And to further breathe life into this book, the technical information about each instrument is interwoven with the stories and myths that belong to each instrument. In addition, instructions are given for making and playing these singing treasures, and there is an explanation of the art forms used in Maori carving. This is a beautiful book, heavily illustrated with colour photographs of exquisite contemporary instruments, as well as ancient taonga held in museums around the world. The book also comes with a CD sampler, compiled from a selection of recent releases and featuring tracks of contemporary Maori music and the natural sounds which inspires it.