Based on thorough research and meticulous scholarship, it covers in its first part regional music and dance, exploring in detail the musical traditions of twenty specific areas, including the Society Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue, Uvea and Futuna, the Marquesas Islands, Easter Island, Hawaii, and New Zealand.
In the second part McLean describes the musical instruments and the uses, performance, composition, teaching and structure of music across the entire region. He studies the impact of European music on traditional music and includes a chapter on modern music and dance. He finally examines the cultural connections and the diffusion of styles throughout the Polynesian Pacific.
Weavers of Song is lavishly illustrated with 165 photographs and over 80 musical examples. It is accompanied by a CD sampler containing songs, dance-songs and instrumental music from areas studied in the book
