The Gems Songbook

This book is a valuable educational resource on Middle Eastern music for both musicians and dancers. It is a companion to a collection of musical recordings called Gems of the Middle East that Mimi Spencer made with Mary Ellen Donald which I have reviewed elsewhere on this web site.

For 11 songs, it gives the lyrics in three formats: 1) in the script of the original language (some Greek, some Arabic, one Hebrew), 2) transliterated into Roman script, and 3) translated into English. It also includes the sheet music for each song, including an indication of which rhythm to use for each. In addition, Mimi includes introductory comments for each song indicating who wrote it, which artist popularized it, and other valuable background information.

The songs included are:

Several appendices include excellent supporting information about Middle Eastern music. They include:

• Guide to which of Mimi Spencer's books (including this one) contain sheet music and lyrics for each song in the Gems of the Middle East series of cassette tapes that Mimi recorded with Mary Ellen Donald.
• Notes on pronunciation
• Maqam scales
• Basic rhythm patterns
• Glossary of musical terms
• Bibliography
• Discography of sources and other recordings of interest
• Suggested vendors and web sites
• About the author

If you're a musician who plans to use the sheet music to learn how to play these songs, please read the Introduction carefully. Mimi includes an explanation of the notation system she has used, and it's important to read that in order to understand how to interpret it.

I liked this book very much because:

• It offers English-language translations for 11 songs. As a dancer, I like to know what the songs are about that I use when I dance.
• The songs selected to be included are good choices. These are not obscure pieces, but rather well-known ones that are quite appropriate to include if you're studying the music of the eastern Mediterranean.
• Because the book is a companion to a set of musical recordings done by Mimi and Mary Ellen, a dancer can use the two together to learn more about Middle Eastern music.
• It contains sheet music and transliterations to help musicians add these songs to their repertoire.
• It provides tips on the Table of Contents page suggesting which part of a dancer's routine each song might be suitable for (entrance, slow, finale, etc.)
• For a musician, the plastic spiral binding would probably be convenient because it allows the book to lie open on the desired page while playing.

Mimi did such a great job with this book that there really isn't much to criticize.

• As a non-musician, I found the plastic spiral binding to be a bit inconvenient because I can't tell which book is this one by looking at the spines on my book shelf -- all I see is plastic spiral binding of several books side by side. I have to pull them out to see which book is which.
• I was disappointed that it contained only 11 songs, especially since it isn't easy to find translations of song lyrics. I appreciated the ones it had, but I was hungry for more.

To purchase a copy, contact:

Mary Ellen Books
P.O. Box 411562
San Francisco, CA 94141-1562
U.S.A.

Phone: (+1) (510) 654-DRUM, or (+1) (510) 654-3786

Web Site: www.maryellendonald.com

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