Take a musical journey through the rhythms and songs of 5 West African countries with Dancing Drum! This book, CD and DVD set contains ensemble arrangements for hand drums, stick drums, hand percussion, and xylophones in 4/4, 3/4, and 6/4 time signatures. Featured countries include Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Compositions contain beginning to advanced levels of unison and polyrhythmic music, enabling teachers to adjust the material for the appropriate age and skill set of their students, grades 1-8. The accompanying CD and DVD include examples of all drum, hand percussion and xylophone parts. The DVD also fetures supplementary video of Dancing Drum's travels in West Africa. A must for your musical classroom!

Each chapter contains:
1) Country Fact Sheet - including a map, geography info, local language, cultural info, history, vocabulary, and more.  
2) Journal Entries - follow the "Rhythm Hunters" as they adventure through West Africa, meet local people, learn about the local customs, and experience exciting music!
3) Drum Arrangement - one drum arrangement per country, featuring 4 levels of difficulty, from unison to a 4-layered ostinato with drum break. All rhythms are introduced in standard notation and through Dancing Drum's Rhythm Phonics method.
4) Xylophone Arrangement - one xylophone arrangement per country, featuring 5 levels of difficulty, from unison to a multi-layered ostinato (bass, alto, soprano) soprano melody parts and advanced ending. All xylophone arrangements can include drum accompaniment, and are introduced using standard notation and Rhythm Phonics.
5) Art Activity - make a Paper Bead Necklace, a Djembefola Hat, a Dogon Mask, a Woodabe Pouch, or a Bwa Hawk Mask! Full, illustrated instructions are included for each activity. Projects are made with common classroom materials like posterboard, paint, and glue.
6) Additonal activities include Cultural Connections, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and more...

Much of the information included in this multi-media set was gathered during Dancing Drum’s musical research travels to West Africa.