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Folk and World Music Instruments

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Valiha - Malagasy zither made of a bamboo tube strung with metal (or rarely bamboo) strings stretched lengthwise all around the tube.

Vanlig fele - Norwegian fiddle.  

Veena - See vina.

Velas delis - Latvian washboard.

Vella bumgas - See devil drum.

Ve Ve - bamboo buzzers from the highland regions of Vietnam. Similar instruments are found in many regions of Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They have become a common instrument in dance music (Courtesy of Khac Chi).

Vibraphone – a xylophone with motor-driven metal resonators.

Vielle - French name for the hurdy gurdy.

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Vihuela - 1. An important plucked instrument in the Renaissance. The body of the vihuela was guitar-shaped but its strings were tuned like those of a lute. It was confined almost exclusively to Spain, where it was generally associated with the aristocracy. 2. Plucked instrument of the guitar family popular in parts of Spanish America. It is very similar to the Spanish Renaissance vihuela. The vihuela design includes a belly for added resonance and has five single courses of strings.

Vina - south Indian string instrument. It has 24 copper frets with four playing strings and three drone strings.

Viola - 1. Synonym for guitar (Argentina). 2. In the violin family, the alto instrument, played under the chin.

Viola Campaniça - an ancient folk guitar from Alentejo, Portugal.

Viola amarantina - Portuguese guitar with 5 pairs of metal strings. The sound hole is shaped in the fork of two hearts.

Viola braguesa - Portuguese guitar with 5 pairs of metal strings.

Viola beiroa - a highly ornamented Portuguese guitar.

Viola campaniça - a Portuguese guitar that has nearly disappeared. Long ago it was popular in most of Low Alentejo region, but nowadays it is circumscribed to only two or three counties and barely half a dozen players. The characteristic sound is made by five groups of double strings, made out of steel and brass. Its use, today, is practically reduced to the accompaniment of songs.

Viola d'arame - Portuguese string instrument. Like the Portuguese guitar, it has five strings which are plucked with the fingersbut it is more like the Spanish guitar in shape, longer and narrower than the instrument the Portuguese call the guitar. Traditionally the sound holes are cut in the shape of two small hearts.

Violâo - Brazilian term for guitar.

Violí - Greek term for violin.

Violin - a bowed 4-string instrument originating during the 17th century, characterized by rounded backs and shoulders. The folk violin is known as fiddle.

Vladimir horn - See Rhozok.

Volinka - Ukranian bagpipe.

Volynka - Russian bagpipe with 1 or 2 drones.

Last Updated Thursday, June 03 2004 @ 06:58 PM EDT|14,795 Hits