Meredith Music Publications Learning Gyil: Through the Music of Bernard Woma - Vercelli - Book/Audio Online

Author: Michael Vercelli
Format: Book with Audio Online
Instrumentation: Mallet Percussion

Using audio recordings created specifically for this project, Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame member Bernard Woma incorporates a combination of Dagara oral tradition and Western musical transcriptions to bring the music of the Dagara xylophone tradition -- the gyil -- to global audiences. With the opening of the Bernard Woma Dagara Music Center (BWDMC) in 2000, thousands of students have discovered the gyil through Bernard's oral tradition. And now, that tradition is shared in this illuminating text.

This text includes:

• An introduction to Dagara musical concepts and composition
• A performance synopsis of the gyil in Dagara culture
• A line-by-line approach to learning gyil
• Technical instruction on gyil and drumming
• Bernard's Woma's teaching philosophy
• Dagara musical concepts for the intermediate/advanced gyil player
• A repertoire progressing from basic ensemble arrangements to advanced solo techniques
• Easy-to-read transcriptions for adaptation to other instruments
• Ensemble arrangements suitable for general music classes
• Drum accompaniments for all pieces
• A detailed examination of six pieces taught by Bernard at the BWDMC
• Audio examples demonstrated by Bernard Woma
• A glossary of Dagara musical terms with audio pronunciations