List of minor instruments
Instruments that are smaller than a breadbox. Sometimes, they play in major keys.
Autoharp
If you're looking to play some chords as opposed to a beautiful melody, the autoharp is a good choice for you. You only need buttons and some strumming to play it. However, do note as they wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Deceptichords.
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument consisting of enclosed reeds which are fed air from an air-filled bag. it could be leather, plaid, or anything, really. Bagpipes are used in many cultures, from Galicia to Bulgaria to Iran, though the most famous bagpipe is the Great Highland bagpipe, which is from Scotland.
Balafon
The balafon is a West African ancestor of the modern marimba. It notably uses gourds as resonators under the keys.
Bongos
Bongos are a pair of small, differently sized Afro-Cuban drums named hembra (the larger drum) and macho (the smaller drum). They are played by a bongosero using their hands, usually in between their legs, though they can sometimes be mounted on stands and/or played using sticks or mallets. Bongos are popular in son cubano and salsa, alongside congas and timbales, and curiously enough, they look just like bongoberries, to the point where they are the latter's namesake.
Bugle
The bugle is a melancholy minitrumpet used to evoke a long, bloody day on the battlefield. Mournful pieces include "Taps" and "The Last Post".
Celesta
The celesta is the unwanted page of the Celestials from MSM. Its enchanting timbre makes the Sugar Plum Fairy want to dance.
Clarinet
The clarinet is Squidward's prized possession. Without a clarinet, Squidward wouldn't even be on the big screen.
Clavichord
When a harpsichord gains an extra clavicle, you get a clavichord. This is because the minimum number of notes in a chord is 3.
Congas
Congas are barrel-shaped Cuban drums that are played in pairs or triplets. They are close cousins of the smaller bongos and the timbales, which have evolved different heads. In the natural world, congas are the namesake of the fabled conga tree, which produces wood and bark of a vibrant crimson hue.
Cor angalais
Cor anglais means English horn in French. This double-reed woodwind instrument is most prominently featured in "The Ecstasy of Gold", one of the most iconic tracks from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, where it is heard 6 seconds in.
Duda
Duda is the female version of the character, Dude. You can tell that they're a girl because they have an A in the place of the second E in their name, indicating that they're female. They took their name from a Hungarian bagpipe.
Duduk
Armenia's most famous indigenous instrument is the duduk. It is made of apricot and creates a rich, eerie timbre.
Dulcimer
The word dulcimer usually refers to either of the two instruments with low phenotypic similarity:
Hammered dulcimer
Players of the hammered dulcimer, much like a piano, use hammers to strike the strings. Bartolomeo Cristofori was actually inspired by the hammered dulcimer to make the first piano.
Appalachian dulcimer
Despite being a zither, much like the hammered dulcimer, the Appalachian dulcimer or mountain dulcimer is strummed on the player's lap.
Euphonium
Euphonium is a metal that is known for its resonance. It has only been discovered in the form of its signature instrument, also called euphonium.
Fortepiano
The fortepiano was the first piano ever, made by Bartolomeo Cristofori. The last fortepianos were made in the turn of the 19th century. Ludwig van Beethoven would've played one of these when he was composing Moonlight Sonata. They call it a forte piano because it can be both loud and a piano.
French horn
The French horn comes from France. Once an important Parisian traditional instrument, it has since been added to the modern orchestra in the works of many French composers. Oh la la!
Gendèr
I didn't make this up. There really is an instrument called gendèr. It's a metallophone used in Javanese and Balinese gamelan.
Glockenspiel
Drake and his xylophone were immediately challenged with the creation of the glockenspiel. A German invention, its name essentially means "bell play". The glockenspiel has the same ringy tone, except it was made to be more durable, using the finest steel.
Gong
The gong is a percussion instrument that comes in many flavours. The most familiar gong to most Westerners is the chau gong, known in its adult forme as the tam-tam. Though it is heavily associated with China, other gongs have been used in China as well. When you hit a chau gong, you hear a crashing sound that is sure to mesmerize.
Great Highland bagpipe
The Great Highland bagpipe is the most famous bagpipe. First appearing in Scotland, they now have a cosmopolitan distribution, clumping in pipe bands around the world, from Brittany to Jordan.
Harpsichord
The harpsichord is one of the most successful ancestors of the piano. It help shaped Baroque music, and Antonio Vivaldi loved it.
Hurdy gurdy
Hurdy gurdy is the weirdest name for a musical instrument I've ever seen. Even then, the instrument is weird as well. It requires you to turn a crank which spins a wheel, which in turn rubs the strings, making them vibrate.
Hyōshigi
Hyōshigi are Japanese clappers consisting of two pieces of hardwood or bamboo connected by rope. They are regularly heard in traditional Japanese theatre, including kabuki and bunraku.
Jaw harp
The jaw harp is a bouncy lamellophone that adds some twangy flair to one's song.
Kalimba
In modern terms, the kalimba is basically a modern Westernized version of the OG Zimbabwean instrument, the mbira. You use your fingers to pluck metal keys. Introduced outside of Zimbabwe by Hugh Tracey, kalimbas are now renowned for their soothing tone. It even appears in Minecraft's OST.
The moden kalimba is not the only instrument to be named kalimba. The name was taken from an ancesator of the modern mbira.
Khaen
The melodious khaen is a mouth organ from Laos and northern Thailand. Over the past few years, this bamboo aerophone has received clout through the likes of TikTok with the help of Hal Walker. Nowadays, the khaen is considered to be the greatest instrument of all time.
*IT* is lowkey gliding...
Kora
The kora is a West African string instrument with 21 strings. It is actually a cross between a lute and a harp. It is built on a gourd cut in half and covered with cowskin. Its long neck is made of hardwood.
Lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar is a type of guitar played on the lap. Unlike most guitars, changing the pitch of the lap steel guitar is done by sliding a steel bar against the strings. Lap steel guitars are commonly associated with Hawaii; despite not being a precolonial indigenous instrument, its inventor was Kānaka Maoli.
Lithophone
Rock music had its origins with the simple lithophone. The rocks used for lithophones now come in all shapes and sizes, despite it being replaced with electric guitars.
Lyre
Lyres are a subclass of lute that look like a U-shaped harp. How deceiving. Lyres go back to ancient times, as far back at 2700 BC in Mesopotamia.
The lyrebird is the largest lyre in the world, and the only one with biological features. It can also make any noise with any timbre, including laser sounds.
Mandolin
The mandolin is a tiny Italian lute, and the plucked version of the violin.
Oboe
| “ | That trilobite didn't know an oboe from an elbow. | ” |
The oboe is a double-reeded woodwind instrument. Derived from the older shawms, the oboe turned from a loud and powerful instrument to one that sometimes performs beautiful solos, like in Swan Lake.
Omnichord
The Omnichord is very special. It can play every chord you can imagine, from major and minor to augmented and diminished. Just strum the metal bit while holding the buttons that play the chord, and you're in for an exciting jam session!
Oud
The oud is among the most important instruments in Middle Eastern music, used from Iran to Morocco.
Ancestry
Ancestry.com found that the oud is the ancestor to many lutes around the world. It travelled through the Silk Road and evolved into the Chinese pipa, which in turn evolved into the Japanese biwa, Korean bipa, and Vietnamese đàn tỳ bà. Furthermore, it came to Europe and evolved into the European lute, which in turn became the modern guitar, alongside the mandolin, ukulele, cavaquinho, charango, and Portuguese guitar. All that from a single Middle Eastern instrument.
Piccolo trumpet
The piccolo trumpet is a baby trumpet. It was used billions of years ago during sunsets when the sun was a baby.
Piccolo violin
The piccolo violin is a baby violin. It is used in baby concerts and is Baby Stradivari's prized possession.
Saraswati veena
The Saraswati veena is a large South Indian lute used in Carnatic music. One of several types of veena, it was named after Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, and learning. In Soul, Dancerstar says she is playing it in Tibet, which, as far as I remember, doesn't really use the Saraswati veena in traditional music.
Shakuhachi
The shakuhachi is a soothing Japanese flute traditionally made of bamboo. They were famously used by wandering Zen Buddhist monks called komusō.
Shamisen
The shamisen is a Japanese lute that was first used in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. The player plucks the strings using a large plectrum called bachi, like they do with the biwa. The bachi is larger than a normal guitar pick.
The noted ability for the shamisen player to generate an electric forcefield while playing has drastically changed the perception of the instrument—and kabuki—forever.
See also
- Koto; despite being in a different clade, it was also mentioned in that episode.
Singing
Using your voice as an instrument, an act known as singing, is such a vibe, especially when people do it in harmony. Heck, even monsters can sing.
Sitar
The sitar is the predominant instrument of Hindustani music, the classical music of North India. It provides a rich, soothing timbre that puts the listener in awe. The sitar's popularity exploded through the performances of Ravi Shankar, its most famous virtuoso.
Sousaphone
The sousaphone, a close cousin of the tuba, is a big and cumbersome brass instrument. Such traits make it a highly cherished instrument. Sousaphones are most prominently used in marching bands.
Steelpan
The steelpan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. It has a bright timbre, reminiscent of relaxation in a Caribbean island.
Trombone
Though skeletons like the xylophone, their favourite instrument is the trombone. With a deep, loud tone and a sliding thingy, it is best played when mom isn't home, because that's when you become cool.
Trivia
- TROMBONE was the ninth Teatime Teaser on Countdown during the Wiki Camp 2's existence. The anagram was BOOM RENT, and the hint was "You'll need good lungs if you're going to take this up."
Vibraphone
The vibraphone is the instrument that gives every post-Boomer generation a trip down memory lane.
Vibraslap
The vibraslap is an instrument with a funny sound. Even the name itself gives its buzzing personality away.
Viol
The viols were the forerunners of the modern violin family. They were once abundant in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, but competition from the violin and cello drove them to their modern status as extinct in the wild.
Viola
The viola is the violin's big sibling.
Viola d'amore
The viola d'amore (viol of love) is a baroque string instrument with sympathetic strings. It sends Cupid to sleep with its ethereal tunes.
Waterphone
The waterphone is an aqueous percussion instrument. It is used whenever Gordon Ramsay realizes your steak is raw.
Zither
Zithers are a clade of string instruments found in many cultures around the world. Though they greatly vary phenotypically (see the guqin and autoharp), they each share the same chemical structure—strings over a board.
Concert zither
The stereotypical zither is the concert zither, which has a lot of strings and a fretboard under some more strings.