Visions of Sound

The most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the musical instruments of Native people in Northeastern North America, Visions of Sound focuses on interpretations by elders and consultants from Iroquois, Wabanati, Innuat, and Anishnabek communities. The authors have listened carefully to what they have said and have had the respect and sensitivity to never lose sight of Native instruments as bi-directional conduits linking all spheres within a spiritually-centered world; a world from which instruments emerge and return conceptually, functionally and physically. What makes the book so very powerful is the sense that its authors have moved beyond documentation of this discovery to link scholarly engagement itself with such a world. Visions of Sound is an important book for all ethnomusicologists and students of Native American culture as well as general readers interested in Native mythology and spirituality.