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Bağlama

The bağlama or saz is a family of plucked string instruments, long-necked lutes used in Ottoman classical music, Turkish folk music, Turkish Arabesque music, Azerbaijani music, Kurdish music, Armenian music and in parts of Syria, Iraq and the Balkan countries.

Beatboxing

Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve vocal imitation of turntablism, and other musical instruments. Beatboxing today is connected with hip-hop culture, often referred to as 'the fifth element' of hip-hop, although it is not limited to hip-hop music. The term 'beatboxing' is sometimes used to refer to vocal percussion in general.

Bedug

The bedug (Indonesian and Malaysian Malay: beduk; Javanese: bedhug; Sundanese: dulag) is one of the drums used in the gamelan. It is also used among Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia to signal mosque prayer times. The hitting of the instrument is particularly done according to a rhythm that goes in an increasingly rapid (or accelerando) pace.

Berimbau

The berimbau (Portuguese pronunciation: [beɾĩˈbaw]) is a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, originally from Africa, that is now commonly used in Brazil. The berimbau was incorporated into the practice of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira. The berimbau leads the capoeiristas movement in the roda—the faster the berimbau is playing the faster the capoeirista moves in the game. The instrument is known for being the subject matter of a popular song by Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. The instrument is also a part of Candomblé-de-caboclo tradition.

Birbynė

A birbynė is a Lithuanian aerophone that can be either single or double-reeded and may or may not have a mouthpiece. Birbynė can be made of a variety of materials: wood, bark, horn, straw, goose feather, etc. The earliest and simplest examples were used by children as playtoys and by shepherds as a tool to control the herd. In the 19th century, influenced by classical instruments and especially the clarinet, the birbynė evolved into a serious musical instrument used in ensembles. Modern birbynės are made of wood with bells of horn and usually have ten tone holes. They are divided by pitch range into three categories: soprano, tenor, and contrabass.

Bodhrán

The bodhrán (/ˈbaʊrɑːn, baʊˈrɑːn, ˈbɔːrɑːn, ˈbɔːrən/, Irish: [ˈbˠəuɾˠaːnˠ]; plural bodhráin or bodhráns) is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from 25 to 65 cm (10–26 in) in diameter, with most drums measuring 35–45 cm (14–18 in). The sides of the drum are 9–20 cm (3+1⁄2–8 in) deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or other animal skins are sometimes used). The other side is open-ended for one hand to be placed against the inside of the drum head to control the pitch and timbre. One or two crossbars, sometimes removable, may be inside the frame, but this is increasingly rare on modern instruments. Some professional modern bodhráns integrate mechanical tuning systems similar to those used on drums found in drum kits. It is usually with a hex key that the bodhrán skins are tightened or loosened depending on the atmospheric conditions.

Bombard

The bombard (Breton: talabard, ar vombard, French: bombarde) is a contemporary conical-bore double-reed instrument widely used to play traditional Breton music. The bombard is a woodwind instrument, and a member of the shawm family. Like most shawms, it has a broad and very powerful sound, vaguely resembling a trumpet. It is played as other shawms are played, with the double reed placed between the lips. The second octave is 'over-blown'; achieved via increased lip and air pressure or through the use of an octave key. It plays a diatonic scale of up to two octaves, although contemporary instruments frequently have added keywork permitting some degree of chromaticism. A bombard player is known as a talabarder after 'talabard', the older Breton name for the bombard.

Bongos

Bongos (Spanish: bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger hembra (lit. 'female') and the smaller macho (lit. 'male'), which are joined by a wooden bridge. They are played with both hands and usually held between the legs, although in some cases, as in classical music, they may be played with mallets and/or mounted on stands. Bongos are mainly employed in the rhythm section of son cubano and salsa ensembles, often alongside other drums such as the larger congas and the stick-struck timbales. In these groups, the bongo player is known as bongosero and often plays a continuous eight-stroke pattern called martillo (lit. 'hammer') as well as more rhythmically free parts, providing improvisatory flourishes and rhythmic counterpoint.

Cabasa

The cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wooden cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, wooden or plastic handle. The metal cabasa was created by Martin Cohen, founder of Latin Percussion. This company has built a more durable cabasa that they call an afuche-cabasa (pictured). It provides a metallic, rattling sound when shaken or twisted, similar to the sound of a rattlesnake. It is often used in Latin jazz, especially in bossa nova pieces. Precise rhythmic effects can be gained by the advanced player. The player places his non-dominant hand on the metal chain, to provide pressure, while holding the wooden handle with the other hand and twisting the instrument back and forth depending on the rhythmic pattern desired. In addition to Latin music, many band and orchestra pieces call for the cabasa.

Cajon

A cajón (Spanish: [kaˈxon]; 'box', 'crate' or 'drawer') is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, or sticks. Cajones are primarily played in Afro-Peruvian music (specifically música criolla), but have made their way into flamenco as well. The term cajón is also applied to other box drums used in Latin American music, such as the Cuban cajón de rumba and the Mexican cajón de tapeo.

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Candombe drums

The tambores de candombe or tamboriles are drums used in the playing of Candombe music of Uruguay. They are single skin headed and there are three sizes: piano (bass range), repique (tenor range), and the chico (alto range). The drums are made of wood and have a curved barrel shape with its base very narrow.

Carillon

A carillon (US: /ˈkɛrəlɒn/ KERR-ə-lon, UK: /kəˈrɪljən/ kə-RIL-yən) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are cast in bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniously together. They are struck with clappers connected to a keyboard of wooden batons played with the hands and pedals played with the feet. Often housed in bell towers, carillons are usually owned by churches, universities, or municipalities. They can include an automatic system through which the time is announced and simple tunes are played throughout the day.

Castanets

Castanets, also known as clackers or palillos, are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar instrument called the crotalum. The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by a string. They are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents or a ripping or rattling sound consisting of a rapid series of clicks. They are traditionally made of hardwood (chestnut; Spanish: castaño), although fibreglass has become increasingly popular. In practice, a player usually uses two pairs of castanets. One pair is held in each hand, with the string hooked over the thumb and the castanets resting on the palm with the fingers bent over to support the other side. Each pair will make a sound of a slightly different pitch.

Caxirola

The caxirola (pronounced [kaʃiˈɾɔlɐ]) is a Brazilian percussion instrument created by Carlinhos Brown and consisting of a closed plastic basket with a flat-bottom filled with small synthetic particles, in an attempt to create a sustainable product. It was based on the caxixi, and thus it is also an indirectly struck idiophone, sounded by shaking. The caxirola was certified on September 27, 2012 by the Brazilian Ministry of Sports and was created to be the official musical instrument of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. However, it was not allowed inside stadiums of both the World Cup and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup as the government considered it a security risk.

Caxixi

A caxixi (pronounced [kaˈʃiʃi]) is a percussion instrument consisting of a closed basket with a flat bottom filled with seeds or other small particles. The round bottom is traditionally cut from a dried gourd. The caxixi is an indirectly struck idiophone. Like the maraca, it is sounded by shaking. Variations in sound are produced by varying the angle at which the caxixi is shaken, determining whether the contents strike the reed basket (softer sound) or the hard bottom (louder, sharper sound).

Cello

The cello (/ˈtʃɛloʊ/ CHEL-oh), properly violoncello (/ˌvaɪələnˈtʃɛloʊ/ VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh, Italian pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]), is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef, with tenor clef, and treble clef used for higher-range passages.

Chapman Stick

The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and is used to play bass lines, melody lines, chords, or textures. Designed as a fully polyphonic chordal instrument, it can also cover several of these musical parts simultaneously. The Stick is available with passive or active pickup modules that are plugged into a separate instrument amplifier. With a special synthesizer pickup, it can be used to trigger synthesizers and send MIDI messages to electronic instruments.

Charango

The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during colonialization. The instrument is widespread throughout the Andean regions of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina, where it is a popular musical instrument that exists in many variant forms. About 66 cm (26 in) long, the charango was traditionally made with the shell from the back of an armadillo (called quirquincho or mulita in South American Spanish), but it can also be made of wood, which some believe to be a better resonator. Wood is more commonly used in modern instruments. Charangos for children may also be made from calabash. Many contemporary charangos are now made with different types of wood. It typically has ten strings in five courses of two strings each, but many other variations exist.

Chenda

The Chenda (Malayalam: ചെണ്ട, [tʃeɳʈa]) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as chende. It is greatly identified as a cultural element in Kerala and Tulu Nadu.

Chácaras

Chácaras are a type of castanets from the Canary Islands. They are an idiophonic and chattering instrument, with an interior cavity. It is typically made of moral wood. Chácaras are used in the traditional music of the islands of El Hierro and La Gomera, the latter being bigger than the hands of the player. They are often accompanied by tambor drums and chanting, and by dancers performing the baile de tambor (drum dance). When playing, a pair of chácaras is held in each hand, secured by the cord, and the hands are shaken. The macho (male) chácara, with a deeper sound, held in one hand, sets the rhythm, and the hembra (female) chácara, in the other hand, is the one that chimes.

Cigar box guitar

The cigar box guitar is a simple chordophone that uses an empty cigar box as a resonator. The earliest had one or two strings; modern models typically have three or more. Generally, the strings are connected to the end of a broomstick or a 1×2 inch wood slat and to the cigar box resonator. Cigars were packed in boxes, crates, and barrels as early as 1800, but the small boxes that are common today did not exist prior to around 1840. Until then, cigars were shipped in crates containing 100 or more per case. After 1840, cigar manufacturers started using smaller, more portable boxes with 20–50 cigars per box.

Cimbasso

The cimbasso is a low brass instrument that developed from the upright serpent over the course of the 19th century in Italian opera orchestras, to cover the same range as a tuba or contrabass trombone. The modern instrument has four to six rotary valves (or occasionally piston valves), a forward-facing bell, and a predominantly cylindrical bore. These features lend its sound to the bass of the trombone family rather than the tuba, and its valves allow for more agility than a contrabass trombone. Like the modern contrabass trombone, it is most often pitched in F, although models are made in E♭, and occasionally low CC or BB♭.

Clapstick

Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional Australian Aboriginal instrument. They serve to maintain rhythm in voice chants, often as part of an Aboriginal ceremony. They are a type of drumstick, percussion mallet or claves that belongs to the idiophone category. Unlike drumsticks, which are generally used to strike a drum, clapsticks are intended for striking one stick on another.

Clarinet

The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodwind family, ranging from the BB♭ contrabass to the E♭ soprano. The B♭ soprano clarinet is the most common type, and is the instrument usually indicated by the word 'clarinet'. German instrument maker Johann Christoph Denner is generally credited with inventing the clarinet sometime after 1698 by adding a register key to the chalumeau, an earlier single-reed instrument. Over time, additional keywork and airtight pads were added to improve the tone and playability. Today the clarinet is a standard fixture of the orchestra and concert band and is used in classical music, military bands, klezmer, jazz, and other styles.

Claves

Claves (/ˈklɑːveɪz, kleɪvz/; Spanish: [ˈklaβes]) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony or grenadilla) many modern manufacturers offer claves made of fiberglass or plastic. When struck, claves produce a bright, penetrating clicking noise. This makes them useful when playing in large dance bands. Claves are sometimes hollow and carved in the middle to amplify the sound.

Concertina

A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The concertina was developed independently in both England and Germany. The English version was invented in 1829 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, while Carl Friedrich Uhlig introduced the German version five years later, in 1834. Various forms of concertini are used for classical music, for the traditional musics of Ireland, England, and South Africa, and for tango and polka music.

Conga

The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). Congas were originally used in Afro-Cuban music genres such as conga (hence their name) and rumba, where each drummer would play a single drum. Following numerous innovations in conga drumming and construction during the mid-20th century, as well as its internationalization, it became increasingly common for drummers to play two or three drums. Congas have become a popular instrument in many forms of Latin music such as son (when played by conjuntos), descarga, Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa, songo, merengue and Latin rock.

Cornet

The cornet (/ˈkɔːrnɪt/, US: /kɔːrˈnɛt/) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B♭. There is also a soprano cornet in E♭ and cornets in A and C. All are unrelated to the Renaissance and early Baroque cornett. The cornet's valves allowed for melodic playing throughout the instrument's register. Trumpets were slower to adopt the new valve technology, so for 100 years or more, composers often wrote separate parts for trumpet and cornet. The trumpet would play fanfare-like passages, while the cornet played more melodic ones. The modern trumpet has valves that allow it to play the same notes and fingerings as the cornet.

Cowbell

A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are typically referred to as 'cow bells' due to their extensive use with cattle, the bells are used on a wide variety of animals.

Crotales

Crotales (/ˈkroʊtɑːlz/, /ˈkroʊtəlz/), sometimes called antique cymbals, are percussion instruments consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks. Each is about 10 cm (4 in) in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly played by being struck with hard mallets. However, they may also be played by striking two disks together in the same manner as finger cymbals, or by bowing. Their sound is rather like a small tuned bell, only with a much brighter sound and a much longer resonance. Similar to tuned finger cymbals, crotales are thicker and larger; they also have slight grooves in them. The name comes from the Greek crotalon, for a castanet or rattle.

Culoepuya

The culo'e puya drums, also known as culoepuya, culo e puya, or culepuya, are a battery of small drums originally from Venezuela, with a Kongo lineage. They are used in an ensemble also known as redondo drums, after the dance motion and the circle which forms around the dancers during performance. The culo'e puya battery comprises three drums made of lightweight wood from the tree known locally as lano or ceiba de lana (Ceiba pentandra, a member of the Bombacaceae family, to which Balsa also belongs). Both ends have skin heads, which are joined with tensors made of rope (nylon rope is commonly used today). The drums are roughly 1.5 m (4 ft.) in length and between 10 and 15 cm (4-6 inches) in diameter.

Cuíca

The cuíca (Portuguese pronunciation: [kuˈikɐ]) is a Brazilian friction drum with a large pitch range, produced by changing tension on the head of the drum. Cuíca is Portuguese for the gray four-eyed opossum (Philander opossum) which is known for its high-pitched cry. It is frequently used in carnivals, as well as often in samba music. The tone it produces has a high-pitched squeaky timbre. It has been called a 'laughing gourd' due to this sound. Many also liken its sound to that of a monkey.

Cymbal

A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note (such as crotales). Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from the orchestra, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands, and marching groups. Drum kits usually incorporate at least a crash, ride, or crash/ride, and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. A player of cymbals is known as a cymbalist.

Dabakan

The dabakan is a single-headed Philippine drum, primarily used as a supportive instrument in the kulintang ensemble. Among the five main kulintang instruments, it is the only non-gong element of the Maguindanao ensemble. The dabakan is frequently described as either hour-glass, conical, tubular, or goblet in shape Normally, the dabakan is found having a length of more than two feet and a diameter of more than a foot about the widest part of the shell. The shell is carved from wood either out of the trunk of a coconut tree or the wood of a jackfruit tree which is then hollowed out throughout its body and stem. The drumhead that is stretched over the shell is made out of either goatskin, carabao skin, deer rawhide, or snake/lizard skin, with the last considered by many dabakan practitioners as the best material to use. The drumhead is then fastened to the shell first via small metal wire and then using two hoops of rattan very tightly to allow the rattan sticks to bounce cleanly. Artists, especially the Maranao, would then carve the outside of the shell with elaborate and decorative okkil patterns.

Daf

Daf (Persian: دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, many regions of Georgia, Pakistan as well as in parts of India and Russian polar regions. It is also popular among Balkans, Bukharan Jews, Caucasians, Kurds, and Macedonians. Daf is the national musical instrument of Pakistan and is also depicted on the reverse and obverse of the Azerbaijani 1 qəpik coin and 1 manat banknote respectively, since 2006. It traditionally has a round wooden frame (although in the modern era it may also be made of metal), jingles, and a thin, translucent head made of fish or goat skin (or, more recently, a synthetic material). The sound is produced by hitting the membrane with either hand – the left hand, which also holds the Daf, strikes the edges, and the right hand strikes the center. The right-hand fingers are fastened about their neighbours and suddenly released (like the action of finger-snapping) to produce loud, rapid, sharp sounds.

Damaru

A damaru (Sanskrit: डमरु, IAST: ḍamaru; Tibetan ཌ་མ་རུ་ or རྔ་ཆུང) is a small two-headed drum, used in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. In Hinduism, the damaru is known as the instrument of the deity Shiva, associated with Tantric traditions. It is said to be created by Shiva to produce spiritual sounds by which the whole universe has been created and regulated. In Tibetan Buddhism, the damaru is used as an instrument in meditation practices.

Davul

The davul, dhol, tapan, atabal or tabl is a large double-headed drum that is played with mallets. It has many names depending on the country and region. These drums are commonly used in the music of the Middle East and the Balkans. These drums have both a deep bass sound and a thin treble sound due to their construction and playing style, where different heads and sticks are used to produce different sounds on the same drum.

Den-den daiko

The Den-den daiko is a Japanese hand-held pellet drum, used in Shinto-Buddhist ceremonies, etc. It has two heads and is suspended on a rod, with beads or pellets hanging on threads on either sides of the body of the drum. The drum sounds when it is turned on its axis from side to side, causing the beads to strike the heads of the drum. It is similar to the Chinese pellet drum.

Dhak

The dhak is a huge membranophone instrument from India. The shapes differ from the almost cylindrical to the barrel. The manner of stretching the hide over the mouths and lacing also varies. It suspended from the neck, tied to the waist and kept on the lap or the ground, and usually played with wooden sticks. The left side is coated to give it a heavier sound. Drum beats are an integral part of Durga Puja. It is mostly played by the Bengali Hindu community.

Dhimay

Dhimay, Dhimaya (Newar: धिमय्) or Dhime is a traditional Nepalese drum of the Newar people. According to the Hornbostel–Sachs classification, it belongs to the category of double-headed cylindrical membranophone. The drum is rather big compared to other drums played by the Newars in Nepal. The size of this instrument varies from diameter of 40 inches to 51 inches and length of 17 inches to 21 inches. The shell of the drum is made of wood or metal. Sometimes wooden drums are partly covered with metal foil. The shape of old Dhimay drums is mostly irregular, formed by the natural shape of the piece of wood being used to make the drum body. Modern drums are either cylindrical or slightly barrel-shaped. Both heads are made of goat skin. On the inside of the left membrane, called Mankhah (Haima in Bhaktapur) a red tuning paste (similar in function to the Syahi) is applicated, providing a deep sound.