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

Guide to Archlute

A photo of an archlute

The archlute is a specialized European string instrument that was developed around 1600. Although it was called archlute, it also has several name variations depending on the country where it is used. Some name variations include archilaud in Spanish, erzlaute in German, and arciliuto in Italian. The archlute was developed as a … Read more

Guide to Babendil

A photo of the instrument called Babendil

Babandil or Babendil is a narrow-rimmed gong that is primarily used in the Maguindanao kulintang ensemble as a timekeeper. It has several names that vary depending on the region, such as babendir in Maguindanao, and Babndir for the Maranao people. For other Southern Philippine groups, the babendil is called bandil, babendil, babendil, … Read more

Guide to Alto Horn

A black and white photograph of Kate Westbrook playing the alto horn

The Alto horn is a wind instrument that is a part of the saxhorn family. Ithas several names, including tenor horn (British English), althorn or alto horn (American), and E♭ horn (Germany). The interior chamber of the alto horn, called the bore, is conical in shape like the fluegelhorn and baritone horn. … Read more

Guide to Algerian Mandole

A photo of Lounès Matoub holding the Algerian Mandole, 1975

The Algerian mandole, also called mandol or mondol, is a stringed instrument that resembles the elongated instrument, mandolin. Among its other names, the mandole is also referred to as mandoluth when played by Hakim Hamadouche, a musician. This steel fretted instrument is widely used in Algeria, specifically in Nuubat (Algerian classical music), … Read more