarist's Guide to the Styles and Techniques of Ethnic Instruments from Around the World
MT 588 .H47 G8 2010

China (Subject Search:  Musical Instruments--China)

Japan (Subject Search: Musical Instruments--Japan)

  • The Koto: A Traditional Instrument in Contemporary Japan, by Henry Johnson
    ML1015 .K68 J64 2004
  • Composing for Japanese Instruments, by Minoru Miki

MT58 .M5513 2008

  • Tegotomono: Music for the Japanese Koto, by Bonnie Wade
    ML340 .W23
  • The Kumiuta and Danmono Traditions of Japanese Koto Music, by WIllem Adriaansz
    ML340 .A37
  • The Study of Shamisen, by Toyo Ongaku Gakkai
    ML1015 .S52 S5 1958
  • "Japan: Instruments and Genres" article in
    Grove Music Online (log in required from off campus)

India

Percussion Instruments of Folk Traditions

Handbook of Tabla: History, Anatomy, Tuning, Maintenance,
by Pankaj Vishal

P'ungmul: South Korean Drumming and Dance,
by Nathan Hesselink

Getting Started on Djembe, with Michael Wimberley  

Masters of the Sabar: Wolof Griot Percussionists of
Senegal, by Patricia Tang

Carlos Aldama's Life in Batá: Cuba, Diaspora, and
the Drum, by Umi Vaughan

Ancient Text Messages of the Yoruba Bàtá Drum:
Cracking the Code, by Amanda Villepastour

Steel Drums and Steelbands: A History, by Angela Smith

The Didgeridoo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Educational Technology and Resources Collection owns a didgeridoo that can be checked out by Ball State students, faculty, and staff.  Ask at the ETRC circulation counter for UDC 4137.

Print Resources:

Didgeridoo: Ritual Origins and Playing Techniques, by Dirk Schellberg

Didgeridoo: A Look Into Aboriginal Culture, an Honosr Thesis, by Christina M. Perry

Audio Resources:

Mark Atkins Plays Didgeridoo

Music from a Painted Cave, by Robert Mirabal and the Rare Tribal Mob

Interlibrary Loan

Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.