Tabala – Large camel-skin drum. Mauritania.
Tabla
1. A pair of Indian classical music drums. The smaller, higher-pitched one is called the tabla. The other, larger bass drum is called bayan. Both have a head made from two layers of goat skin. Acclaimed tabla players include Zakir Hussain, Bickram Ghosh, Anindo Chatterjee, Sukhwinder Singh Namdhari, Swapan Chaudhuri, Subhankar Banerjee, Shamta Prasad, Bapu Patwardhan, Shankar Ghosh, Tanmoy Bose.
2. Hourglass-shaped Egyptian and Middle Eastern drum, also called darbuka.
Tabor – Double headed rope tension drum, often played one handed. England.
Taegum – Long transverse bamboo flute. Also known as tayageum, taekeum, or daegeum. Korea.
Taganing – A set of five tuned barrel drums from Sumatra. Indonesia.
Tahitahi – Small flutes made of wood, gourd or bamboo. Madagascar.
Taiko – Any type of Japanese drums. Also known as wadaiko.
Takare – One string fiddle of the Lomwe people, also known as tagare. Mozambique.
Takebue – Bamboo transverse flute, also known as shinobue. Japan.
Talharpa – Bowed lyre from medieval Northern Europe that gradually grew in popularity in Estonia’s archipelago in the 12th century. The talharpa is experiencing a revival in Estonia and Finland.
Talking drum – West African, hourglass-shaped, pressure drum with variable pitch. The head is made out of goat skin and the shell out of carved hard wood. The drum is held and squeezed under the arm while being stroked with an “L” shaped stick, creating rich tonal variations and high-pitched sounds. It is also known as arm pit drum. There are many variations of the talking drum across Africa, including tama, dondo, odondo, lunna, donno, kalangu, doodo, tamma, tamanin, ekwe, dundun, and gangan.
Tama – Small hourglass-shaped talking drum used by the Wolof, Mandinka, and Serer people of West Africa.
Tambin – Three-hole, side blown flute of the Fula people of West Africa. Made from a conical vine, with three finger-holes. Also known as sereendu, fulannu or Fula flute.
Tambor – Tambor means drum in Spanish.
Tambora
1. Dominican two-headed drum used in merengue music. Read more about the Dominican tambora.
2. Two-headed bass drum used in traditional cumbia music. Colombia
Tambor con charchillos – Snare drum with vibrating cactus spines underneath. Peru.
Tamboril – Double-headed rope tension drum played with drumsticks. Spain.
Tamborim – Small frame drum found. Brazil.
Tambourine – Percussion instrument formed by one or two rings, with jingles or cymbals, covered with flat, stretched skin.
Tambura
1. Accompanying drone instrument. It is a large lute with 4-6 strings. Also known as tanpura. India.
2. Five-string bowl lyre. Also known as tamburah. Egypt and Sudan.
3. Long-necked fretted lute from Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and other European countries. Tamburas have four to six steel strings, and are usually played with a plectrum. In this, they resemble familiar families of instruments such as western mandolas and Greek bouzoukis.
The Bulgarian tambura is typically found in the Pirin and Shopluk regions. The long-necked fretless lute has four metal double strings (tuned E, B, G and D), which is the same as the guitar. The tuning is achieved by inserting bits of wool or silk between the strings and lower bridge and by adjusting small beads attached to the strings. In the past, the tambura was a two-stringed instrument with one solo string and a drone string. [source: Valeri Dimchev]
Tamburello – Tambourine with jingles from southern Italy.
Tamburitza – Long-necked lute. Also known as tamburica. Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia.
Tammorra – Large tambourine with the drum head made of dried sheep or goat skin. Italy.
Tam Thap Luc – Vietnamese version of the hammered dulcimer. The hammered dulcimer was introduced to China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and made its way to Vietnam.
Tanbur – 1. General term for various long-necked fretted lutes of the Middle East and Central Asia. 2. Maltese frame drum.
Tantan – A single-headed bass drum. Brazil.
Tapan – Bulgarian and Macedonian double-headed barrel drum, 50 to 60cm in diameter.
Tar
1. A lute that is widespread in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran and the Caucasus.
2. Large Egyptian frame drum.
Taragot – A traditional folk music shawm. Romania, Hungary.
Taralila – Hexagonal concertina. Madagascar.
Tarhu – A spiked fiddle created by Australian luthier Peter Biffin in the 1980s. Biffin experimented with the Chinese erhu and the Middle Eastern tar and came up with this new creation. The tarhu has a long thin neck made of Blackwood, a small round body also made of Blackwood, and four strings. Biffin made several variations of the tarhu, including the Longneck tarhu and the kamancha tarhu.
Tarka – Andean wooden 6-hole flute with mouthpiece. Bolivia, Peru.
Tarogato – Single-reed instrument, 30-40cm long. Hungary.
Tarrañolas – Galician castanets. Can be made out of wood, slate, stone or pork ribs. Spain.
Tavil – Barrel bass drum from Tamil Nadu made out of jackfruit wood. India.
Tawak – Large deep Iban gongs that to each other. The tawak anak produces the ngembua or question, while the tawak indu ‘replies’ with the peningkul sound. These have a large and prominent boss and is struck with padded beaters usually made of rubber. Sarawak, Malaysia. (sources: Sayu Ateng and Bisayah Gong Orchestra)
Tbal – Large North African side drum. Also known as tbel. Morocco, Mauritania.
Tebal – A Saharawi drum of about 60 centimeters in diameter, made of a dug out wooden bowl and leather from the skin of a camel or goat. It is played with the hands, almost exclusively by women, producing a dry and deep sound at the same time.
Teharden – Three stringed Tuareg lute that resemble instruments used by other Africans. The teharden consists of a canoe-shaped wooden resonance chamber covered with a goatskin. A neck supports three strings that were once horsehair but are now synthetic. The teharden is only played by men. Mali, Algeria. (source: Tartit)
Tef – Frame drum. Egypt, Turkey.
Tejoletas – Two independent wooden sticks that are held by the fingers and slapped against each other, like castanets. Traditionally made out of hardwood, flat stone or tiles (tejas in Spanish). Spain.
Tekerőlant – Hungarian hurdy gurdy, also known as tekerő and nyenyere.
Televi- Two small gourds filled with seeds and attached to each end of a string Ghana.
Telenn – Breton harp. France.
Temir komuz – Iron Jew’s harp. Kyrgyzstan.
Tenbur – A Kurdish long-necked lute from eastern Anatolia that is related to the Turkish saz. Also known as tenbûr, tembûr and tembur.
Teponaztli – Pre-Hispanic slit drum made out of hardwood. Mexico.
Tetsu-zutsu – A bells made from metal pipes. Japan.
Texoletas – Galician version of the tejoletas. Spain.
Tham Thap Luc – Tham thap luc is the Vietnamese name for 36, but is also the name for the Vietnamese version of the hammered dulcimer. Now found throughout Asia, the hammered dulcimer was introduced to southern China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and made its way from there to Vietnam. Source: Khac Chi.
Thianou – Straw harp. Burkina Faso.
Thimilai- A hand drum used in coastal communities in the state of Kerala. India.
Ti – A bamboo or wooden horizontal flute, also known as dizi. China.
Tidinit – A Saharawi instrument of dug out wood and a leather cover, similar to a four-stringed lute. Western Sahara.
Timbal – A conical shaped drum from the Bahia region of Brazil, played with both hands.
Timbales – Timbales are a pair of shallow, single-headed, tunable drums. Each drum has a metal shell and often has tuned cowbell or cymbal attached to the timbales drum stand. The drums originated in Cuba, but can be found throughout Latin music. The performers are known as timbaleros. The timbales are used extensively in salsa music and Latin jazz. The most famous timbalero was Tito Puente.
Timbalitos – A smaller version of the timbales, tuned at higher pitches, and often added to the timbales to make up a set of four. Cuba.
Timbila – Traditional xylophone with resonators made from fruits of the masala tree. Mozambique.
Timbrel – Tambourine with jingles. Latvia.
Timple – A small guitar with 5 nylon strings from the Canary Islands. Some timples in the northern part of the island of Tenerife only had four strings. Similar small guitars are found in other parts of Spain and Spanish-speaking America. The timple is very similar to the cavaquinho and the ukulele.
Some of the most important timple players include Totoyo Millares, the late José Antonio Ramos, Domingo Rodríguez Oramas “El Colorao” and Benito Cabrera. The new generation of timple musicians includes José Domingo Curbelo, Alexis Lemes, Althay Páez, Beselch Rodríguez, Yone Rodríguez, Pedro Izquierdo, Germán López, Josele del Pino, Gabriel García, Abraham Ramos Chodo, Abraham Ramos Sánchez, Javier Castro-Gomis, Juan Pablo Pérez López and Jesús Martín. The timple is also known as guitarrillo. Spain.
Tindé – Tuareg drum played exclusively by women. The tinde is made from a small wooden mortar that the women use to grind grains, and which is covered with a goatskin. Until recently only women from the servant tribes were allowed to play the tinde; now, any woman may play it. The percussive sounds of the tinde and the soloist’s song are generally accompanied by a female chorus and by hand-clapping on the off-beat. Mali, Algeria. (source: Tartit)
Tin-whistle – A six-hole whistle made from a tin plate, with a mouthpiece. Also known as pennywhistle. Ireland.
Tiompán – An ancient Irish stringed instrument. More recently, tiompan has been used to describe the hammered dulcimer.
Tiple – A small stringed instrument derived from the guitar family, and used in Puerto Rico’s música campesina as well as other types of Latin American music with Spanish roots. The Puerto Rican tiple uses 3,4, 5 or 10 metal strings. The Colombian tiple has 12 strings. The timple derives from the Spanish guitarrillo.
Tischharfe – Table zither made out of mahogany and maple wood. It can be both plucked and bowed. Germany.
Ti-tze – Transverse bamboo flute. Also known as dizi or ti. China.
Tlapitzalli – Small Pre-Hispanic clay flute, sometimes shaped in the shape of a snake. Mexico.
Toere – Slit log drum made out of hollowed-out milo wood, played with one stick. Tahiti.
Tof – Frame drum without jingles. Also known as toph, timbrel or tabret. Israel.
Toke – Canoe shaped iron bell held in palm of the hand and struck with an iron beater. Also known as apitua and banana. Ghana.
Tololoche – A 3-4 string bass guitar used in Mexican regional music.
Tömör khuur – Mongolian mouth harp made out of metal.
Tombak – Iranian goblet drum named after the two basic sounds – the deep “tom” and the bright “bak”. The instrument consists of a body covered with a drumhead (of goat or camel), and a neck. A tombak drum is normally between 42 and 46 cm high and the drumhead’s diameter is between 25 to 29 cm. The instrument is made of nut or mulberry, which generates a distinctive sound.
When playing tombak, the instrument is held diagonally above the knee. You play with the wrists and fingertips. (source: Kaveh Mahmudiyan). Also known as tonbak, donbak, dombak and zarb.
Ton Dhar – Small Tibetan wooden drum used in Buddhist rituals. It is shaped like an hourglass, with two pieces of string at the end of which are small round strikers. The drum is turned rapidly left and right. The strikers whip around and alternately strike each drum head. Also known as damaru.
Tonbak – A goblet drum. Also known as tombak, donbak, dombak and zarb. Iran.
Tongling – Small bronze bell. China.
Ton Patala – Iron xylophone. Myanmar.
Topan – Balkan drum covered at each open end with stretched leather. Also known as tupan.
Topshuur – Long-necked 2 or 3-string lute played by the Altai Urianghais, the Altais, and the Tuvans of Asia. Also known as topshur and tovshuur. Since time immemorial, the topshur has accompanied the tales told by storytellers about the exploits of great warriors. But the topshuur is also used as an accompanying instrument for meditative and even humorous songs. The instrument is found in Mongolia and the Russian Federation republics of Tuva and Altai.
Torupill – Estonian bagpipe.
Totodzi – Small open-bottom barrel drum used as a master drum. Ghana.
Tovshuur – Mongolian lute. See Topshuur above.
Tramporgel – Harmonium or pump organ. Sweden.
Tres – A three-stringed (or 3 double courses of strings) guitar from the Spanish Caribbean. Popular in Cuba and Puerto Rico, the tres is derived from the Spanish guitar.
Treshchokti – A clapper used in traditional music. Russia.
Triangle- Percussion instrument made of a rod of steel bent into the shape of a triangle, open at one corner, and sounded by striking with a metal rod.
Trideksnis – A bell tree with a wooden handle and three layers of bells made of copper or brass. It’s shaken as a rattle or hit against the palm of the hand. Latvia.
Trikitixa – Basque diatonic accordion. Spain.
Triple harp – Traditional harp. Wales.
Tro khmer – three-string bowed instrument. The body is made from coconut, covered on one end with snake skin. Cambodia.
Trombita – Long horn (up to 6 meters long). The trombita was originally used for signalling and for communication among shepherds on their pastures because of its superb and powerful. It is made from pine wood. The trombita was inscribed in the List of Intangible Heritage of Slovakia in November 2017.
Trompa – Jew’s harp. Also known as arpa de boca and guimbarda. Spain.
Trompe – Jew’s harp used by the Mapuche Indians. Chile.
Trompeta china – A reeded trumpet of Chinese origin, brought to Havana, Cuba during colonial times and played during carnival.
Trstenice – A shepherd’s pan flute with the longest reed in the middle. Also known as Croatian panpipe, trstenica, or orglica.
Trunfa- Sardinian jew’s harp. Italy.
T ‘rung – Suspended bamboo xylophone, native to the Jarai people of south central Vietnam. The original instruments were simply made, using a series of bamboo pipes struck with small sticks. The modern t’rung has three rows of pipes spanning three full octaves and is fully chromatic. The t’rung has become a popular instrument in Vietnam because of its ability to imitate the sound of water. Source: Khac Chi.
Tsambal – Small hammered dulcimer. Also known as sambal. Romania.
Tsambuna – Double-chantered bagpipe with no drone and goatskin bag. The tsambuna is common in the Greek islands. Also known as tsanpuna. Greece.
Tsimbl – Cimbalom in Yiddish.
Tsugaru shamisen – Originating from China, the tsugaru shamisen is a three-string, long-necked, fretless lute. The musicians of Japan began developing their own way of playing it, using a bachi (a large pick). It was primarily used as a background instrument for folk singers in the 18th and 19th Centuries, but as its popularity grew, it became an important instrument in Japanese Classical Music and appreciated as a solo instrument in the 20th Century.
Tsugaru refers to the Tsugaru district in the Aomori Prefecture (the northern tip of mainland Japan).
The Tsugaru-Shamisen, known for its ‘bluesy’ and powerful sound, has been said to be like a howling of one’s soul: a natural expression of the strength people acquired in learning to survive in the harsh climate of the Tsugaru region.
Tsuzumi – Hourglass-shaped drum with two heads, fastened by rope. Japan.
Ttun-ttun – A hand-held Basque and Navarran dulcimer consisting of a long resonant block of wood with six strings. The strings are struck with a wooden bow to produce a harmonic and rhythmic drone. Also known as salterio, tambor de cuerdas, chun-chun, and chicotén. Spain.
Tuba – Lowest-pitched brass instrument (aerophone) with 3-6 valves. Variations includes sousaphone, euphonium, bombardon, helicon, and saxhorn.
- Tuba Exchange – a musical instrument and repair shop.
Tubular bells – Vertical metal tubes hanging from a frame that produce bell sounds. They are played with mallets. It is a common western classical orchestral instrument. British musician Mike Oldfield popularized tubular bells in the 1970s.
Tugangay – Filipino bamboo buzzer. Also known as batu-tu is and devil chaser. Philippines.
Tulum – A double chanter polyphonic bagpipe. known as called guda in Lazuri. Turkey.
Tumbadora – A set of two or more vertical barrel drums, about 120 cms long. It is played with the palms of the hand. It’s also called conga drum or congas. Cuba.
Tumbi- A small single stringed instrument from the region of Punjab. It consists of a dried, hardened gourd with a stick going through it, and 1 string. The gourd is sliced and a parchment is stretched across the hole. The string is attached to a bridge, which rests on the parchment. The tumbi is used in traditional folk music and bhangra.
Tungur – Siberian frame drum.
Tuohitorvi- Karelian wooden trumpet.
Tusselfloyte – Wooden flute. Norway.
Twienshins – Kpanlogo hand drums. Ghana.
Txalaparta – Basque spelling of the chalaparta, an ancient Basque and Navarran percussion instrument. The chalaparta is made of one or more planks of wood, stone or steel bars. The players strike the planks, using batons made of wood or iron. One player keeps the basic rhythm while the other fills the gap, creating a rhythm counterpoint. Spain.
Txanbela – Basque spelling of the chanbela, a double-reed instrument. Spain.
Txirula- Basque spelling of the chirula, a small wooden flute with a metal mouthpiece. Spain.
Txistu – Basque spelling of the chistu, a traditional flute with three finger holes and a metal mouthpiece.
Tyling – Tibetan flute from eastern Tibet.
Tzicahuiztli – Pre-Hispanic scraper made from human bones. Mexico.
Tzouras- Long-necked lute. Greece.
