| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dabakan |  | Philippines | The dabakan is a single-headed Philippine drum, primarily used as a supportive instrument in the kulintang ensembles, which have been playing for centuries in regions of the Eastern Malay Archipelago. The dabakan is frequently described as either hour-glass, conical, tubular, or goblet in shape. Normally, the dabakan is found having a length of more than two feet and a diameter of more than a foot. |
| Dadaiko |  | Japan | The dadaiko is a pair of large barrel drums (around two meters in diameter) that are used for Gagaku (Japanese court music) and religious ceremonies. Dadaiko is one of the oldest styles of taiko used in Japan, dating from at least the 7th century. The drum on the left is used for the left repertoire (of Chinese origin) of gagaku. It has a red body with two images of dragon. The right drum is used for the right repertoire. It has a green body with two images of phoenix. |
| Dadihu |  | China | The dadihu (大低胡) is a large bowed string instrument from China. It has a large soundbox covered on one end with snakeskin. Like most other members of the huqin family of instruments, it has two strings and is held vertically. It is pitched one octave below the xiaodihu and two octaves below the erhu. The biggest string instrument shown in the photo is a dadihu. Yes, it is huge. |
| Daegeum |  | Korea | The daegeum (also spelled taegum or taegŭm) is a large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre. It is used in court, aristocratic, and folk music, as well as in contemporary classical music, popular music, and film scores. |
| Daf |  | Middle East | A daf, or daff, is a large-sized frame drum covered with goat-skin. It is used to accompany both popular and classical music in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and other countries of the Middle East. Some dafs are equipped with rings or small cymbals, making them a form of tambourine. When the daf drum is tilted forward, the rings can touch the skin to make a buzzing sound. Snapping the fingers against the head and shaking the frame creates additional rhythms. |
| Daguangxian |  | China | The daguangxian (Chinese: 大廣弦; literally "large and wide string") is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the huqin family of instruments. It is held vertically. It is used primarily in Taiwan and Fujian (one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China), among the Hakka (a subgroup of the Han Chinese people.) |
| Dahu |  | China | The dahu (大胡) is a large bowed string instrument from China. It has a large soundbox covered on one end with snakeskin. Like most other members of the huqin family of instruments, it has two strings and is held vertically. The instrument is generally pitched one octave below the erhu, and is considerably larger than the erhu. |
| Damaru |  | India | A damaru is a small two-headed drum shaped like an hourglass. The drum is typically made of wood, with leather drum head, or made out of human skulls. Its height ranges from a few inches to a little over a foot. It is played one handed. The strikers are typically beads fastened to the ends of leathern cords around the waist of the damaru. Knots in the leather can also be used as strikers. As the player waves the drum using a twisting wrist motion, the strikers beat on the drumhead. The damaru is well known throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is especially associated with the Hindu deity Shiva. The damaru is used by itinerant musicians of all stripes, due to its small portable size. The image shows a statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating with one hand holding a damaru. |
| Dan Bau |  | Vietnam | The đàn bầu (đàn độc huyền or độc huyền cầm) is a Vietnamese monochord. Originally, the Dan Bau was made of just 4 parts: a bamboo tube, a wooden rod, a coconut shell half, and a silk string. The string was strung across the bamboo, tied on one end to the rod, which is perpendicularly attached to the bamboo. The coconut shell was attached to the rod, serving as a resonator. Now, the bamboo has been replaced by a wooden soundboard, with hardwood as the sides and softwood as the middle. An electric guitar string has replaced the traditional silk string. While the gourd is still present, it is now generally made of wood, acting only as a decorative feature. Also, most Dan Baus now have modern tuning machines, so the base pitch of the string can be adjusted. The duxianqin, found in southern China, is nearly identical to the Dan Bao, differing only sometimes in materials. The reason for the parallel structure of these two instruments is probably because the Dan Bau was brought over when the Jing people, ethnically Vietnamese, fled to China in the sixteenth century. |
| Đàn Dáy |  | Vietnam | The đàn đáy is a Vietnamese plucked lute with three strings, a trapezoidal wooden body, and a very long wooden neck with ten raised frets. Players formerly used silk strings, but since the late 20th century have generally used nylon. Day lute is exclusively used to accompany the Dao singing genre. Day lute is the unique instrument of Vietnamese people as there are no trace of such a similar lute in design, produced sounds and performed music genre in other areas outside Vietnam. |
| Đàn Môi |  | Vietnam | Đàn môi is the name called by Kinh people of a traditional musical instrument of Vietnam. This intrument is widely used in minority ethnic groups in Vietnam. This instrument is somewhat similar to Jew's harp but there are some diffenrences. |
| Đàn Nguyệt |  | Vietnam | The đàn nguyệt (also called nguyệt cầm, đàn kìm, moon lute, or moon guitar) is a two-stringed Vietnamese traditional musical instrument. It is used in both folk and classical music, and remains popular throughout Vietnam. The đàn nguyệt's strings, formerly made of twisted silk, are today generally made of nylon or fishing line. They are kept at a fairly low tension in comparison to the guitar and other European plucked instruments. This, and the instrument's raised frets, allow for the bending tones which are so important to the proper interpretation of Vietnamese traditional music. Such bending tones are produced by pressing the string toward the neck rather than bending to the side. The strings are generally plucked with a small plectrum; often a plastic guitar pick is used. |
| Đàn Nhị |  | Vietnam | The đàn nhị (also called đàn cò) is a Vietnamese bowed string instrument with two strings. Its sound box is generally covered on one end with snakeskin. It is related to the huqin family of instruments of China. |
| Đàn Sến |  | Vietnam | The đàn sến is a Vietnamese plucked string instrument with two strings and a slender neck with raised frets. A sound box has a shape of six-petal peach blossom or hexagon with diameter of 28 cm. Đàn sến is derived from the Chinese qinqin and is used primarily in the traditional music of southern Vietnam. It is played in orchestras of Vietnamese classical drama (Tuong), or renovated opera (Cai luong). |
| Dàn Tam Thập Lục |  | Vietnam | The đàn tam thập lục (also called tam thập lục, literally "36" in Vietnamese) is a Vietnamese hammered dulcimer with 36 metal strings. It is used in various genres of traditional music and drama, as well as in modernized traditional music. |
| Đàn Tranh |  | Vietnam | The đàn tranh (檀箏) is a plucked zither of Vietnam. It has a wooden body and steel strings, each of which is supported by a bridge in the shape of an inverted "V." The đàn tranh can be used either as a solo instrument, or as one of many to accompany singer/s. The đàn tranh originally had 16 strings but it was renovated by Master Nguyễn Vĩnh Bảo of South Vietnam in the mid 1950s. Since then, the 17-stringed đàn tranh has gained massive popularity and become the most preferred form of the instrument used throughout Vietnam. |
| Dance Organ |  | Belgium | A Dance organ is a mechanical organ designed to be used in a dance hall or ballroom. Being intended for use indoors, dance organs tend to be quieter than the similar fairground organ. Dance organs were principally used in Belgium and the southern Netherlands. Early Dance organs were operated by the 'book system' used on fair organs. The more modern instruments are often MIDI controlled. The image shows a dance organ built by Mortier. |
| Dankiyo |  | Turkey | Dankiyo, also called Pontian Touloum, is a type of bagpipe which the ancient Greeks called an askavlo (aski – skin, avlo – flute). It consists of a lamb skin, a blow pipe, and the double reed chanter. The dankiyo is played in small villages near Trabzon and Rize. |
| Danso |  | Korea | The danso (or tanso) is a Korean notched, end-blown vertical bamboo flute used in Korean folk music. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but in the 20th century it has also been made of plastic. The flute has 4 finger holes and one thumb hole at the back. The playing range is two octaves, going from the low G to the high G. |
| Dao Dao |  | Vietnam | Dao Dao is a musical instrument of Vietnam. It is made from hornless bamboo section, 1 m to 1.2 m in length, 3-4 cm in diameter. All nodes are hollowed out except for the last one. At the 2/3 of Dao Dao, the two edges of the section are cut upside-down, so each has the length of about 30 cm. Later, each of these edges is thinned inside and rounded at its end. At the end of air part near the node, two pressing holes are created to make 3 pitches. Kh’Mu people used Dao Dao to make rhythm for dancing and singing. |
| Dap |  | Iran | The Pahlavi (an ancient Iranic language) name of the daf is dap. The word daf is therefore the Arabicized form of the word dap. Some pictures of dap have been found in the paintings to be painted before the birth of Christ. The presence of Iranian dap in the reliefs of Bisotun is enlightening and is hard proof that dafs existed long before the rise of Islam. Dafs were part of religious music in Iran much before Sufism. In fact, Iranian music has always been a spiritual tool. It shows that dafs played an important role in Mazdean Iran emerging as an important element during the Sassanian times during the Kâvusakân dynasty. The image shows a Persian woman playing the daf, from a painting on the walls of Chehel-sotoon Palace, Isfahan, 17th century. |
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