Do you want to know what the names of musical instruments are?
In this exclusive guide, we are going to discuss musical instruments with names and see the difference between them.
Without further delay, let’s start learning about the names of different musical instruments in our list.
List of the Names of Musical instruments
You would be surprised to know that there are around 50 musical instruments in the world that are used for creating, playing, and revamping different types of music that you hear around the world.
Whether it is movies, music videos, songs, or even folk songs, each one of them uses some kind of musical instrument. We have created a list of all these musical instruments so that you know what they have to offer to the listeners.
1. Accordion
The accordion comes from a family of box-shaped musical instruments that carry bellows-driven free-reed aerophones. These musical boxes are often called squeezeboxes. Accordions are usually of two types – vertical and horizontal.
In Europe, vertical accordion is played while in Asia, horizontal accordion is played in Qawalis. The person playing the accordion is called an accordionist.
You can also check out Famous Accordion Players You Should Know.
2. Airhorn
Air Horns are another type of musical instrument that came from traffic horns. In the past, when buses had analog horns, drivers used air horns to warn the drivers in front.
However, today electric horns are used in almost all buses. Air horns are now used as a celebratory noise in games, sports, and even musical concerts.
3. Bell
Bells were intended during the pre-colonial era as a warning instrument. But today, they are mostly used as musical instruments in pop and jazz culture. Bells consist of a hollow steel object with a clapper that’s attached to the middle of the bell.
When it is stuck to either side, it rings a musical note. Bells are no longer used as professional musical instruments.
4. Bongo
Bongo is a drum-like musical instrument that has two drums attached together with a rope. The person playing the bongo musical instrument wears both drums on his shoulders and plays them while standing up.
The name ‘Bongo’ is derived from the animal Bongo in Tanzania. In the early centuries, Bongo drums were made exclusively from the skin of Bongo animals. Today, they are made from other fabrics.
Bongo is highly popular in American hip hop culture that has a reminiscence of Tanzanian music. Bongo musical instruments are played around the world and especially in Africa. .
5. Brass
Brass is not just a single instrument but any musical instrument made of brass such as trumpet, animal horn, tuba, or french horn would be considered as a brass musical instrument.
6. Buzz
Buzz, buzzer, or tuba is a musical instrument that creates a buzzing sound when you put it in front of your lips and blow air through it. Buzzers have gained traction in recent years because they are now used as a celebratory instrument in parties, sports and games.
Buzz musical instruments are mostly used in sports matches in the United States including Basketball and Baseball.
7. Banjo
Banjo is an animal-skin covered guitar and drum. It was first made by African Americans that worked for White Americans as slaves. During nights, they used to play Banjo and sing Jazz songs.
Banjo is created with a circular membrane of animal skin or plastic. The sound is produced in two ways, either by striking the strings or thumping the membrane on the musical instrument. It is also a famous musical instrument in South America and Africa.
You can also check out Top 10 Best Banjo Songs in 2021 (Best Songs Ever).
8. Bass
Categorically, the double bass is called a Bass musical instrument. However, the bass is an instrument that is made of wooden basses such as a violin, serpent, sousaphone, and even tuba.
It is also a popular rock and pop music instrument and is still used today in Orchestras around the world. Today electrical bass is more famous because of the built-in amplifier and better playing capabilities.
You can also check out An Exclusive Guide of Bass Clef Notes (2021).
9. Bass Guitar
A bass guitar produces low-pitched musical notes ranging between C4 and C2. The bass guitar song differs from the rest of the bass musical instrument family mostly because of the music it produces.
Other bass musical instruments like cello, violin, double bass produce high-pitched music. The Bass guitar is a famous musical instrument and is still used today for playing pop and rock music.
Bass vs Guitar 2021: Compare Size, Difficulty, Difference, and More
10. Beatbox
Beatboxes are cardboard boxes that are hollow on one side through which drum-like music is produced. The person playing beatboxing music is called a beatboxer. The sound on beatboxes is produced through sound pressure produced inside the box.
Beatbox is like mimicking drum machines using one’s mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It is not a professional musical instrument but mostly used in celebratory parties around the world.
11. Cello
A cello or violin-cello is the second cousin of Violin and Double bass musical instruments. Unlike Double bass, Cello is a lot heavier in size and played while sitting. Cello is placed in front of the person and the person has to balance the Cello on its button while playing it.
Unlike Violin, Cello has thicker strings and bigger sizes. It creates a more deep sound with low-pitched musical notes.
Check out Cello vs Bass 2021: Compare Pricing, Features, and More
12. Chime
Chimes are also called Tubular bells. It is a musical instrument that resembles church bells or bell tower bells. The tubular bells or Chimes create bell-like sounds and are mostly used in orchestras or musical concerts. Chime creates slow music and is not part of professional musical instruments.
13. Hammered Dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer also called santouri or tympanon is a stringed instrument. It has strings attached to a soundboard. The performer uses the hammered dulcimer while sitting cross-legged on the floor in a more traditional way. The dulcimer is used mostly in Europe.
It is still part of the national band in South Slovenia, Lithuania, Germany, and even France.
14. Harmonica
The harmonica is also called as the mouth organ or French Harp. It is a wind-blown instrument to create music. Harmonica has been widely used in musical genres famous around the world including blues, folk music, classical, jazz, country, and even rock.
The Harmonica instrument has sub-categories including diatonic, chromatic, orchestral, and bass. It can range in size from six inches to one foot long. Each hole of the musical instrument includes a chamber containing one reed. Most Harmonica instruments have ten air passages and twenty reeds.
15. Saxophone
The saxophone is a single-reed musical instrument made of brass. In a Saxophone, the sound is produced when the air is passed from the hollow cylinder and the reeds vibrate to produce sound waves. The performer of the saxophone can control its pitch using various holes available on top of the tube.
This musical instrument is used for treating many types of music genres including classical, concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, and occasional orchestras. Apart from that, the saxophone is also used in military parades and for creating contemporary music across Europe and US.
16. Tambourine
The tambourine is a great musical instrument that is made of either wood or plastic. It comes with small metal jingles called “zills” that produce a metallic sound when Tambourine is beaten. In the past, Tambourine drum covers were made of animal skin but today it is mostly made of woven fabric.
The musical instrument can be played as it is or it can be mounted on a drum kit. It is part of the pop culture music genre and used for playing music widely across Africa, Middle East, and Asia.
17. Timpani
Timpani is a kind of kettle drum or a vessel drum whose body is connected to a metal stand. The drum is hollow in the middle and covered by a drum cover on the top. It is played with either drumsticks or with hands.
Timpani can be tuned accurately to specific pitches through the use of a movable foot-pedal that comes attached at the bottom.
Timpani was part of the military fleet and was used to play war cries during the middle ages. It has now evolved and become part of the classical orchestra.
18. Triangle
The triangle is a metallic musical instrument that produces a bell like sound. It was at one time used to create music but today it is mostly used in hotels and restaurants – used for attracting people towards a specific cause.
Triangle has a steel triangular frame with a single metal stick that is struck to the triangle to create sound. Triangle is held using a rubber or a metallic rope.
19. Trombone
You must have seen Trombones on celebratory and funeral events. Trombone has a large, single cylinder that creates music by increasing/decreasing the length of the Trombone.
Lips are put to one small end of the Trombone and the sound is produced from the other one. Trombones are made of brass.
20. Trumpet
The trumpet is a brass musical instrument used for creating classical and jazz music. It is from the family of brass wind musical instruments and the sound is controlled using vibrations within the cylinder.
There are three buttons on top of the trumpet that create different types of sounds when pressed. Trumpets are considered as one of the most difficult instruments to learn.
You can also check out 5 Best Mic for Trumpet (Tried And Tested).
More List of the Names of Musical Instruments
Above we mentioned top list of musical instruments with names, you can also check out more list below.
- Tuba
- Ukulele
- viola
- Violin
- Whistle
- Xylophone
- Harp
- Lute
- Lyre
- Clarinet
- Cowbell
- Cymbal
- Drum
- Drum kit
- Electric Guitar
- Electric sounds
- Euphonium
- Flute
- Gong
- Guitar
- Mandolin
- Marimba
- Mic shout-outs
- Orchestra
- organ
- Piano
- Piccolo
- Record Scratch
- Recorder
Frequently Ask Questions
Q: Which are the famous musical instruments?
A: Some of the most famous musical instruments include Guitar, Piano, Drum set, Saxophone, and Violin. These are the top names of musical instruments. No musical performance is complete without using these musical instruments. These instruments are also part of every official musical concert.
Q: What instrument is hardest to play?
A: The French horn is the hardest musical instrument to play music with. There are a few reasons for that. The positioning of the lips, the shape of the musical instrument, and its overall size and weight make it even harder to create proper music.
Performers pay special attention to lip positioning because a single mistake can lead to missing a musical chord.
Final Words
These are the names and functions of the top 20 names of musical instruments. There are many more instruments that we have not covered yet and that can create impressive musical sounds.
For now, we hope that you are now aware of different musical instruments and their functioning. If you have any feedback for us, please leave a comment below.
You can also check out Best Famous Operas and How Much Does a Upright Piano Weigh.
