Domra

And Happy New Year everybody! Now i can say that i write this blog in 2010-2011 years ^_^_^

Some information from Wikipedia:

The domra is a long-necked Russian string instrument of the lute family with a round body and three or four metal strings.

In 1896, a student of Vassily Vassilievich Andreyev found a broken instrument in a stable in rural Russia. It was thought that this instrument may have been an example of a domra, although no illustrations or examples of the traditional domra were known to exist in Russian chronicles. A three-stringed version of this instrument was later redesigned in 1896, patented, and introduced into the orchestra of Russian folk instruments.

Kalyuka

The traditional overtone flute from russia "kalyuka" don't have any holes. You get full scale by overblowing.

How it looks:

Bayan

Name of ancient Russian narrators and name of this instrument which is a modified accordion.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The bayan is a type of chromatic button accordion developed in Russia in the early 20th century and named after 11th-century bard Boyan.

The bayan differs from western chromatic button accordions in some details of construction:

* Reeds are broader and rectangular (rather than trapezoidal).
* Reeds are often attached in large groups to a common plate (rather than in pairs); the plates are screwed to the reed block (rather than attached with wax).
* The melody-side keyboard is attached near the middle of the body (rather than at the rear).
* Reeds are generally not tuned with tremolo.
* Register switches may be operated with the chin on some larger models.
* The diminished seventh chord row is shifted, so that the diminished seventh G chord is where one would expect the diminished seventh C chord in the Stradella bass system.
* Converter switches that go from standard preset chords to free bass (individual bass notes) are common on the larger instruments.
* Newer instruments may feature a register, where every tone played actually produces a perfect fifth.

Gusli

It's a favorite instruments of Russian ancient bards and talers.

Some information from Wikipedia:

Gusli is the oldest Russian multi-string plucked instrument. Its exact history is unknown, but it may have derived from a Byzantine form of the Greek kythare, which in turn derived from the ancient lyre. It has its relatives throughout the world - kantele in Finland, kannel in Estonia, kankles and kokle in Lithuania and Latvia. Furthermore, we can find kanun in Arabic countries and the autoharp in the USA. It is also related to such ancient instruments as Chinese gu zheng which has a thousand year history and its Japanese relative koto.

In the times of Kievan Rus’, the term gusli is thought to simply refer to any generic stringed instrument. The root of the term comes from the word to make sound in the wind. The term was eventually associated with the trapezoidal gusli-psaltyry (which may have originated in Byzantium).

Folk Gusli have from eleven to thirty-six gut or metal strings, tuned diatonically. There were two main forms: helmet-shaped and wing-shaped.

Helmet-shaped gusli is a variety of gusli held by the musician on his knees, so that strings were horizontal, resonator body under them. He uses his left hand to mute unnecessary strings and thus forming chords, while passing all the strings with his right hand. The instrument was spread in southern and western regions of Kievan Rus’.

wing-shaped gusli is much smaller, and had more resemblance to Scandinavian folk psalteries such as the kantele. They were held much more like modern guitars (although strings were still muted by the left hand through a special opening in the instrument's body). This modification was more prevalent in northern parts of Russia, especially Novgorod and Pskov.

How it looks:

From mystery of music

Example of playing:

Balalaika

The best instrument for beginning of Russian ethnic week.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The balalaika is a stringed instrument of Russian origin, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings. The balalaika family of instruments includes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, sekunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass balalaika and contrabass balalaika. All have three-sided bodies, spruce or fir tops, backs made of 3-9 wooden sections, and usually three strings.

Early representations of the balalaika show it with anywhere from two to six strings, which resembles certain Central Asian instruments. Similarly, frets on earlier balalaikas were made of animal gut and tied to the neck so that they could be moved around by the player at will (as is the case with the modern saz, which allows for the microtonal playing distinctive to Turkish and Central Asian music).

In the 19th century the balalaika evolved into a triangular instrument with a neck substantially shorter than its Asian counterparts. It was popular as a village instrument for centuries, particularly with the skomorokhs, sort of free-lance musical jesters whose tunes ridiculed the Tsar, the Russian Orthodox Church, and Russian society in general.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Flute

Orchestral flute. Usually it makes from metal, but there are also wooden variants.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The Western concert flute or C flute (most flutes are tuned to the key of C) is a transverse (side-blown) woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. The C flute is used in many ensembles including concert bands, orchestras, flute ensembles, and occasionally jazz bands and big bands. Other flutes in this family include the piccolo, alto flute, bass flute, contrabass flute and double contrabass flute.

The flute closed at the blown end. The instrument is played by blowing a stream of air over the embouchure hole. The flute has 16 circular finger holes closed by keys, which can be used to produce high and low sounds depending on which finger holes are opened or closed as well as the direction and intensity of the air stream.

The standard concert flute is pitched in C and has a range of about three and a half octaves starting from the musical note C4 (corresponding to middle C on the piano), however, some experienced flutists are able to reach C8. Modern professional flutes may have a longer B-foot joint, which can reach B3.

Some jazz and rock ensembles include flutes. Since Boehm's fingering is used in saxophones as well as in concert flutes, many flute players "double" on saxophone for jazz and small ensembles and vice versa. Jethro Tull is probably the best-known rock group to make regular use of the flute (played by Ian Anderson).

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Hydraulis (hydraulophone, whater organ )

I thought it's one of the newest instrument, but it was invented in ancient Greece. I'm impressed.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The water organ is a type of pipe organ blown by air, where the power source pushing the air is derived by water from a natural source (e.g. by a waterfall) or by a manual pump. Consequently, the water organ lacks a bellows, blower, or compressor.

On the water organ, since the 15th century, the water is also used as a source of power to drive a mechanism similar to that of the Barrel organ, which has a pinned barrel that contains a specific song to be played. The hydraulis in ancient Greek is often imagined as an automatic organ, but there is no source evidence for it. One of the oldest automatic instruments known is the automatic flute player invented by Banū Mūsā brothers in 9th century Arabia.

A hydraulis is an early type of pipe organ that operated by converting the dynamic energy of water into air pressure to drive the pipes. It is attributed to the Hellenistic scientist Ctesibius of Alexandria, an engineer of the 3rd century BC. The hydraulis was the world's first keyboard instrument and was, in fact, the predecessor of the modern church organ. Unlike the instrument of the Renaissance period, which is the main subject of the article on the pipe organ, the ancient hydraulis was played by hand, not automatically by the water-flow; the keys were balanced and could be played with a light touch.

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Autoharp

I think it s name should be autogusli but in english language most of instruments have "harp" or "organ" in their names ^_^_^"

Some information from Wikipedia:

The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither.

There is debate over the origin of the auto-harp. A German immigrant in Philadelphia by the name of Charles F. Zimmermann was awarded US 257808 in 1882 for a design for a musical instrument that included mechanisms for muting certain strings during play. He named his invention the "autoharp". Unlike later autoharps, the shape of the instrument was symmetrical, and the felt-bearing bars moved horizontally against the strings instead of vertically. It is not known if Zimmermann ever commercially produced any instruments of this early design. Karl August Gütter of Markneukirchen, Germany, built a model that he called a "Volkszither," which most resembles the autoharp played today. Gütter obtained a British patent for his instrument circa 1883–1884. Zimmermann, after returning from a visit to Germany, began production of the Gütter design in 1885 but with his own design patent number and catchy name. Gütter's instrument design became very popular, and Zimmermann has often been mistaken as the inventor.

Modern autoharps have 36 or 37 strings, although some examples with as many as 47 strings, and even a rare 48-string model exists. They are strung in either diatonic (1, 2 or 3 key models) or chromatic scales. Standard models have 15 or 21 chord bars, or buttons, available, a selection of major, minor, and dominant seventh chords.

Although the autoharp is often thought of as a rhythm instrument for playing chordal accompaniment, modern players can play melodies on the instrument. Diatonic players are able to play fiddle tunes by using open-chording techniques, "pumping" the damper buttons while picking individual strings. Skilled chromatic players can perform a range of melodies.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Ocarina

This is a ceramic variant of flute. Of course it has another sounds and fingering system.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is often ceramic, but other materials may also be used, such as plastic, wood, glass, clay, and metal.

The ocarina is a very old family of instruments, believed to date back thousands of years. Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. For the Chinese, the instrument played an important role in their long history of song and dance. Different expeditions to Mesoamerica, including the one conducted by Cortés, resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. Both the Mayans and Aztecs had produced versions of the ocarina, but it was the Aztecs who brought the song and dance to Europe that accompanied the ocarina. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument.

Its earliest use in Europe dates back to the 19th century in Budrio, a town near Bologna, Italy, where Giuseppe Donati transformed the ocarina from a toy, which only played a few notes, into a more comprehensive instrument (known as the first "classical" ocarinas). The word ocarina in the Bolognese dialect of the Emiliano-Romagnolo language means "little goose."

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Tin whistle

It looks like recorder but cause made from metal have another sounds. Also very popular in folk/pagan bands.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The tin whistle is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute flageolet, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and other woodwind instruments. A tin whistle player is called a tin whistler or whistler. The tin whistle is closely associated with Celtic music.

The whistle in its modern form stems from a wider family of fipple flutes that have been seen in many forms and cultures throughout the world. In Europe such instruments that have a long and distinguished history and take various forms; most widely known of these are the recorder, tin whistle, Flabiol, Txistu and tabor pipe.

The modern whistle is indigenous to the British Isles particularly England when factory-made "tin whistles" were produced by Robert Clarke from (1840–1882) in Manchester and later New Moston, England. downto 1900, they were also marketed as "Clarke London Flageolets" or "Clarke Flageolets". The whistle's fingering system is similar to that of the six hole, "simple system English flutes" ("simple" in comparison to Boehm system flutes). The six hole, diatonic system is also used on baroque flutes, and was of course well known before Robert Clarke began producing his tin whistles c. 1843.

While whistles have most often been produced in higher pitches, the "low" whistle is not unknown historically. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has in its collection an example of a 19th-century low whistle from the famous Galpin collection.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Hammered dulcimer

Stringed instrument which looks like gusli or kantele, but player doesn't pluck strings. Instead of this he use small hammers.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings. The Graeco-Roman dulcimer (sweet song), derives from the Latin dulcis (sweet) and the Greek melos (song). The dulcimer's origin is uncertain, but tradition holds it was invented in Persia, as the santur, some 2000 years ago.

Various types of hammered dulcimers are traditionally played in India, Southwest Asia, China and parts of Southeast Asia, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Scandinavian. The instrument is also played in Great Britain and has been revived in the folk music traditions of the U.S.

The hammered dulcimer comes in various sizes, identified by the number of strings that cross each of the bridges. A 15/14, for example, has two bridges (treble and bass) and spans three octaves. The strings of a hammered dulcimer are usually found in pairs, two strings for each note (though some instruments have three or four strings per note). Each set of strings is tuned in unison and is called a course. As with a piano, the purpose of using multiple strings per course is to make the instrument louder, although as the courses are rarely in perfect unison, a chorus effect usually results like a mandolin.

The strings of the hammered dulcimer are often tuned diatonically, according to a circle of fifths pattern. This diatonically-based tuning results in most, but not all, notes of the chromatic scale being available. To fill in the gaps, many modern dulcimer builders include extra short bridges at the top and bottom of the soundboard, where extra strings are tuned to some or all of the missing pitches. Such instruments are often called "chromatic dulcimers" as opposed to the more traditional "diatonic dulcimers".

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Jaw harp (chomus)

Very popular instrument in neo folk. There are hundreds variants of this instrument.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The jaw harp is thought to be one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. A musician apparently playing it can be seen in a Chinese drawing from the 4th century BC. This instrument is native to Asia and used in all tribes of Turkish people in Asia where it is variously referred to as a temir komuz (literally, iron komuz), agiz komuzu (literally, mouth komuz) or gubuz.

The instrument is known in many different cultures by many different names. The common English name "Jew's harp" may be considered controversial or potentially misleading, and thus avoided by some speakers. Another name used to identify the instrument, especially in scholarly literature, is the older English trump, while guimbarde, derived from the French word for the instrument, can be found in unabridged dictionaries and is featured in recent revival efforts.

The instrument is a lamellophone, which is in the category of plucked idiophones: it consists of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or reed attached to a frame. The tongue/reed is placed in the performer's mouth and plucked with the finger to produce a note. The frame is held firmly against the performer's parted front teeth, using the jaw (thus "jaw harp") and mouth as a resonator, greatly increasing the volume of the instrument. The teeth must be parted sufficiently for the reed to vibrate freely, and the fleshy parts of the mouth should not come into contact with the reed to prevent damping of the vibrations. The note thus produced is constant in pitch, though by changing the shape of his or her mouth and the amount of air contained in it (and in some traditions closing the glottis) the performer can cause different overtones to sound and thus create melodies. The volume of the note can be varied by breathing in and out.

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI)

Wind analog of synthesizer.

Some information from Wikipedia:

EWI is the name of AKAI's wind controller, an electronic musical instrument invented by Nyle Steiner. The early models consisted of two parts: a wind controller and a synthesizer. The current model, EWI4000S, combines the two parts into one, placing the synthesizer in the lower section of the controller. It uses the Boehm fingering system and is designed to be similar in action to a soprano saxophone, although players familiar with the clarinet should have no problem adjusting to the fingering. Like a soprano sax, it is straight, and is held in front of the body with a neck strap. The major manufacturers of wind controllers are Akai and Yamaha. Available models include the AKAI EWI3020, AKAI EWI4000s, AKAI EWI USB, Yamaha WX5, Yamaha WX11, Yamaha WX7, and Synthophone. There is also a controller intended to be played by brass instrumentalists called an EVI (for Electronic Valve Instrument) also invented by Nyle Steiner. The Akai EWI4000S has a special EVI mode that allows brass players to play the EWI. There are also homemade and experimental EWIs with different designs.

The wind controller part of the EWI has a mouthpiece with sensors for air pressure (volume control) and lip pressure (vibrato). The EWI keys do not move, but work through conductivity, sensing the positioning of the fingers by electrical current; this allows for very fast playing. The octave is determined by a set of rollers operated by the left thumb. The wind controller is used to control a synthesizer. Some EWIs have to be attached to a specific synth module, and some have direct output to the MIDI interface. It is also possible to connect the EWI to a Digital Work Station (soundboard) to produce an even larger variety of sounds.

Though it is usually associated with jazz/rock fusion and, more recently, with New Age music, the EWI is a musically versatile instrument. The air pressure sensor allows for great dynamic range, especially in combination with an analog synthesizer. Tonal range is also great, usually extending to 8 octaves.

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Digital igil

That how could be changed sounds of instrument which original sounds like Morin khuur (was described earllier).

Example of playing:

Reactable

If developers wanted to make an instrument with really futuristic interface they did it.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The Reactable is an electronic musical instrument with a tabletop Tangible User Interface that has been developed within the Music Technology Group at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain by Sergi Jordà, Marcos Alonso, Martin Kaltenbrunner and Günter Geiger.

The Reactable is a round translucent table, used in a darkened room, and appears as a backlit display. By placing blocks called tangibles on the table, and interfacing with the visual display via the tangibles or fingertips, a virtual modular synthesizer is operated, creating music or sound effects.

There are various types of tangibles representing different modules of an analog sythesizer. Audio frequency VCOs, LFOs, VCFs, and sequencers are some of the commonly-used tangibles. There are also tangibles that affect other modules: one called radar is a periodic trigger, and another called tonalizer limits a VCO to the notes of a musical scale.

The table itself is the display. As a tangible is placed on the table, various animated symbols appear, such as waveforms, circles, circular grids, or sweeping lines. Some symbols merely show what the particular tangible is doing, others can be used by fingertip to control the respective module.

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Animusic instruments

Today you will see completely virtual instruments. There are many of them but i will describe just its concept.

Some information from Wikipedia:

Animusic is an American company specializing in the 3D visualization of MIDI-based music. Founded by Wayne Lytle, it is incorporated in New York and has offices in Texas and California. The initial name of the company was Visual Music, changed to Animusic in 1995.

The company is known for its Animusic compilations of computer-generated animations, based on MIDI events processed to simultaneously drive the music and on-screen action, leading to and corresponding to every sound.

Unlike many other music visualizations, the music drives the animation. While other productions might animate figures or characters to the music, the animated models in Animusic are created first, and are then programmed to follow what the music "tells them" to. 'Solo cams' in the Animusic DVD shows how each instrument actually plays through a piece of music from beginning to end.

Many of the instruments appear to be robotic or play themselves using curious methods to produce and visualize the original compositions. The animations typically feature dramatically-lit rooms or landscapes.

The music of Animusic is principally pop-rock based, consisting of straightforward sequences of triggered samples and digital patches mostly played "dry"; i.e., with few effects. There are no lyrics or voices, save for the occasional chorus synthesizer. According to the director's comments, most instrument sounds are generated with software synthesizers on a music workstation. Many sounds resemble stock patches available on digital keyboards, subjected to some manipulation, such as pitch or playback speed, to enhance the appeal of their timbre.

How it looks:




Example of playing:

1st month!

30 instruments had been described and it means that this blog can celebrate its first month of existing. i'm happy and hope it will get at least 1 year life.

Laser harp

We can play harp with light rays instead of strings.

Some information from Wikipedia:

A laser harp is an electronic musical instrument consisting of several laser beams to be blocked, in analogy with the plucking of the strings of a harp, in order to produce sounds.

It has subsequently been used in a number of different designs, including a MIDI version invented by Philippe Guerre, and a recent one created by Yan Terrien. They have also been used in public art installations such as those created by Jen Lewin on display at Lincoln Center in 2000 and Burning Man 2005.

In order to produce laser beams visible in normal air, a relatively powerful laser is needed; at least about 20 mW of power, depending on the type of laser and the design of the instrument, is required in order to produce a visible array of beams. However, a considerably more powerful laser is needed to yield spectacular results, generally 500 mW or more. In any case, class IIIb or IV lasers will usually be necessary, introducing a significant risk of skin and eye damage unless precautions (gloves and protective glasses) are taken.

How it looks:


Example of playing:


Also it can look so: link

Misa digital guitar

Guitar with touch screen instead of strings. This instrument isn't fihished yet, but developers promise to finish it at 2011 year. And now we can see just two demos with concept of playing at youtube.

Some information from Here:

The Misa guitar is actually an advanced type of MIDI controller that is powered by a 500MHz AMD Geode CPU and runs Linux under the hood (but don't worry; you don’t need Linux to use the guitar). The Linux firmware code is open source, which allows programmers to modify it to their liking. While MIDI controllers and guitar-emulating synthesizers are nothing new to the music world, the Misa guitar is not your average key/knob/fader MIDI controller.

The first thing that stands out about the Misa guitar is that the traditional pickup setup that you’d expect to find in the center of the guitar is replaced by an 8.4-inch 800-by-600-pixel resolution LCD touchpad. This is somewhat similar to a guitar that MUSE lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy uses, except that on the Misa you strike the pad to hit the notes instead of strings.

The touchpad is set up on an x/y coordinate pair where you will assign your desired effects. Accordingly, striking or dragging your fingers in different areas around the touchpad will produce different modulations of the effects, which rids you of the need to move knobs or faders to change the intensity of an effect. The touchpad is also pressure-sensitive, so the harder you strike it, the louder the notes will ring, just like a real guitar.

On the neck of the guitar you will find 144 “keycap” sensors instead of strings. There are 6 sensors across 24 “frets” on the neck, replicating a traditional 6-string guitar setup. The maker of the Misa guitar says that the keycaps were not made pressure-sensitive because it would make the instrument harder to play, which may be well-received by those of us guitarists who struggle with hand strength and those dreaded barre chords.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Termenvox (theremin)

Starting from today i begin the Week of hightech in music. Modern materials, newst types of playing and other.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The theremin, originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. The controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the player's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other, so it can be played without being touched. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.

The theremin is associated with a very eerie sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks such as Miklos Rozsa's for Spellbound and The Lost Weekend and Bernard Herrmann's for The Day the Earth Stood Still and as the theme tune for the ITV drama Midsomer Murders. Theremins are also used in concert music (especially avant-garde and 20th- and 21st-century new music) and in popular music genres such as rock. Psychedelic Rock bands in particular, such as Hawkwind, have often used the theremin in their work.

The theremin was originally the product of Russian government-sponsored research into proximity sensors. The instrument was invented by a young Russian physicist named Lev Sergeivich Termen (known in the West as Léon Theremin) in October 1920 after the outbreak of the Russian civil war. After positive reviews at Moscow electronics conferences, Theremin demonstrated the device to Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. Lenin was so impressed with the device that he began taking lessons in playing it, commissioned six hundred of the instruments for distribution throughout the Soviet Union, and sent Theremin on a trip around the world to demonstrate the latest Soviet technology and the invention of electronic music. After a lengthy tour of Europe, during which time he demonstrated his invention to packed houses, Theremin found his way to the United States, where he patented his invention in 1928 (US1661058). Subsequently, Theremin granted commercial production rights to RCA.

Although the RCA Thereminvox (released immediately following the Stock Market Crash of 1929), was not a commercial success, it fascinated audiences in America and abroad. Clara Rockmore, a well-known thereminist, toured to wide acclaim, performing a classical repertoire in concert halls around the United States, often sharing the bill with Paul Robeson.

During the 1930s Lucie Bigelow Rosen was also taken up with the theremin and together with her husband Walter Bigelow Rosen provided both financial and artistic support to the development and popularisation of the instrument.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Khene

The eastern wind instrument with a very interest system of playing.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The khene is a mouth organ of Lao origin whose pipes, which are usually made of bamboo, are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown. Today associated with the Lao of Laos and Northeast Thailand, similar instruments date back to the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. It is also played in some parts of Cambodia. The Chinese adopted mouth organs at an early point, and the now-obsolete yu may have been similar in construction to the modern khaen.

The most interesting characteristic of the khene is its free reed, which is made of brass or silver. It is related to Western free-reed instruments such as the harmonium, concertina, accordion, harmonica, and bandoneon, which were developed beginning in the 18th century from the Chinese sheng, a related instrument, a specimen of which had been carried to St. Petersburg, Russia.

The khene uses a pentatonic scale in one of two modes (thang sun and thang yao), each mode having three possible keys. The khaen has five different lai, or modes: Lai Yai, Lai Noi, Lai Soutsanaen, Lai Po Sai, and Lai Soi. Lai Po Sai is considered to be the oldest of the Lai Khaen and Lai Soutsanaen the "Father of the Lai Khaen." Khaen can be played as a solo instrument (Dio Khaen), as part of an ensemble (Ponglang), or as an accompaniment to a Lao or Isan Folk Opera Singer mor lam.

According to Lao legend, the khene was created by a woman who was trying to reproduce the sound of the garawek bird which she heard while on a walk one day. The journey was long and difficult, so she decided to invent an instrument that would bring the sound to her. When she returned to her village, she experimented with many different instruments, including percussion, wind and plucked and bowed strings. Finally she cut a piece of bamboo and inserted a reed into it. Upon playing it, she realized that it sounded much like the garawek bird. She continued to improve the sound until she felt it was worthy for the king's ears. When she was ready, she went to the palace and began playing for the king on her newly invented instrument, which was at this point nameless. At the end of the first song, she asked the king if he liked the piece. He said it was fair, and instructed her to continue playing. After her last song, she again asked the king if he was pleased. His reply was "Tia nee kaen dae," which means "This time it was better." He then instructed her to call the instrument, according to his words, the kaen.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Girl and flute

Just wanted to place it here. They both so beauty ^_^_^

Harmonica

Nice sounds, but near always uses for blues. I think it can be used also in others genres.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The harmonica is a free reed wind instrument. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes (reed chambers) or multiple holes. The pressure caused by blowing or drawing air into the reed chambers causes a reed or multiple reeds to vibrate up and down creating sound. Each chamber has multiple, variable-tuned brass or bronze reeds, which are secured at one end and loose on the other end, with the loose end vibrating and creating sound.

Reeds are pre-tuned to individual tones, and each tone is determined according to the size of reed. Longer reeds make deep, low sounds and short reeds make higher-pitched sounds. On certain types of harmonica the pre-tuned reed can be changed (bending a note) to another note by redirecting air flow into the chamber. There are many types of harmonicas, including diatonic, chromatic, tremolo, orchestral, and bass versions.

The harmonica was developed in Europe in the early part of the 19th century. Free reed instruments like the sheng were fairly common throughout East Asia for centuries and were relatively well-known in Europe for some time. Around 1820, free reed designs began being created in Europe. While Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann is often cited as the inventor of the harmonica in 1821, other inventors developed similar instruments at the same time. Mouth-blown free reed instruments appeared in the United States, South America, the United Kingdom and in Europe at roughly the same time.

How it looks:



Example of playing:

Hang

One from the newest musical instruments. Its old is just ten years, but it already gets millions views at youtube.

Some information from Wikipedia:

A Hang is a musical instrument in the idiophone class created by PANArt in Switzerland. The Hang is made from two deep drawn nitrided steel sheets that are attached together creating the recognizable 'UFO shape'. There is nothing inside the Hang but air. The top (Ding) side has a center 'note' hammered into it with 7 or 8 'tone fields' hammered around it. The bottom (Gu) is a simpler surface that has a rolled hole in the center with a tuned note that can be created when the rim is struck. The Hang uses some of the same physical principles as a steelpan but with a nitrided surface and structural change of having two clamped shells with a small opening so that the instrument is a Helmholtz Resonator. The creation of the Hang was the result of many years of research on the steelpan as well as the study of a diverse collection of instruments from around the world such as gongs, gamelan, ghatam/udu, drums, and bells. Metallurgical and acoustic research by the makers has led to significant changes and refinement in structure, design, and process over the years since the first Hang was offered. The Hang is sometimes referred to as a Hang drum. The 'drum' label, however, is discouraged by PANArt: "Treating it as a drum and promoting the name Hang Drum ... has created a ripple effect of misinformation that leads to damaged Hang, physical injury, and mental and emotional turbulence."

The Hang is typically played resting on the player's lap, and can also be played on a stand. The Hang is generally played with the hands and fingers instead of mallets. This lighter playing tends to produce a complex overtone-rich sound that could be considered 'softer' and 'warmer' than the 'bright' sound of a mallet based traditional steelpan.

The Hang was developed in 2000 in Berne, Switzerland by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer. It was introduced at the Musikmesse Frankfurt in 2001. Its name comes from the Bernese German word for hand. The two deep drawn steel hemispheres of the Hang are hardened by a process known as gas-nitriding. The side considered the 'bottom' has an opening (Gu) in the center which allows the generation of the bass note through Helmholtz resonance. When it is played in a dampened way it can change in pitch similar to a talking drum. On the 'top' are seven (in the bass version of the Hang) or eight (treble version which is no longer produced) notes arranged in a 'Tone Circle' in zig-zag fashion from low to high. All are tuned harmonically (with fundamental, octave and the fifth above the octave) around a low note (Ding) at the center of the Tone Circle. Each creation is numbered and signed.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Marimba

I think marimba and xylophone are different instruments because they have different structure and different sounds. So i should to describe xylophone at 1st because it's much simplier, but i haven't time now to search information about it so i describe marimba.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The marimba (also: Marimbaphone) is a musical instrument in the percussion family. Keys or bars (usually made of wood) are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys (similar to a piano) to aid the performer both visually and physically.

The chromatic marimba was developed in southern Mexico and northern Guatemala from the diatonic marimba, an instrument whose ancestor was a type of balafon that African slaves built in Central America.

Modern uses of the marimba include solo performances, woodwind ensembles, marimba concertos, jazz ensembles, marching band (front ensembles), drum and bugle corps, and orchestral compositions. Contemporary composers have utilized the unique sound of the marimba more and more in recent years.

When playing the marimba it is preferred to strike just off center or right on the edge (for the "black keys") for the fullest tone, while striking the bar in the center produces a more articulate tone. Playing on the node (the location where the string passes through the bars) is sonically very weak, so it is only used when the player or composer is looking for that particular muted sound.

Part of the key to the marimba's rich sound is its resonators. These are metal tubes (usually aluminium) that hang below each bar. The length varies according to the frequency that the bar produces. Vibrations from the bars resonate as they pass through the tubes. In instruments exceeding 4½ octaves, the length of tubing required for the bass notes exceeds the height of the instrument.

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Melodica

In my childhood was something like this. Bad that then i didn't want to play ⋮-( It's a nice thing.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole, allowing air to flow through a reed. The keyboard is usually two or three octaves long. Melodicas are small, light, and portable. They are popular in music education, especially in Asia.

The modern form of the instrument was invented by Hohner in the 1950s or 1960s, though some claim the Brooklyn musician Joseph Lederfine invented it to teach music fundamentals to children, and similar instruments have been known in Italy since the 19th century.

The melodica was probably first used as a serious musical instrument by jazz musician Phil Moore Jr. on his 1969 Atlantic Records album Right On. It is associated with Jamaican dub and reggae musician Augustus Pablo who popularized it in the 1970s.

Although the majority of melodicas are made of plastic, some are made primarily of wood. The Sound Electra corporation makes the MyLodica, a wooden melodica designed "to produce a warmer richer sound than that of its plastic relatives".

Melodicas are unusual because unlike most conventional woodwind instruments, they make use of a piano keyboard rather than a specialized fingering system using holes and/or buttons. This allows the player to use a single finger to play any one note of the instrument's range, rather than requiring several fingers to play individual notes, as would be the case with most other woodwinds. The player can then play chords by using his remaining fingers to press additional keys, and thus, sound additional notes. In other words, whereas the many woodwind instruments (such as saxophones or clarinets) are monophonic, the melodica is polyphonic.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Shawm

When the Pyramids of the ancient Egypt didn't existed yet, people already played such instruments there.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the late 13th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood, and terminated in a flared bell somewhat like that of a trumpet. Beginning in the 16th century, shawms were made in several sizes, from sopranino to great bass, and four and five-part music could be played by a consort consisting entirely of shawms.

All later shawms had at least one key allowing a downward extension of the compass; the keywork was typically covered by a perforated wooden cover called the fontanelle. The bassoon-like double reed, made from the same Arundo donax cane used for oboes and bassoons, was inserted directly into a socket at the top of the instrument, or in the larger types, on the end of a metal tube called the bocal. The pirouette, a small cylindrical piece of wood with a hole in the middle resembling a thimble, was placed over the reed—this acted as a support for the lips and embouchure.

Since only a short portion of the reed protruded past the pirouette, the player had only limited contact with the reed, and therefore limited control of dynamics. The shawm’s conical bore and flaring bell, combined with the style of playing dictated by the use of a pirouette, gave the instrument a piercing, trumpet-like sound well-suited for out-of-doors performance.

In German the shawm is called Schalmei or Pommer; the first word is believed to derive from the Latin calamus (itself from Greek κάλαμος), meaning "reed or stalk".[1] However, it is also possible that the name comes from the Arabic salamiya or salameya (سلامية), a traditional oboe from Egypt, as the European shawm seems to have been developed from similar instruments brought to Europe from the Near East during the time of the Crusades. This is borne out by the very similar names of many folk shawms used as traditional instruments in various European nations: in Spain, many traditional shawms with different names can be found, such as the castilian or aragonese dulzaina (sometimes called chirimía too); the valencian and catalan shawms (xirimia, dolçaina or gralla) or the navarrese gaita. In Portugal there is an instrument called charamela; and the name of Italian shawm is ciaramella.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Kalimba (mbira)

Widespread African plucked instrument.

Some information from Wikipedia:

In African music, the mbira (also known as Likembe, Mbila, Thumb piano, Mbira Huru, Mbira Njari, Mbira Nyunga Nyunga, Karimbao or Kalimba) is a musical instrument consisting of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator. In Eastern and Southern Africa there are many kinds of mbira, usually accompanied by the hosho. among the people Shona there are three that are very popular (see Shona music). The Mbira is usually classified as part of the lamellaphone family. It is also part of the idiophones family of musical instruments. In some places it is also known as a sanza or sansa.

In Shona music, the mbira dzavadzimu ("voice of the ancestors", national instrument of Zimbabwe) is a musical instrument that has been played by the Shona people of Zimbabwe for thousands of years. The mbira dzavadzimu is frequently played at religious ceremonies and social gatherings called mabira.

A typical mbira dzavadzimu consists of between 22 and 28 keys constructed from hot- or cold-forged metal affixed to a hardwood soundboard (gwariva) in three different registers—two on the left, one on the right.

While playing, the little finger of the right hand is placed through a hole in the bottom right corner of the soundboard, stabilizing the instrument and leaving thumb and index finger of the right hand open to stroke keys in the right register from above and below. The fingers of the left hand stabilize the left side of the instrument, with most fingers reaching behind the instrument. Both registers on the left side of the instrument are played with the left thumb and sometimes the left forefinger.

Bottle caps, shells, or other objects ("machachara") are often affixed to the soundboard to create a buzzing sound when the instrument is played. In a traditional setting, this sound is considered extremely important, as it is believed to attract the ancestral spirits.

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Morin khuur

Befor i began to search and learn about musical instruments i never thought there are instruments with just two strings. And i never thought that people can do with them really nice music.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The morin khuur is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongolian people, and is considered a symbol of the Mongolian nation. The morin khuur is one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity identified by UNESCO. It produces a sound which is poetically described as expansive and unrestrained, like a wild horse neighing, or like a breeze in the grasslands.

The instrument consists of a trapezoid wooden-framed sound box to which two strings are attached. It is held nearly upright with the sound box in the musician's lap or between the musician's legs. The strings are made from hairs from horses' tails, strung parallel, and run over a wooden bridge on the body up a long neck to the two tuning pegs in the scroll, which is always carved into the form of a horse's head.

The bow is loosely strung with horse hair coated with larch or cedar wood resin, and is held from underneath with the right hand. The underhand grip enables the hand to tighten the loose hair of the bow, allowing very fine control of the instrument's timbre.

Traditionally, the frame is covered with camel, goat, or sheep skin, in which case a small opening would be left in back. But since the 1970s, new all-wood sound box instruments have appeared, with carved f-holes similar to European stringed instruments.

Morin khuur vary in form depending on region. The Instruments from central Mongolia tend to have larger bodies and thus possess more volume than the smaller-bodied instruments of Inner Mongolia. In Tuva, the morin khuur is sometimes used in place of the igil.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Gemshorn

This is a variant of such instruments as an ocarina and a recorder made from animals' horns.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The gemshorn is an instrument of the ocarina family that was historically made from kirby gemsbok, chamois, goat, or other suitable animal. The gemshorn receives its name from the German language, and means a chamois horn.

The gemshorn was in use in the 15th century. Examples have been unearthed in Italy, in Hungary and in Germany, including one intact instrument made of clay which dates at least to 1450, as it was found buried beneath the foundation of a house built at that time. The early history of the instrument is not well known, but the oldest known illustration of one in a reference work is in Musica Getutscht (1511), by Sebastian Virdung. A skeletal figure is seen holding one in a Danse Macabre illustration dated to 1485. There is also mention of this instrument in "The Complaynt of Scotlande" as "ane gatehorn"(goat horn). Volume 2 of Praetorius's "De Organographica", from the early 17th century, provides detailed construction plates and diagrams for the gemshorn. They were primarily a pastoral instrument and were not widely known after the mid-to-late 16th century. With resurgent interest in early music in the 19th and 20th centuries, they have received new attention. Horace Fitzpatrick developed a form of gemshorn which adopted the fingering method of recorders and produced them in consort families, which have proven very popular since the 1960s.

How it looks:




Example of playing:

Lute

Lute is a most popular instrument in a culture of European middle ages. Favorite instrument of bards ^_^_^

Some information from Wikipedia:

Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either fretted or unfretted) and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes.

The European lute and the modern Near-Eastern oud both descend from a common ancestor via diverging evolutionary paths. The lute is used in a great variety of instrumental music from the early Renaissance to the late Baroque eras. It is also an accompanying instrument, especially in vocal works, often realizing a basso continuo or playing a written-out accompaniment.

Various types of necked chordophones were in use in ancient Egyptian in the Middle Kingdom), Hittite, Greek, Roman, Bulgar, Turkic, Indian, Chinese, Armenian/Cilician cultures. The Lute developed its familiar forms as Barbat in Persia, Armenia, and Byzantium beginning in the early 7th century. These instruments often had bodies covered with animal skin, and it is unknown exactly when it became replaced with a wooden soundboard.

As early as the 6th century, the Bulgars brought the short-necked variety of the instrument called Kobuz to the Balkans, and in the 9th century, Moors brought the Oud to Spain. The long-necked Pandura had previously been a quite common variety of the lute in the Mediterranean. The quitra didn't become extinct, however, but continued its evolution. Besides the still survinving Kuitra of Algiers and Morocco, its descendants include the Chitarra Italiana, Chitarrone and Colascione.

In about the year 1500 many Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese lutenists adopted vihuela de mano, a viol-shaped instrument tuned like the lute, but both instruments continued in coexistence. This instrument also found its way to parts of Italy that were under Spanish domination (especially Sicily and the papal states under the Borgia pope Alexander VI who brought many Catalan musicians to Italy), where it was known as the viola da mano.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Pan flute

Well i like wind instruments ^_^_^" I'm really glad that i have one of this type. But my panflute is a bit different and i will tell you about it later.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The pan flute or pan pipe (also known as panpipes) is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the Closed tube, consisting usually of five or more pipes of gradually increasing length (and, at times, girth). The pan flute has long been popular as a folk instrument, and is considered the first mouth organ, ancestor of both the pipe organ and the harmonica. The pan flute is named for its association with the rustic Greek god Pan. The pipes of the pan flute are typically made from bamboo or giant cane; other materials used include wood, plastic, and metal.

Another term for the pan flute is syrinx, from Greek mythology, the story of Pan. The plural of syrinx is syringes, from which the modern word syringe is derived. (Pan pipes is both singular and plural) Other names for the instrument are mouth organ, Pandean pipe, and the Latin fistula panis.

The tubes comprising it are stopped at one end, at which the standing wave is reflected giving a note an octave lower than that produced by an open pipe of equal length. In the traditional South American style, pipes are fine-tuned to correct pitch by placing small pebbles or dry corn kernels into the bottom of the pipes. Contemporary makers of curved Romanian-style panpipes use wax (commonly beeswax) to tune new instruments. Special tools are used to place or remove the wax. Corks and rubber stoppers are also used, and are easier to quickly tune pipes.

How it looks:


Example of playing:

Harp

I thought that harp is a one of the simpliest musical instruments, but when i searched information i understood that it has many variations. I think i even can make a harp week in future.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. All harps have a neck, resonator, and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar; those lacking the forepillar are referred to as open harps. Depending on its size (which varies considerably), a harp may be played while held in the lap or while it stands on the floor.

Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North, and South America, and in Asia. In antiquity, harps and the closely related lyres were very prominent in nearly all cultures. The oldest harps found thus far have been uncovered in ruins from ancient Sumer. The harp also predominant in the hands of medieval bards, troubadors and minnesingers, as well as throughout the Spanish Empire. Harps continued to grow in popularity through improvements in their design and construction through the beginning of the 20th century.

Harps were most likely independently invented in many parts of the world in remote prehistory. It is self-evident that the harp's origins may lie in the sound of a plucked hunter's bow string or the strings of a loom.

A type of harp called a 'bow harp' is nothing more than a bow like a hunter's, with a resonating vessel such as a gourd fixed somewhere along its length. To allow a greater number of strings, harps were later made from two pieces of wood attached at the ends: this type is known as the 'angle harp'. They can also come in different colours.

The oldest depictions of harps without a forepillar are from 4000 BC in Egypt[citation needed](see Music of Egypt) the sumerian harp of Ur 3500 BC,and 3000 BC in Persia. Other ancient names for harps include magadis and sambuka. The kanun is a descendant of the ancient Egyptian harp and was introduced to Europe by the Moors during the Middle Ages but is like the beforementioned Aeolian harp not a harp but a member of the zither family.

How it looks:


Example of playing: