| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cor Anglais |  | Germany | The cor anglais, or English horn, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument. It is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a fifth lower than the oboe (a C instrument), and is consequently approximately one-third longer. The fingering and playing technique used for the cor anglais are essentially the same as those of the oboe. Its sounding range stretches from the E (or, rarely, E flat) below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C. The cor anglais is generally regarded as the alto member of the family, and the oboe d'amore, pitched between the two in the key of A, is the mezzo-soprano member. The term "cor anglais" literally means "English horn", but the cor anglais is neither English nor a horn. |
| Cornamuse |  | Europe | The cornamuse is a windcap double reed instrument dating from the Renaissance period. It is similar in many ways to the crumhorn and rauschpfeife, although unlike those instruments, the bell of the cornamuse is closed, resulting in a much quieter sound. In Syntagnum Musicum, Michael Praetorius described their sound as "quite similar to crumhorns, but quieter, lovelier, and very soft." However, there are no extant cornamusen from the period, and so all modern reproductions are based on paintings and the description in Praetorius. The image shows an alto cornamuse in F, made of pear wood. |
| Cornemuse |  | France | The Center-France bagpipes (called in French cornemuse du centre or musette du centre) are of many different types, some mouth blown, some bellows blown; some names for these instruments include chevrette (which means "little goat," referring to the use of a goatskin for its bag), chabrette, chabretta, chabreta, cabreta, bodega, and boha. It can be found in the Bourbonnais, Nivernais, and Morvan regions of France. |
| Cornet |  | Europe | The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B♭. It is not related to the medieval cornett or cornetto. The cornet was originally derived from the post horn. Sometimes it is called a cornopean, which refers to the earliest cornets with the Stölzel valve system. |
| Cornett |  | Europe | The cornett, cornetto or zink is an early wind instrument, dating from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. The cornett takes the form of a tube, typically about 60 cm. long, made of ivory, wood, or, in the case of some modern reconstructions of historical instruments, ebony resin, with woodwind-style finger holes. |
| Cornu |  | Italy | The Cornu was a type of brass instrument similar to the Buccina used by the Roman army of antiquity mainly for communicating orders to troops in battle. It is a Latin word literally meaning horn. The instrument was about 3m (11 feet) long and took the form of a letter 'G'. The instrument was braced by a crossbar that stiffened the structure and provided a means of supporing the instrument's weight on the player's shoulder. |
| Cowbell |  | United States | The cowbell is an idiophone hand percussion instrument used in various styles of music incuding salsa and infrequently in popular music. It is named after the similar bell historically used by herdsmen to keep track of the whereabouts of cows. There are numerous examples of the cowbell being featured as an instrument in popular music. An early pop recording example is Hugh Masekela's 1968 instrumental "Grazin' in the Grass". The image shows a display of cowbells formerly used by farmers in the Appalachian region of the United States, in the Museum of Appalachia. |
| Crotales |  | France | Crotales (pronounced "kro-tah'-les"), sometimes called antique cymbals, are percussion instruments consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks. Each is about 4 inches in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly played by being struck with hard mallets. However, they may also be played by striking two disks together in the same manner as finger cymbals, or by bowing. Their sound is rather like a small tuned bell, only with a much brighter sound, and a much longer resonance. |
| Crotalum |  | Greece | In classical antiquity, a crotalum was a kind of clapper or castanet used in religious dances by groups in ancient Greece and elsewhere, including the Korybantes. |
| Crumhorn |  | Europe | The crumhorn is a musical instrument of the woodwind family, most commonly used during the Renaissance period. In modern times, there has been a revival of interest in Early Music, and crumhorns are being played again. The crumhorn is a capped reed instrument. Its construction is similar to that of the chanter of a bagpipe. A double reed is mounted inside a windcap at one end of a long pipe. Blowing into the windcap produces a musical note. The pitch of the note can be varied by opening or closing finger holes along the length of the pipe. The image shows a modern alto crumhorn in f with keys. |
| Crwth |  | Wales | The crwth is an archaic stringed musical instrument, associated particularly with Wales, although once played widely in Europe. The crwth consists of a fairly simple box construction with a flat, fretless fingerboard and six gut strings, purportedly tuned gg´c´c´´d´d´´. The crwth can be played on the shoulder like a violin, between the knees like a cello, on the lap held either upright or at a slightly oblique angle across the player's torso against the left shoulder, or braced against the chest, supported with a strap around the player's neck. |
| Cuatro |  | Puerto Rico | The cuatro is the national instrument of Puerto Rico. It belongs to the lute family of string instruments. Very little is known about the exact origin of the Cuatro. However, most experts believe that the Cuatro has existed on the island in one form or another for about 400 years. The Spanish instrument that it is most closely related to is the vihuela poblana (also known as the Medieval/Renaissance guitar), which had 4 courses, 2 strings each for 8 strings in total as well as the Spanish Medieval/Renaissance 4 course citola and the Spanish laud. |
| Cuica |  | Brazil | Cuíca (pronounced KWEE-kah) is a Brazilian friction drum often used in samba music. The tone it produces has a high-pitched squeaky timbre. The body of the cuíca is normally made of metal. It has a single head, normally six to ten inches in diameter (15-25 cm), made of animal skin. A thin bamboo stick is attached to the centre of, and perpendicular to, the drum head, stretching into the drum's interior. The instrument is held under one arm at chest height with the help of a shoulder strap. To play the cuíca, the musician rubs the stick up and down with a wet cloth held in one hand, using the thumb of the other hand to press down on the skin of the drum near the place where the stick is attached. The rubbing motion produces the sound and the pitch is increased or decreased by changing the pressure on the thumb. |
| Culoepuya |  | Venezuela | The culo'e puya drums, also known as culoepuya, culo e puya, or culepuya, are a battery of three small drums (prima, cruzao, and pujao) originally from Venezuela, with a Kongo lineage. They are used in an ensemble also known as redondo drums, after the dance motion and the circle which forms around the dancers during performance. |
| Cümbüş |  | Turkey | The cümbüş is a Turkish stringed instrument of relatively modern origin. Developed in the early 20th century by Zeynel Abidin Cümbüş as an oud-like instrument that could be heard as part of a larger ensemble. In construction it resembles both the American banjo and the Middle Eastern oud. A fretless instrument, it has six courses of doubled-strings, and is generally tuned like an oud. In shape, though, it closely resembles the banjo with a metal resonator bowl and skin body head. It has a loud, metallic, resonant tone and is widely heard in Middle Eastern popular music. |
| Cymbal |  | Egypt | Cymbals (Fr. cymbales; Dutch "Bekkens"; Ger. Becken; Ital. piatti or cinelli; Por. pratos), are a modern percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various cymbal alloys. Cymbals are used in modern orchestras and many military, marching, concert and other bands. They are one of the two instrument types that form the modern drum kit. The origins of cymbals can be traced back to prehistoric times. The ancient Egyptian cymbals closely resembled our own. The British Museum possesses two pairs, thirteen centimetres in diameter, one of which was found in the coffin of the mummy of Ankhhape, a sacred musician. |
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