List of Musical Instruments

posted by the MusicMan, June 10th 2008

The following is a list of musical instruments, categorized according to the Hornbostel-Sachs system by how they make sound.

1. Idiophones

Idiophones are instruments which make sound primarily by way of the instrument itself vibrating without the use of membranes or strings.

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11. Struck idiophones

Idiophones set in motion by a percussion action, including 111. directly struck instruments, 112. indirectly struck. With 112.1 shaken and 112.2 scraped.

111. Directly struck
- Bell
- Castanets
- Claves
- Crotales
- Crystallophones:
  - Glass marimba
  - Glasschord
- Cymbals:
  - Crash cymbal
  - Hi-hat cymbal
  - Ride cymbal
  - Splash cymbal
- Gongs:
  - Agung or agong
  - Babendil
  - Gandingan
  - Kulintang or kolintang
- Hang
- Lithophone
- Metallophones:
  - Celesta
  - Fangxiang
  - Glockenspiel
  - Kulintang a tiniok, kulintang a putao or sarunay
  - Thai metallophones:
    - Ranat ek lek
    - Ranat thum lek
  - Toy piano
  - Tubular bells or chimes
  - Ugal
  - Vibraphone
  - Vibraslap
- Slit drums:
  - Agung a tamlang
  - Kagul or tagutok
- Steelpan or steel drum
- Tambourine
- Triangle
- Udu (also an aerophone)
- Xylophones (strictly made of wood):
  - Balafon
  - Gandingan a kayo
  - Kulintang a kayo
  - Luntang or kwintangan kayo
  - Marimba
  - Marimbaphone (also bowed)
  - Xylorimba
112. Indirectly struck
- 112.1 Shaken
  - Flexatone
  - Hosho
  - Jingle bells
  - Maracas
  - Rainstick
- 112.2 Scraped
  - Guiro
  - Kagul
  - Washboard

12. Plucked idiophones

Instruments set into vibration by plucking.

121. In a frame
- Jew's harp
  - Kubing
122. In comb form
- Kalimba
- Marímbula
- Mbira or sansa
- Musical box or music box

13. Friction idiophones

Instruments set into vibration by rubbing.

131. Friction sticks
- Nail violin
132. Friction plaques
- Daxophone
- Marimbaphone
- Musical Saw
133. Friction vessels
- Glass harmonica or hydrodaktulopsychicharmonica
- Glass harp
- Singing bowl
- Verrophone

14. Blown idiophones

Instruments set into vibration by blowing or moving air.

Aeolsklavier

Unclassified idiophones

Idiophones not allocated a number in the Hornbostel-Sachs system.

Flexed idiophones
- Directly flexed
  - Wobble board

2. Membranophones

Membranophones are instruments which make sound primarily by way of a vibrating membrane. This includes all drums.

21. Struck drums

Bass drum
Bodhrán
Bongo drum
Conga
Dabakan
Kettle drum
O-daiko
Octoban
Snare drum
Tabla
Taiko
Tamak'
Tambourine (the jingles also make this an idiophone)
Timpani
Tom-Tom
Tumdak'

22. Plucked drums

Some commentators believe that instruments in this class ought instead to be regarded as chordophones (see below).

23. Friction drums

Cuíca
Rommelpot

24. Singing membranes

Instruments in which a membrane modifies some other sound (typically the human voice) in some way (mirlitons).

Kazoos

3. Chordophones

Chordophones are instruments that produce sound primarily by the vibration of a string or strings.

31. Simple chordophones

Instruments consisting of a simple string bearer and strings - there may be an additional resonator, but removing it should not destroy the instrument (so the resonator should not be supporting the strings).

Clavichord
Harpsichord
Musical bow
Piano
Zither
- Gayageum
- Overtone zither

32. Composite chordophones

Instruments in which the resonator cannot be removed without destruction of the instrument.

Aeolian harp
Balalaika
Bandura
Banjo
Chapman Stick
Cello
Cymbalum
- Electric Cymbalum
Đàn nguyệt
Đàn tỳ bà
Double Bass
Fiddle
Geomungo or komungo
Guitars:
- Bass guitar
- Classical guitar
- Electric guitar
- Slide guitar
- Steel guitar
Hammered dulcimer
Hardanger fiddle
Harp
Hurdy gurdy
Khim
Kobza
Kora
Koto
- Overtone Koto
Kutiyapi, kutyapi or kutiapi
Lute
Lyre
Mandolin
Moonlander
Nyckelharpa
Sarangi
Shamisen, samisen or sangen
Sitar
Torban
Ukulele
Vertical viola (and other members of the violin octet family)
Vielle
Viol or viola da gamba
Viola
Viola d'amore
Violin
Washtub bass
Xalam (or khalam)

4. Aerophones

Aerophones are instruments in which the vibrating air itself is the primary cause of sound. This can include a column of air being set in vibration (as in wind instruments) or an air-flow being interrupted by an edge (as in free-reeds).

41. Free aerophones

The vibrating air is not contained within the instrument.

Klaxon
Bullroarer
Siren
Lasso d'amore

412.13. Free-reed instruments

Free-reed instruments feature a reed which vibrates within a closely fitting slot (there may be an attached pipe, but it should only vibrate in sympathy with the reed, and not have an effect on the pitch - instruments of this class can be distinguished from 422.3 by the lack of finger-holes).

Accordion
Bandoneon
Concertina
Harmonica
Harmonium
Melodica
Reed organ
Sheng

413. Plosive aerophones

The sound is caused by a single compression and release of air.

Udu "drum" or kimkim
Boomwhacker
End-struck pipe-based instruments, variations on earlier known instruments recently popularized by Blue Man Group, in forms that they refer to as Tubulum, Drumbone, etc.

42. Non-free aerophones (wind instruments proper)

The vibrating air is contained within the instrument.

421. Edge-blown instruments or flutes

The player makes a ribbon-shaped flow of air with his lips (421.1), or his breath is directed through a duct against an edge (421.2).

Conch shell (if played like a flute)
Flue pipe of an organ
Flute
Hocchiku
Huaca
Jug
Khloy
Khlui
Ocarina
Palendag/Pulalu
Pan pipes
Piccolo
Recorder
Slide whistle
Shakuhachi
Suling/Babarak
Tin whistle
Tumpong/Inci
Whistle
Willow flute

422. Reed instruments

The player's breath is directed against a lamella or pair of lamellae which periodically interrupt the airflow and cause the air to be set in motion.

422.1 Double reed instruments

There are two lamellae which beat against one another.

422.111 With cylindrical bore

Cornamuse
Crumhorn
Hirtenschalmei

422.112 With conical bore

Oboe
- Musette (modern small oboe in e♭)
- Oboe d'amore
- Cor anglais / English horn (same instrument)
- Bass oboe / Baritone Oboe (same instrument)
- Heckelphone
Bassoon
- Tenoroon
- Contrabassoon
Bombarde
Cromorne
Sarrusophone
- Sopranino Sarrusophone
- Soprano Sarrusophone
- Alto Sarrusophone
- Tenor Sarrusophone
- Baritone Sarrusophone
- Bass Sarrusophone
- Contrabass Sarrusophone
Shawm
- Surma
Tarogato (traditional))
Bagpipes:
- Great Highland Bagpipe
- Uilleann pipes
- Northumbrian smallpipes
- Musette de cour
- Biniou
- Gaita
- Dudelsack
- Volynka

422.2 Single reed instruments (clarinets)

There is one lamella which beats against a solid surface.

422.211.2 Single clarinets, cylindrical bore, with fingerholes

Clarinets
- Piccolo clarinet in A
- Sopranino clarinet (in E♭ or D))
- Soprano clarinet (in C, B♭, or A)
- Basset clarinet (in A or G)
- Basset-horn
- Alto clarinet
- Bass clarinet
- Contra-alto clarinet
- Contrabass clarinet
- Octocontra-alto clarinet
- Octocontrabass clarinet
Bagpipes:
- Duda
- Swedish bagpipes
- Zampogna
- (see also main article "Types of bagpipes" for many others)
Experimental:
- Folgerphone

422.212 Conical bore

Octavin
Saxophone
- Soprillo (sopranissimo saxophone)
- Sopranino saxophone
- Soprano saxophone in B♭ or C
- Conn-o-sax
- Mezzo-soprano saxophone in F
- Alto saxophone
- C melody saxophone
- Tenor saxophone
- Baritone saxophone
- Bass saxophone
- Contrabass saxophone
- Subcontrabass saxophone
- Tubax
Tarogato (modern)

422.22 Sets of clarinets

Zummara (Double Clarinet)

422.3

Similar to the free-reeds with a pipe attached - distinguished from them by the presence of finger-holes in the pipe.

423. Trumpets

The player's vibrating lips set the air in motion.

423.1 trumpets

There are no means of changing the pitch apart from the player's lips.

Bugle
Conch shell (if played like a trumpet)
Didgeridoo
Shofar
Alphorn
Lur
Natural trumpet
Natural horn
Trembita

423.2 Chromatic trumpets

The pitch can be changed by means of keys (423.21) a slide (423.22) or valves (423.23).

Bazooka
Sackbut
Trombone
Baritone horn
Cornett (or Cornetto)
Serpent
Tenor Horn / Alto horn (same instrument)
Cornet
Euphonium
Flugelhorn
Horn
Mellophone
Sousaphone
Trumpet
Tuba
Wagner tuba

5. Electrophones

Electrophones are instruments in which sound is generated by electrical means. While it is not officially in any published form of the Hornbostel-Sachs system, and hence, lacking proper numerical subdivisions, it is often considered a fifth main category.

Denis d'or
Drum machine
Hammond organ
Keyboard bass
Mellotron
Moog synthesizers
Octapad
Ondes Martenot
Rhodes piano
Synclavier
Synthesizer
Tannerin (a.k.a. Electro-Theremin)
Teleharmonium
Theremin

NaN. Instruments that do not fit into any of the above five categories

A number of instruments neither fit wholly into any one of the above 5 categories, nor can they be properly described as belonging to some combination of these categories. Within the Hornbostel Sachs system they therefore do not have a number (hence the label NaN = Not a Number).

NaN. Hydraulophones

The first three Hornbostel Sachs numbers describe instruments that make sound from matter in its solid state. The fourth HS number describes instruments that make sound from matter in its gaseous state (air). The fifth HS number describes instruments that make sound from electricity.

Recently a number of instruments have been invented, designed, and made, that make sound from matter in its liquid state. This new class of instruments is called hydraulophones. Hydraulophones use incompressible fluid such as water as the initial sound-producing medium and may also use the hydraulic fluid as a user-interface.

NaN Plasmaphones

Another category of instruments has recently been invented that use matter in higher energy states such as plasma, to produce the initial sound. These instruments are called plasmaphones. As flame is matter in a high energy state the class comprises the much older pyrophones.

NaN Non-electrophonic quintephones

A number of computational musical instruments that are not electrophones have been invented, designed, built, and used in performances. These instruments are sound synthesizers that use mechanical, optical, or other forms of non-electric computation, sampling, processing, or the like.

It has been proposed that music synthesizers that perform computation, and/or that work by recording and playback of sound samples, or the like, be referred to as quintephones. This class of instrument includes electrophones as a special case. "Natural Interfaces for Musical Expression: Physiphones and a physics-based organology", Proceedings of the 2007 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME07), Pages 118-123, June 6-10, New York, NY, USA.