| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heckelphone- clarinet |  | Germany | The heckelphone-clarinet (or Heckelphon-Klarinette) is a rare woodwind instrument, invented in 1907 by Wilhelm Heckel in Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Germany. Despite its name, it is essentially a wooden saxophone with wide conical bore, built of red-stained maple wood, overblowing the octave, and with clarinet-like fingerings. It has a single-reed mouthpiece attached to a short metal neck, similar to an alto clarinet. |
| Helicon |  | Europe | The helicon is a brass musical instrument in the BB-flat Bass family. It is the predecessor of the sousaphone, and both instruments have circular shapes and are typically worn over the shoulder. A distinguishing characteristic of the helicon is a smaller diameter in the coiled chamber which forms the body of the instrument. The instrument is very popular in central and eastern Europe and is a common choice for military fanfares. Its range is two octaves below that of a cornet. |
| Hi-hat |  | United States | A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in disco, jazz, rock and roll, and other forms of contemporary popular music. The hi-hat consists of two crash cymbals that are mounted on a stand one on top of the other and clashed together using a pedal on the stand. A narrow metal shaft or "hi-hat rod" runs through both cymbals into a hollow tube and connects to the pedal. The top cymbal is connected to the rod with a "hi-hat clutch" while the bottom cymbal remains stationary resting on the hollow tube. When the "footplate" of the pedal is pressed, the top cymbal crashes onto the bottom cymbal (closed hi-hat). When released, the top cymbal returns to its original position. |
| Hichiriki |  | Japan | The hichiriki (篳篥) is a double reed instrument used as one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese gagaku music, the other being the ryuteki. The hichiriki is difficult to play, due in part to its double-reed configuration. Although a double reed instrument like the oboe, the hichiriki has a cylindrical bore and thus its sound is similar to that of a clarinet. Pitch and ornamentation (most notably bending tones) is controlled largely with the embouchure. It produces a sound that many describe as "haunting." |
| Highland Bagpipe |  | United Kingdom | The Great Highland Bagpipe is probably the best-known variety of bagpipe. Abbreviated GHB, and commonly referred to simply as "the pipes", they have historically taken numerous forms in Ireland, England and Scotland. A modern set has a bag, a chanter, a blowpipe, two tenor drones, and one bass drone. The scale on the chanter is in Mixolydian mode with a flattened 7th or leading tone. The GHB is widely used by both soloists and pipe bands (civilian and military), and is now played in countries around the world, particularly those with large Scottish and Irish emigrant populations, namely England, Canada, United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. |
| Hocchiku |  | Japan | Hocchiku (法竹), sometimes romanized as hochiku or hotchiku, is a Japanese end-blown flute, crafted from root sections of bamboo. After cleaning and sanding, the heavy root end of the bamboo stalk reveals many small circular knots where the roots formerly joined the stalk. The same part of the bamboo plant is also used to produce the shakuhachi but, unlike the shakuhachi, the hocchiku's inside (bore) and outside surfaces are left unlaquered and its mouthpiece is not inlaid. The membranes at the nodes inside a hocchiku bore are generally left more intact than those of a shakuhachi. Together, these characteristics make for a visibly and audibly raw and organic instrument. Hocchiku can be fashioned to any length, suitable bamboo permitting, with longer instruments having their frequency range shifted proportionally lower. |
| Horagai |  | Japan | The conch shell, blown as a trumpet, served a number of purposes in Japanese history. It is called jinkai, horagai, or a number of other names in Japanese depending on its function. The conch is perhaps most associated with its use by Buddhist monks for religious purposes. Its use goes back at least one thousand years, and it is still used today for some rituals. |
| Horn |  | Europe | The horn (informally: French horn) is a brass instrument descended from the natural horn that consists of about 12 feet of tubing (for a single horn in the key of F), wrapped into a compact, coiled form with a flared bell. Most horns have finger-operated valves. A single horn, which will usually be tuned to either F or B flat, has three valves; the more common double horn has two sets of tubing (generally F and B flat) and a fourth valve, operated by the thumb, which routes the air flow to one or other set. Triple horns, with five valves, are also made. |
| Hosho |  | Zimbabwe | The hosho is a Zimbabwean musical instrument consisting of a maranka gourd with seeds, usually hota (Canna indica) inside it, or net of beads around it and which often accompanies Shona music, especially mbira music. It is a type of rattle. A smaller version of the hosho is made of a wild orange called a damba, tied together with sticks and filled with hota seeds or pebbles. |
| Hudok |  | Ukraine | Hudok (Ukrainian: Гудок) is an ancient Ukrainian string musical instrument, which was played with a bow. It name comes from the word "to make noise, or to hum or buzz". A Hudok usually had 3 strings: 2 of them were played as a drone whereas the 3rd was tuned one fifth higher. All 3 strings were placed in the same plane, so a bow could make them all sound simultaneously. The Hudok is held in the lap of the player like in a cello or viola da gamba. It can date back its history to the 12th century. |
| Hulusi |  | China | The hulusi (葫蘆絲) is a free reed wind instrument from China. It is held vertically and has three bamboo pipes which pass through a gourd wind chest; one pipe has finger holes and the other two are drone pipes. The hulusi is now played throughout China. It has a very pure, clarinet-like sound. Although the hulusi is still predominantly performed in China, it has in recent years been adopted by European composers and performers. |
| Hummel |  | Sweden | The Hummel is an old Swedish stringed instrument that can be compared to an older type of zither and is related to the Norwegian instrument, the langeleik. The name is thought to come from the German word "Hummel", meaning "bee", referring to the droning sound created by the accompaniment strings. The hummel is placed on a table, just like with a zither, to amplify the sound. The melody strings are sounded by being plucked downwards, either with fingers or a plectrum. |
| Hurdy Gurdy |  | France | A hurdy gurdy (also known as a "wheel fiddle") is a stringed musical instrument in which the strings are sounded by means of a rosined wheel which the strings of the instrument pass over. This wheel, turned with a crank, functions much like a violin bow, making the instrument essentially a mechanical violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents (small wedges, usually made of wood) against one or more of these strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic string instruments, it has a soundboard to make the vibration of the strings audible. Many folk music festivals in Europe feature music groups with hurdy gurdy players. |
| Huqin |  | China | Huqin (胡琴) are a family of bowed string instruments used in Chinese music. They consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a stick attached that protrudes upwards. Instruments in the huqin family have two or four strings and their soundboxes are typically covered with either snakeskin or thin wood. Huqin instruments have two or four tuning pegs, one peg for each string. The pegs are attached horizontally through holes drilled in the stick. The most common huqin are the erhu, zhonghu, and gaohu. Over thirty types of huqin instruments have been documented. |
| Hydraulophone |  | Canada | The hydraulophone is a musical instrument that is played by direct physical contact with hydraulic fluid (typically water) in which sound is generated or affected hydraulically. Typically the sound is produced by the same hydraulic fluid that is in direct contact with the player's fingers. Presently (March 2008) the world's largest hydraulophone (see photo) is the main architectural centerpiece out in front of the Ontario Science Centre, one of Canada's landmark architecture sites. It is also Toronto's only freely accessible aquatic play facility that runs 24 hours a day. |
| Hyoshigi |  | Japan | The hyoshigi (拍子木) is a simple Japanese musical instrument, consisting of two pieces of hardwood or bamboo that are connected by a thin ornamental rope. Hyoshigi are used in traditional theaters in Japan to announce the beginning of a performance. The clappers are played together or on the floor to create a cracking sound. They are struck, slowly at first, then faster and faster. |
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