A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound, and can somehow be controlled by a musician, can serve as a musical instrument. The expression, however, is reserved generally to items that have a specific musical purpose. The academic study of musical instruments is called organology. Musical instrument - Types of musical instruments. Instruments are often divided by the way in which they generate sound: W ...

Including:

• Musical instrument - Types of musical instruments
• Musical instrument - History

Read more here: » Musical instrument: Encyclopedia - Musical instrument

Including:

• Voice instrumental music - Mediterranean-voice instrumentals
• Voice instrumental music - Ancient voice music
• Voice instrumental music - European classical - Voice instrumental music
• Voice instrumental music - Voice instrumental in 20th century Classical music
• Voice instrumental music - Voice Transmutation in experimental Classical music
• Voice instrumental music - Various folk traditions
• Voice instrumental music - Voice instrumentals in Jazz and Popular Music
• Voice instrumental music - Onomatopoeia

Read more here: » Voice instrumental music: Encyclopedia - Voice instrumental music

Instruments are often divided by the way in which they generate sound: Wind instruments generate a sound when a column of air is made to vibrate inside them. The frequency of the wave generated is related to the length of the column of air and the shape of the instrument, while the tone quality of the sound generated is affected by the construction of the instrument and method of tone production. The group is typically subdivided into Brass and Woodwind instruments. Percussion instruments create ...

See also:

Musical instrument, Musical instrument - Types of musical instruments, Musical instrument - History

Read more here: » Musical instrument: Encyclopedia II - Musical instrument - Types of musical instruments

The güiro is a scraping instrument made out of the nut of the "cucurbita lagenaria" or bitter marimbo tree. It has found its way into many forms of Latin music. Some maintain that it is native to the island. Others maintain it originated from South America. Another Taino instrument that is still used today is the Maracas its name is taken from the original Taino name of Amaraca which is of Araucanian origin. The maraca is made out of the hollowed shell of the fruit of the "crescentia cujete" evergreen tree. A piece of wood pierces through the shell as a handle and dried seeds or pe ...

See also:

Music of Puerto Rico, Music of Puerto Rico - Early history, Music of Puerto Rico - Musical Instruments, Music of Puerto Rico - Improvisation and Controversia, Music of Puerto Rico - Genres, Music of Puerto Rico - Bomba, Music of Puerto Rico - Danza, Music of Puerto Rico - Décima, Music of Puerto Rico - Plena, Music of Puerto Rico - Pop music, Music of Puerto Rico - Nueva canción hip hop and merengue, Music of Puerto Rico - Son and mambo, Music of Puerto Rico - Reggaeton, Music of Puerto Rico - Samples

Read more here: » Music of Puerto Rico: Encyclopedia II - Music of Puerto Rico - Musical Instruments

The whip or slapstick is a percussion instrument consisting of two wooden boards joined by a hinge at one end. Typical dimensions of each board are 40cm long and 15cm wide. When the boards are brought together rapidly, the sound is reminiscent of the crack of a whip. Their use to produce sound effects in Commedia dell'arte comedy routines gave rise to the term slapstick comedy. Whip instrument - Musical whip. A whip is an instrument played by a percussionist that is used in modern orch ...

Including:

• Whip instrument - Musical whip

Read more here: » Whip instrument: Encyclopedia - Whip instrument

A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of the effective length of the vibrating column of air. Wind instrument - Techniques for obtaining ranges of notes. adjusting the effective length of the vibratin ...

Including:

• Wind instrument - Techniques for obtaining ranges of notes
• Wind instrument - Types of wind instruments

Read more here: » Wind instrument: Encyclopedia - Wind instrument

A calliope is a musical instrument that produces sound by sending steam through whistles, originally locomotive whistles. Joshua C. Stoddard of Worcester, Massachusetts invented the calliope, patented October 9, 1855. The calliope is also known as a "steam organ" or "steam piano." It was often played on riverboats and in circuses, where it was sometimes mounted on a carved, painted and gilded hor ...

Including:

• Calliope music - Related instruments

Read more here: » Calliope music: Encyclopedia - Calliope music

A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually an open-ended hollow drum which resonates upon being struck. The striking implement can be a tongue suspended within the bell, known as a clapper, a small, free sphere enclosed within the body of the bell, or a separate mallet. Bells are usually made of metal, but small bells can also be made from ceramic or glass. Bells can be of all sizes: from tiny dress accessories to church bells literally weighing tons. ...

Including:

• Bell instrument - Uses for bells
• Bell instrument - Church and temple bells
• Bell instrument - Buddhist bells
• Bell instrument - Bells as musical instruments
• Bell instrument - Bellmaking
• Bell instrument - Belltowers
• Bell instrument - Ancient Chinese bells
• Bell instrument - Famous bells
• Bell instrument - Big Ben
• Bell instrument - The Great Bell of Dhammazedi
• Bell instrument - The Great Mingun Bell
• Bell instrument - Great Tom
• Bell instrument - The Liberty Bell
• Bell instrument - Sigismund
• Bell instrument - Tsar-Kolokol III
• Bell instrument - The World Peace Bell
• Bell instrument - Pummerin
• Bell instrument - Chimes

Read more here: » Bell instrument: Encyclopedia - Bell instrument

The music of the Yorùbá people of Nigeria is best known for an extremely advanced drumming tradition, especially using the dundun hourglass tension drums. Yoruba folk music became perhaps the most prominent kind of West African music in Afro-Latin and Caribbean musical styles. Yorùbá music left an especially important influence on the music used in Lukumi practice and the music of Cuba [1]. Yorùbá music - Folk music. Ensembles using the dundun play a type of music that is also called dundun. Th ...

Including:

• Yorùbá music - Folk music
• Yorùbá music - Folk instrument
• Yorùbá music - Popular music

Read more here: » Yorùbá music: Encyclopedia - Yorùbá music

In the broadest sense, the very first electrified musical instrument was the Denis d´or, dating from 1753. It was followed by the Clavecin électrique by the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste de Laborde in 1761. The first purely electronic musical instrument was the Telharmonium, built by Thaddeus Cahill in 1906. Employing electric generators and tonewheels to produce notes, it had a length of 60ft and a weight of 200 tons; because of a lack of sui ...

See also:

Electronic musical instrument, Electronic musical instrument - Early electronic musical instruments, Electronic musical instrument - Synthesizers

Read more here: » Electronic musical instrument: Encyclopedia II - Electronic musical instrument - Early electronic musical instruments

Western instruments are also often classified by their musical range in comparison with other instruments in the same family. These terms are named after singing voice classifications: Soprano instruments: flute, recorder, violin, trumpet Alto instruments: oboe, alto flute, viola, French horn Tenor instruments: clarinet, English horn, trombone Bass instruments: bassoon, double bass, bass clarinet, tuba Some instruments fall into more than one category: for example, the cello may be consid ...

See also:

Musical instrument classification, Musical instrument classification - Instruments by range, Musical instrument classification - Other classifications

Read more here: » Musical instrument classification: Encyclopedia II - Musical instrument classification - Instruments by range

Western instruments are also often classified by their musical range in comparison with other instruments in the same family. These terms are named after singing voice classifications: Soprano instruments: flute, recorder, violin, trumpet Alto instruments: oboe, alto flute, viola, French horn Tenor instruments: clarinet, English horn, trombone Bass instruments: bassoon, double bass, bass clarinet, tuba Some instruments fall into more than one category: for example, the cello may be considered either tenor or bass, depending on how its m ...

See also:

Musical instrument classification, Musical instrument classification - Instruments by range, Musical instrument classification - Other classifications

Read more here: » Musical instrument classification: Encyclopedia II - Musical instrument classification - Instruments by range

In Classical music, especially, since the music of Arnold Schoenberg, Carl Orff and Wagnerian composers, the role of voice instrumental music for solo vocalist, voices or chorus, as part of the orchestral score, has become very prominent. The tradition of voice instrumental is very old and strong one in European classical music. It has its roots in the Jewish Nigun and further elaborated in the Gregorian chants. The Vocal instrumental concerto and the figured bass, along with a cappella compositions, during the baroque were a form of ...

See also:

Voice instrumental music, Voice instrumental music - Mediterranean-voice instrumentals, Voice instrumental music - Ancient voice music, Voice instrumental music - European classical - Voice instrumental music, Voice instrumental music - Voice instrumental in 20th century Classical music, Voice instrumental music - Voice Transmutation in experimental Classical music, Voice instrumental music - Various folk traditions, Voice instrumental music - Voice instrumentals in Jazz and Popular Music, Voice instrumental music - Onomatopoeia

Read more here: » Voice instrumental music: Encyclopedia II - Voice instrumental music - European classical - Voice instrumental music

Instruments which originated in Ancient Mesopotamia include the bow harp, lyre or lute, and the reed pipe. These instruments spread north into Egypt, then Greece, through Greece to Rome, and through Rome to Europe. From Egypt they spread south and westward further into Africa. Contemporary East African lyres and West African lutes preserve many features of Mesopotamian instruments. (van der Merwe 1989, p.10) The vocal tone or timbre was probably similar to the pungently nasal sound of the narrow-bor reed pipes, and most likely shared ...

See also:

Music of Mesopotamia, Music of Mesopotamia - Instrumentation, Music of Mesopotamia - Religious music, Music of Mesopotamia - Source

Read more here: » Music of Mesopotamia: Encyclopedia II - Music of Mesopotamia - Instrumentation

The emergence of the digital sampler made sampling far more practical, and as samplers added progressively more digital processing to their recorded sounds, they began to merge into the mainstream of modern digital synthesizers. The first digital sampling synthesiser was the Computer Music Melodian which was first available in 1976. The first polyphonic digital sampling synthesiser was the Australian-produced Fairlight CMI which was first available in 1979. Prior to computer memory-based samplers, musicians used tape replay keyboards, which stored recordings of mus ...

See also:

Sampler musical instrument, Sampler musical instrument - Overview, Sampler musical instrument - Examples of digital samplers, Sampler musical instrument - Computer Music Melodian, Sampler musical instrument - Fairlight Instruments, Sampler musical instrument - E-mu Systems, Sampler musical instrument - Akai, Sampler musical instrument - Roland, Sampler musical instrument - Other Manufacturers

Read more here: » Sampler musical instrument: Encyclopedia II - Sampler musical instrument - Overview

Some Muslims believe that only vocal music is permissible (halal) and that instruments are forbidden (haram). Hence there is a strong tradition of a capella devotional singing. Other Muslims will accept drums, but no other instruments. Yet other Muslims believe that any instrument is lawful as long as it is used for the permissible kinds of music. Hence there is a long tradition of instrumental accompaniment to devotional songs. A wide variety of instruments may be ...

See also:

Muslim music, Muslim music - Types of Muslim devotional recitation and music, Muslim music - Recitation without instrumental accompaniment, Muslim music - Sufi music, Muslim music - Music for public religious celebrations, Muslim music - Modes, Muslim music - Vocal styles, Muslim music - Instruments, Muslim music - Lyrics, Muslim music - Is music haram forbidden for Muslims?, Muslim music - Contemporary Muslim music

Read more here: » Muslim music: Encyclopedia II - Muslim music - Instruments

The most common types of voice improvisation in the Western world are found in jazz which knows it as scat singing and vocalese. Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald were both famous for their scat singing, and many other major figures in jazz, from Betty Carter to Mel Torme, also use the form. In pop music, doo-wop and other forms of rhythm and blues music employ it; in the Gaelic tradition, there are many terms for it, one of which is diddling. The nonsense choruses of old English ballads, "Hey nonny nonny" and the like are another well kno ...

See also:

Voice instrumental music, Voice instrumental music - Mediterranean-voice instrumentals, Voice instrumental music - Ancient voice music, Voice instrumental music - European classical - Voice instrumental music, Voice instrumental music - Voice instrumental in 20th century Classical music, Voice instrumental music - Voice Transmutation in experimental Classical music, Voice instrumental music - Various folk traditions, Voice instrumental music - Voice instrumentals in Jazz and Popular Music, Voice instrumental music - Onomatopoeia

Read more here: » Voice instrumental music: Encyclopedia II - Voice instrumental music - Voice instrumentals in Jazz and Popular Music

List of musical instruments - Flutes. Bansuri (India) Danso (Korea) Di Zi (China) Flageolet Flute Alto flute Bass flute Contrabass flute Vertical flute Hocchiku (Japan) Khloy (Cambodia) Khlui (Thailand) Nose flute Ocarina Pan pipes Piccolo Recorder flute Ryuteki (Japan) Shakuhachi (Japan) Slide whistle Tin whistle Tonette Washint (Ethiopia) See also:

List of musical instruments, List of musical instruments - Wind instruments, List of musical instruments - Flutes, List of musical instruments - Single reed instruments, List of musical instruments - Double reed instruments oboes, List of musical instruments - Bagpipes single and double reed, List of musical instruments - Brass instruments, List of musical instruments - Free reed instruments, List of musical instruments - Voice, List of musical instruments - String instruments, List of musical instruments - Percussion instruments, List of musical instruments - Drums, List of musical instruments - Other percussion instruments, List of musical instruments - Electronic instruments, List of musical instruments - Keyboard instruments, List of musical instruments - Other

Read more here: » List of musical instruments: Encyclopedia II - List of musical instruments - Wind instruments

Instrumental music in China is played on solo instruments or in small ensembles of plucked and bowed stringed instruments, flutes, and various cymbals, gongs, and drums. The scale has five notes. Bamboo pipes and qin are among the oldest known musical instruments from China; instruments are traditionally divided into categories based on their material of composition: skin, gourd, bamboo, wood, silk, earth/clay, metal and stone. Chinese orchestras traditionally consist of bowed strings, woodwinds, plucked strings and percussion. The oldest wr ...

See also:

Music of China, Music of China - Instrumentation, Music of China - Traditional orchestral instruments, Music of China - History Modern, Music of China - History of Chinese heavy metal, Music of China - Ethnic Han music, Music of China - Instrumental music, Music of China - Folk music, Music of China - Opera, Music of China - Minorities, Music of China - Tibet, Music of China - Guangxi, Music of China - Yunnan, Music of China - Sichuan, Music of China - Manchuria, Music of China - Xinjiang, Music of China - Hua'er, Music of China - Kuaiban

Read more here: » Music of China: Encyclopedia II - Music of China - Instrumentation

List of musical instruments - Drums. Abïa drum African drum Bass drum Bodhrán Bongo drum Conga Cuíca Darbuka (Greek name)/Dumbek (Turkish name) Dhol Dholak O Daiko Kettle drum Khol Lambeg Mridangam Octaban Octapad Riq Sampho Slit Drum Snare Steel drum Surdo Tabla Taiko TambourineSee also:

List of musical instruments, List of musical instruments - Wind instruments, List of musical instruments - Flutes, List of musical instruments - Single reed instruments, List of musical instruments - Double reed instruments oboes, List of musical instruments - Bagpipes single and double reed, List of musical instruments - Brass instruments, List of musical instruments - Free reed instruments, List of musical instruments - Voice, List of musical instruments - String instruments, List of musical instruments - Percussion instruments, List of musical instruments - Drums, List of musical instruments - Other percussion instruments, List of musical instruments - Electronic instruments, List of musical instruments - Keyboard instruments, List of musical instruments - Other

Read more here: » List of musical instruments: Encyclopedia II - List of musical instruments - Percussion instruments