Before Music: Where Instruments Come From

by Annette Bay Pimentel, Madison Safer (Illustrator)

From award-winning author Annette Bay Pimentel comes an oversize nonfiction picture book exploring how music and musical instruments are made—across time and around the world

Music doesn’t come out of nothing.
It always starts somewhere . . . 
with something . . . 
with someone.

Discover how music is made in this survey of musical instruments from around the world. Organized by material—from wood to gourds to found objects and more—Before Music marries a lyrical core text with tons of informational material for curious readers.

In the narrative text, readers will encounter makers as they source their materials and craft instruments by hand, drawing the line from the natural world to the finished product and its sound. The sidebars offer much more to discover, including extensive instrument lists, short bios of musical innovators, and more.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Middle Grade, History, Art

88 pages, Hardcover

Published June 21, 2022

About the author

I write books for kids about the people and ideas that shape our world.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Music doesn't come out of nothing. It always starts somewhere... Before music, water drip...drip...drips. It washes away soil and eventually fractures the rock underneath. Someone selects a few of the stones....and strikes their edges tink tink tink listening as he shapes the stone. He is making... a rock gong.

Premise/plot: Before Music is a global exploration of the history of musical instruments and music. It is arranged according to the materials from which the instruments are made. (Of course, some instruments are made from multiple materials. Probably many are made from multiple materials). This over-sized picture book (trust me, it is VERY oversize), also spans time--thousands and thousands and thousands of years.

My thoughts: So much information is packed into this picture book. Proof that you should never make a quick judgement about picture books and who they are written for. I think music lovers of all ages will find something of interest in this one.

If I could change one thing about this one, I think it would have been super helpful if it had had a table of contents. The book is clearly organized and arranged in a specific order. There was method involved.

If I could amend that to changing TWO things about this one, I would add that it would have been great if it had had page numbers. Those two things would have gone a long way in making this one more useful as a reference book.

When I say reference book, I don't mean it a negative way. I don't mean "boring" or "dull" or even "taste specific." I mean that it is packed with so much information that one can keep coming back to it again and again and absorbing it at your own pace.

The general arrangement

ROCKS
FOUND OBJECTS
CLAY
GOURDS
STRINGS
METAL
WOOD
REEDS
FLEXIBLE SHEETS (leather, felt, etc.)
HUMAN VOICE

I think for the right reader this one could be fascinating. I wish it had a few more helps in it. Pronunciation guide for instruments (since it spans the globe and spans time). Sure everyone knows how to say drum or piano or saxophone, but there are hundreds of instruments that will be brand new to readers (no matter your age).

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book blew me away. No only does it address the fascinating question of how instruments came into being, but the language has such a musical feel. I could almost imagine I was listening to music instead of reading a book.

I have played many different instruments, and I never stopped to think about their history. This book opened up my mind to just how much I have to learn in the world if I ask a simple question . . . like where did this instrument come from?

Also, I loved learned about instruments I'd never even heard of, like the pututu and the zaabia. Music is something that we share around the world. We may create it differently, but we all have that urge to create. I love that.

This book is a must have if you like music in any form (and I hope that includes everyone!)

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating book! I’d never considered the natural objects that preceded the modern-day materials used to make musical instruments. I learned so much about how people worldwide have used objects such as sticks, reeds, bones, and shells to make sound and the nuance that went into fine-tuning them. Did you know that the sound rocks make when struck varies depending on how the vibrations of the molecules? Or that wood from slow-growing trees has a unique sound because of the density of its rings? And I had no idea that a particular tree fungus helps to thin the cell walls of the wood to help it vibrate more easily. This book is filled with interesting facts and information, and the oversized format with large illustrations makes it easy to imagine a young person flat on the floor browsing and exploring it. The musical text evokes sound, and the descriptive passages are short but informative. This would be an upper elementary read but fascinating for music lovers and kids who like to know how things work.

[Nick Swarbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inventive, intriguing, informative. I loved it - but my daughter didn’t, and my granddaughter liked it but was not besotted with it… I felt I had to knock it out of the top category for their reactions - but I read it and immediately reread it. As an 11 year old I would have been desperate to own this, and would have begged to go to museums to see the amazing variety of instruments represented here.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting look at how instruments are made- as in their materials- and how they're played- plucked, struck, rubbed, swung, blown, whirled, shaken in a kids picture book. I wish they'd included some more instruments- picture, name, and where they're found would be fine. Lots of western orchestra instruments were missing- all of the brass winds for instance- and while the santour was included, hammered dulcimer wasn't. One had the same picture for two different instruments- hichiriki and valiha. I could not find anywhere online anything more, including pronunciation, of the oeoe. Since so many disparate language instruments were included, pronunciation would've been very helpful.

[Rachel Oglesby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so SMART and PRETTY I’m so glad I stumbled across this!

[Rebekah M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun library find integrating a range of subjects our elementary-aged kids are learning about this year including music theory, history (ancient and relatively modern), geography, types of rock (including volcanic), metallurgy, physical properties of natural materials, and categorization/scientific classification.

The book's organization makes it easy to compare and contrast instruments from a variety of places, periods, and styles, and invites readers to create their own instruments from common household and outdoor items. It is too long for our 5 & 7-year-olds to read in one sitting, but we'll read it together a couple of sections at a time as an intro to our upcoming focus on classical music.

There are some aspects of it that I don't love (the illustration style for instance), but it's a useful tool that will facilitate good conversation, providing helpful background info for conversations about music-making. Reading it ahead of time prompted some questions I want to think about together, such as:
- What qualifies as music and why?
- What are some ways music helps people? Can music also have negative impacts?
- What kinds of instruments would they prefer to use? Listen to? Why?
- Is there an instrument that they think sounds unpleasant? Why?
- Is there an instrument they'd like to invent, try out, or use in a different way?
- Are there instruments they think should NOT be classified as musical instruments? Why or why not?
- What are the merits and drawbacks of various instruments and styles of music?
- How do/can people use non-musical sound?

[Bella]

Beautifully illustrated. Absolutely gorgeous.

Pimentel divides instruments by what their main component is (stone, wood, clay, silk, metal, reed, etc.). Each section has a focus instrument, some have a story about an innovator in the field (like the woman who commissioned saxophone music for ensembles, bringing the sax into the orchestra), then a list of some instruments which are made with similar materials (e.g. the one about silk is string instruments so then she talks about the different types of strings and different stringed instruments), divided by how they're played (hit, blown into, rubbed, swung, etc.).

I was hoping for more of a narrative and timeline, but was very impressed with the array of instruments--they come from all over the globe. This book is a great starting point to spark a child's interest in music from around the world. I can imagine that a parent reading to a child would read a section, have the child pick an instrument from it then they could look up that instrument online and listen to the music it makes. That would be lovely :)

[Brooke - TheBrookeList · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before Music: Where Instruments Come From provides a remarkably thorough look at all the different sorts of ways humans have created to make music and various instruments that have resulted from those innovations. The variety and creativity is astounding! I never imagined that many different instruments existed in the world, let alone in one book.

The quality and content of the book is impressive - my lower ranking is likely due to that fact that it just didn't captivate my personal interest. My children might enjoy looking through it and seeing if they could name any of the instruments or copy any of them, but none of them would have the patience to sit and read it in its entirety.

Read as a nomination in the non-fiction book award category as a panelist for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read an a ginormous size, with lots of descriptions of musical instruments from ancient times to modern times, from all around the world. The back matter explains different ways to create taxonomies of instruments and that this book is using the ancient Chinese system of sorting them by the materials they are made from, and then subdividing them by the musician's methods of getting sound like the Indian/Javanese system.

So each small section is a soft portrait of people interacting with that material "Before Music", then a description of how it is transformed into an instrument, and then a page of different instruments using that material. It's gentle but effective.

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not as memorable or readable as I wanted it to be, but it gets an extra star solely for the stories of Remo Belli and Sam Muchnick’s drumhead innovations, Elise Boyer Hall’s commissions for orchestral saxophone pieces, Carleen Maley Hutchins’s glitter experiments (also I didn’t know about the fungus), Rose and Albert Augustine’s work on guitar strings with Andrés Segovia, the singing windmills in Portugal for assessing wind speed, the drums of Trinidad (which I thought I knew, but didn’t know the context), and the original rock musicians Joseph Richardson, the Till family, and Franz Weber.

[OnceUponATime · Rating 5 out of 5]

With its theme of making music from found and natural objects, this book will no doubt spark many ideas for activities with children. I like the way the author tied historical cultural roots to modern-day instruments and musicians. Lots of research went into this very thorough analysis of music-making, & there’s lots of learning to be had here for kids (rated for readers 8+) who love facts & information.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute, highly educational book on the history of musical instruments. I learned a ton while reading - the most fascinating to me was the rock gongs/xylophones at the very beginning of the book

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique subject matter for a kids book. Interesting history of musical instruments going back thousands of years. I enjoyed this one, though it did not hold my childs interest. A good read for music lovers, but may not be a good fit for all kids.

[Natalie Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is very fun to read if YouTube is handy. (Who knew you could play the handsaw?) Not sure why Hawai'i and Papua New Guinea were highlighted so often while Australian Indigenous instruments were never mentioned. Still, really interesting overview, if slightly repetitive.

[RWaggoner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much needed “where instruments come from book” that is not Euro- centric. Found the information to be a bit scattered and difficult to find specific topics of interest. Wish it had an index of instruments.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well beyond the common Western instruments. Great research and sources. Beautiful, muted watercolor illustrations.

Wish I had this as a music teacher, it is a valuable addition to a collection.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the structure and information portrays a great range of instruments

[Mackenzie Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Serenity · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. I feel the strength is in the lists of instruments from around the world that can be found in each category. Good back matter, as well.

[Claire Wrobel]

found from Evanston Public Library's best of 2022 list: https://www.epl.org/tag/101-great-boo...

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting. But it is certainly informative and interesting. I learned quite a bit.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I made me do a lot of google searches to learn more about theses cool instruments. It was well worth while. My worry is the size. It will not easily fit in a standard library shelf, and it might be a marketing thing, but if it doesn't fit on a traditional shelf

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This oversize hardcover book is full of very interesting information about musical instruments. Sections include Before music; how instruments are made and used; singing and technique; making your own instrument. Many different instruments are discussed as to what they are made of, how they are played, how they are used around the world. Different material instruments are made from include rock, found things, clay, gourds, strings, metal, wood, reeds, flexible sheets.
So much information compiled and presented with great illustrations.

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was able to use this book as a quick resource to fill in as a substitute for a 30-40 minute music lesson. Taught about Gourds. For the upper elementary grades, I taught the chorus of the spiritual “The Drinking Gourd” and the background of that song. For lower elementary, taught quarter and eighth notes “u” and “te” in reference to using the Hawaiian Ipu.

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aimed at middle grade readers, Pimentel's description of the origins of musical instruments (including the human voice) has appeal to a wide range of readers. I can see it functioning as a coffee table book.

My daughter is finishing an undergraduate degree in trumpet performance, and she was very interested in this book. She learned new things by reading about the origins of various instruments made with rock, clay, shells, wood, metal, reeds, etc.

There are full-page sections about various innovators as individuals or as groups. For example, European colonists outlawed drumming in Trinidad, even after slavery was abolished, but people of color innovated with steel drums from the oil trade and created new instruments and a new genre of music. That's just one of about a dozen short narratives about musical innovators.

"Humans are makers. Sometimes people make objects. But sometimes people use objects they find to make . . music!"

The illustrations by Madison Safer are beautiful, detailed, whimsical, and captivating.

[Sophia Gholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly fascinating! My children and I loved the unique large format of this book and learning about the different instruments from around the world. This book sparked many engaging discussions. I would highly recommend this book for every library and classroom! The illustrations were wonderful, and the text was beautifully written and engaging.