Music: Instruments

See also Popular Music: Instruments (mainly for questions of the type "With which instrument is (or are) ... associated?")

Valves on a trumpet			3
Strings on a balalaika			3
Strings on a violin (or any other member of the violin family), or a ukulele			4
Strings on a banjo			4, 5 or 6
Finger holes on a penny whistle			6
Strings on a sitar			7
Strings on a mandolin			8 (4 pairs)
Black keys on a standard piano keyboard			36
Strings on a harp			42
White keys on a standard piano keyboard			52
Keys on a piano (usually)			88
Note that an orchestra tunes to			A
On a six–string guitar, in standard tuning, the top and bottom strings are tuned to			E

The violin family, in ascending order of size:

Instruments in a string quartet:

Instruments in the brass section of an orchestra:

The 'big four' piano manufacturers:

Vienna, founded in 1828		Bösendorfer
Berlin, founded in 1853		C. Bechstein
Near Leipzig, Germany: founded in 1853		Blüthner
New York, founded in 1853: donated its 100,000th grand piano to the White House in 1903, and its 300,000th in 1938 – the latter is still in use there		Steinway & Sons

Orchestral instruments played using a reed (which sets up a vibrating column of air within the instrument) (includes flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons and saxophones)		Woodwind
Section of the orchestra, sometimes irreverently referred to as "the kitchen sink department"		Percussion
Instruments where the sound is produced by rapid periodic interruptions of the air flow by a reed that vibrates in a frame (e.g. accordions, concertinas)		Free reed
In a brass instrument, the sound is produced by vibrations of		The player's lips

Known in German as the dudelsack, and in Dutch as a doedelzak		Bagpipes
Has a blowpipe, a chanter, and three drones
Russian stringed instrument, with three strings and a characteristic triangular body		Balalaika
Sometimes known as the gran casa		Bass drum
Fagotti: Italian name for the		Bassoon
Sometimes referred to as "the clown of the orchestra"
Irish frame drum – believed by some to have developed from a war drum		Bodhran
Violin: the part that supports the strings and transmits vibrations to the body		Bridge
Device that raises the pitch of all strings simultaneously, on a fretted instrument		Capo
In the Dance of the Sugar–Plum Fairy, from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker, the melody is played on the		Celeste
Pipe in the bagpipes that the melody is played on		Chanter
Referred to by jazz musicians as a 'liquorice stick'		Clarinet
Alto member of the Oboe family; name means 'English horn'		Cor anglais
Crash, splash, ride and hi–hat are types of		Cymbal
Traditional wind instrument of the Australian Aborigines, popularised in the world at large by Rolf Harris		Didgeridoo
Brand of guitar, first made in the USA in 1928; name formed from the names of the founders (Dopyera Brothers), but also means 'good' in their native Slovak		Dobro
Largest instrument in the String section of an orchestra		Double bass
Flams, drags, rimshots and paradiddles can all be played on		Drum(s)
Type of wood, traditionally used to make the black keys on a piano		Ebony
Tenor horn or tenor tuba (four valves, tuba family)		Euphonium
Mouthpiece of end–blown flutes (e.g. recorder, tin whistle)		Fipple
Ridges on the fingerboards of guitars, mandolins, banjos, dulcimers, etc. (to stop the string at a pre–defined point, and so play a note that's in tune)		Frets
The traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali (Indonesia) – played on bowed stringed instruments, bamboo flutes, and a great variety of percussion instruments including xylophones, metallophones, and drums played with the hand		Gamelan
Tam–tam is a Western orchestral term for a type of		Gong
In the String section of an orchestra, but not played with a bow		Harp
Likened by Sir Thomas Beecham to "two skeletons copulating on a tin roof"		Harpsichord
Solo instrument in Bach's Italian Concerto
A pair of cymbals operated by a foot pedal (in a drum kit)		Hi–hat
Traditionally used to string a bow (for violins and other stringed instruments)		Horsehair
The organistrum – originating in 10th century Spain – was the precursor of the		Hurdy–gurdy
Organic material (obtained from elephant tusks) used to veneer the white keys on pianos, up to the 1970s		Ivory
Stringed instrument, used extensively in West Africa: typically having 21 strings, played by plucking with the fingers; combines features of the lute and harp; noted players include Dembo Konte, Kausu Kuyateh, Toumani Diabaté and Mamadou Sidiki Diabaté		Kora
Gives its name to the family (associated with European traditional folk music) that also includes the bouzouki, mandola and mandolin		Lute
Gave its name to a kitchen gadget		Mandolin
Kind of xylophone, originating in Africa: developed in Mexico and Guatemala in the late 19th century, and introduced into Western classical music (along with the vibraphone) in a 1947 concerto by the French composer Darius Milhaud		Marimba
Device used to produce a regular, metric beat (tick)		Metronome
Demonstrated in 1967 at the Monterey International Pop Festival; saw its commercial breakthrough in 1968 with the album Switched-on Bach by Walter (later Wendy) Carlos		Moog synthesiser
Pushed into the mouth of a brass instrument to reduce volume and change tone		Mute
The A note that an orchestra tunes up to is played on the		Oboe
The shawm was an early type of
Described by Danny Kaye's character in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) as "an ill wind that no one blows good"
Ancient wind instrument, refined in Italy in the 19th century; name derived from Italian meaning "little goose"; also known in the USA as the "sweet potato"		Ocarina
Solo instrument featured in Saint–Saens's 3rd Symphony		Organ
French composer Charles–Marie Widor (1844–1937) is best remembered today for the toccata from his 5th symphony, for (solo instrument)
Flue (or reed), great, and swell (or pedal) are the main types of		Organ pipe
Pear–shaped instrument with 11 or 12 strings, widely used across the Middle East and North Africa; similar to (and shares its early history with) the European lute		Oud
Once known as the syrinx		Pan pipes
Tabla (Indian)		Percussion instrument
Invented around 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori, of Padua, Italy (Keeper of the Instruments for Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany)		Piano
Known in German as the Hammerklavier
Hammers, dampers and strings are internal components of a
Eric Satie mainly wrote for the
The smallest (orchestral) woodwind instrument, and the highest–pitched instrument in an orchestra – a half–size flute. Name is Italian for 'little', but it's known in Italy as the ottavino		Piccolo
English flute		Recorder
Invented in 1840 by Belgian musician and instrument maker Adolphe Saxe		Saxophone
Member of the tuba family: named after a famous composer, at whose request it was developed from the helicon		Sousaphone
Small harpsichord, pentagonal in shape, with a single manual. Name may come from Italian for a thorn (spina – a reference to the plectra)		Spinet
Calliope (ca–LIE–o–pee)		Steam organ
Church bells	Highest	Treble
	Lowest	Tenor
The sackbut was an early English version of the		Trombone
In the French language, its name is used for a paperclip
Largest of the brass family; Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique was the first work to be scored for it. The serpent and ophicleide were its forerunners		Tuba
Commonly associated with Hawaiian music – name means 'jumping flea'		Ukulele
Played by the leader of an orchestra (traditionally the last to take the stage); all players sit immediately to the conductor's left; can play the highest note; Edward Elgar's principal instrument (he also played organ)		Violin
Solo part in Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending
The Hardangerfele is a traditional Norwegian version of the
Notorious plastic horn popular at football matches in South Africa, source of great controversy in the 2010 FIFA World Cup		Vuvuzela
Aeolian harp ("essentially a wooden box including a sounding board, with strings stretched across two bridges" – Wikipedia): played by		The wind
Name comes from the Greek for 'wood' and 'voice'		Xylophone
Metal discs set into the rim of a tambourine		Zills (or jingles)

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Music: Instruments