| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kempul |  | Indonesia | A kempul is a type of hanging gong used in Indonesian gamelan. It is often placed with the gong suwukan (the smaller gong in the set used for smaller phrases) and gong ageng (the largest gong in a Javanese and Balinese gamelan), hanging on a single rack, at the back of the gamelan, and these instruments are often played by the same player with the same mallets. |
| Kèn |  | Vietnam | The kèn is an instrument used in traditional Vietnamese music. It has a double reed and a conical wooden body. It produces a powerful and penetrating high-pitched sound, similar to the Persian/Indian shehnai. |
| Kèn Bầu |  | Vietnam | The kèn bầu is a double reed wind instrument used in the traditional music of Vietnam. It is similar in construction and sound to the Chinese suona and the Korean taepyeongso. It comes in various sizes and is a primary instrument of the music of the former royal court music of Huế. The instrument has a conical hardwood body with seven finger holes. Unlike its Chinese and Korean counterparts, the kèn bầu has a detachable bell made of jackfruit wood, carved in the shape of a gourd. |
| Kendang |  | Indonesia | Kendang is the primary drum used in the Gamelan ensembles of Java as well as various Kulintang ensembles in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the southern Philippines. They usually are placed on stands horizontally and hit with the hands on either side while seated on the floor. One side is generally larger than the other, with the larger, lower-pitched side usually placed to the right. The skin is typically made of goat or buffalo, stretched on y-shaped leather or rattan strings, which can be tightened to change the pitch of the heads. |
| Kenong |  | Indonesia | The kenong is one of the instruments used in the Indonesian gamelan. It is technically a kind of gong, but is placed on its side and is roughly as tall as it is wide. It thus is similar to the bonang, kempyang and ketuk, which are also cradled gongs. Kenongs are generally much larger than any of those, however. Its pitch is actually rather high considering its size; its sound stands out however because of its unique timbre. |
| Keyboard Bass |  | United States | The keyboard bass is the use of a low-pitched keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the bass guitar or double bass in popular music. |
| Khene |  | Thailand | The khene (also spelled "khaen", "kaen" and "khen"; Thai: แคน) is a mouth organ of Lao origin whose pipes are connected with a small, hollowed-out wooden reservoir into which air is blown. The most interesting characteristic of the khene is its free reed, which is made of brass or silver. It is related to Western free-reed instruments such as the harmonium, concertina, accordion, harmonica, and bandoneon, which were developed beginning in the 18th century from the Chinese sheng, a related instrument, a specimen of which had been carried to St. Petersburg, Russia. |
| Khim |  | Thailand | The khim is a hammered dulcimer from Thailand and Cambodia. It is made of wood and trapezoidal in shape, with numerous brass strings. It is played with two flexible bamboo sticks and is used as both a solo and ensemble instrument. It was introduced to Thailand and Cambodia from China, where a similar (though usually larger) instrument is called yangqin. |
| Khlui |  | Thailand | The khlui is a vertical duct flute from Thailand. It is generally made of bamboo. The khlui is very similar to the khloy from Cambodian, but their tunings are different. |
| Khol |  | India | The khol (or mrdanga) is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music (bhakti). One of the sides of the khol is much smaller than the other. Both sides are covered with cow or goat skin. The smaller head (the dayan) and the bigger bass head (the baya) are usually three-layered heads in addition to a special central region of rice paste, glue, and iron known as the syahi. The drum is played with palms and fingers of both hands. |
| Khomuz |  | Tuva | Khomuz is a Jew's harp from Tuva. The Jew's harp is an integral element in the music of Tuva. It is used to play the same overtone melodies used in the khoomei, sygyt, and kargyraa styles of overtone singing. The instrument is also a traditional part of Alpine musical styles, from Hungary to France. The earliest trouve in Europe is a bronze-harp dating 5th to 7th century. |
| Kinnor |  | Israel | Kinnor is the Hebrew name for an ancient stringed instrument, the first mentioned in the Bible (Gen. iv. 21), where it is now always translated harp. In Modern Hebrew, It means a violin. The image shows the Model of King David's harp displayed in the City of David, Jerusalem, Israel. |
| Kithara |  | Greece | The kithara was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the zither family. The kithara was a professional version of the seven-stringed lyre. It had a deep, wooden sounding box composed of two resonating tables, either flat or slightly arched, connected by ribs or sides of equal width. At the top, its strings were knotted around the transverse tuning bar or to rings threaded over the bar, or wound around pegs. The other end of the strings was secured to a tail-piece after passing over a flat bridge, or the tail-piece and bridge were combined. |
| Kkwaenggwari |  | Korea | The kkwaenggwari is a small flat gong used primarily in folk music of Korea. It is made of brass and is played with a hard stick. It produces a distinctively high-pitched, metallic tone that breaks into a cymbal-like crashing timbre when struck forcefully. |
| Klông pút |  | Vietnam | The Klông pút is a musical instrument from Vietnam. It is a set of large bamboo tubes of varying lengths, each closed at one end. The player claps their hands near the open ends of the tubes to produce musical tones. |
| Kobza |  | Ukraine | The kobza is a traditional Ukrainian stringed musical instrument, of the lute family, and more specifically a relative of the Central European mandora. kobza is the precursor to the bandura, it is a three- to eight-string instrument mentioned in Greek literature of the 6th century. |
| Kokle |  | Latvia | Kokle is the national instrument of Latvia. It is traditionally played by women and girls. It's a triangular wooden box on legs with up to 33 metal strings, which the musicians pluck. It is unique to Latvia, and although neighbouring countries do have similar instruments - the Finnish kantele and Lithuanian kankle for example - Latvians say nothing sounds quite like the kokle. |
| Kokyu |  | Japan | The kokyū (胡弓) is a traditional Japanese string instrument, the only one played with a bow. Although it was supposedly introduced to Japan from China along with the shamisen, its material, shape and sound are unique to Japan. The instrument (28-inch tall) is similar in construction to the shamisen, appearing like a smaller version of that instrument. |
| Kombu |  | India | Kombu is a wind instrument (big trumpet) usually played along with Panchavadyam, Pandi Melam, Panchari melam etc. This musical instrument is usually seen in Kerala state of south India. The instrument is like a long horn. |
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