Guide to Cajón

A photo of the percussion instrument Cajón

The Cajon is a percussion instrument that initially came from Peru. The word Cajon is derived from the Spanish word meaning a box, drawer, crate, or even coffin. It is an instrument that has six sides and is typically played by hitting the instrument with their hands as they sit at the … Read more

Guide to Baglama

A photo of the baglama instrument

The Baglama has been one of the popular stringed instruments in Turkey for about centuries. This instrument is also sometimes referred to as saz, which means ‘Instrument.’ In turkey, the term saz is relatively interchangeable with the saz, which refers to the plucked string, long-neck lute instruments that were used in the … Read more

Guide to Balaban

A photo of the Balaban instrument

Musical instruments are one of the essential indicators of the close cultural ties between the people. These ties were primarily reflected through appearances, titles, or essential tools that they were using. One example of this is the ancient instrument called Balaban. The Balaban is one of the wind instruments notable in Azerbaijan. … Read more

Guide to Batá drum

A photo of the Batá drum

Throughout the world, several types of drums had been created and were commonly used in religious ceremonies. One of these drums is the Batá drum. In its introduction in the 1820s, southwestern Nigerian people perceived this drum as an essential part of their culture. A Batá drum is an hourglass-shaped percussion instrument … Read more

Guide to Bass Pedal

A photo of the 1970s EKO K1 bass pedal

During the earlier times, pedal boards have been the standard feature on pipe organs for about centuries. In fact, electromechanical organs like the Hammond organ has a pedal board. However, in the 1970s, electronic organ makers noticed that musicians seek for organs that they could take on a gig at bars or … Read more

Guide to Balafon

A photo of a Balafon instrument

The balafon is a type of struck idiophone as categorized in the Hornbostel-Sachs musical instrument. In the Malinke language, the instrument balafon is a combination of two words ‘Balan,’ the name of the instrument, and ‘fon,’ which means to play. Therefore, the word balafon is the act of playing the instrument, Bala. … Read more

Guide to Autoharp

A photo of a modern autoharp

The autoharp is part of the chorded zither family that features a series of chord bars attached to the instrument’s dampers. When these chord bars are pressed, it muted all the strings rather than creating the desired chord. Initially, the name autoharp was a trademark of a musical instrument company, Oscar Schmidt, … Read more

Guide to Aulos

A photo of a man playing the auloi

An aulos (pl. auloi), also known as tibia in Latin, is an ancient Greek wind instrument that is most commonly depicted in arts. This wind instrument was played by an aulete or aulist, a musician who plays the aulos. Meanwhile, a singer who sang the accompaniment to a piece played on the … Read more