| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Komungo |  | Korea | The komungo (or geomungo) is a traditional Korean stringed musical instrument of zither family instrument with both bridges and frets. The instrument originated in the 7th century from the kingdom of Goguryeo, which comprises the northern part of modern-day southern Manchuria and the northern and central parts of the Korean peninsula, although the instrument can be traced back to the 4th century. The geomungo is approximately 162 cm long and 23 cm wide, and has movable bridges called Anjok and 16 convex frets. It has a hollow body where the front plate of the instrument is made of paulownia wood and the back plate is made of hard chestnut wood. Its six strings. The pick is made from bamboo sticks in the size of regular household pencil. |
| Komuz |  | Azerbaijan | The komuz or kopuz (translating literally as "instrument") is an ancient fretless string instrument used in Kyrgyz music, closely related to other Turkic string instruments and the lute. The oldest known komuz dates from the 4th century although the Gopuz in Azerbaijan is believed to date back to 6000 BC following an archaelogicial discovery of clay plates depicting gopuz players. The komuz is generally made from a single piece of wood (usually apricot or juniper) and has three strings made out of gut. In the most common tunings the middle string is the highest in pitch. |
| Kong Thom |  | Cambodia | The kong thom, or Kong vong thom, is a large gong circle. It plays a melodic line in the Cambodian pinpeat ensemble almost identical to that of the roneat thung (large xylophone). The kong thom dwells more steadily on the pulse without pulling or delaying the beat (melody). The player uses soft mallets for indoor performance, hard ones for outdoors. The gong circle-maker creates sixteen bossed gongs made of copper with bronze admixture. He suspends them on rattan frames in a circle around the player. A small gong circle is called kong vong toch or kong toch. |
| Konghou |  | China | The konghou (Chinese: 箜篌) is an ancient Chinese harp. The konghou, also known as kanhou, went extinct sometime in the Ming Dynasty, but was revived in the 20th century. The modern instrument does not resemble the ancient one. The main feature that distinguishes the modern konghou from the Western concert harp is that the modern konghou's strings are folded over to make two rows, which enables players to use advanced playing techniques such as vibrato and bending tones. The two rows of strings also make it suitable for playing fast rhythms and overtones. |
| Kora |  | Gambia | A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge like a lute or guitar. The sound of a kora resembles that of a harp, though when played in the traditional style, it bears a closer resemblance to flamenco guitar techniques. The player uses only the thumb and index finger of both hands to pluck the strings in polyrhythmic patterns. Traditional koras feature 21 strings, eleven played by the left hand and ten by the right. The image shows the master kora-maker Alieu Suso of The Gambia. |
| Kös |  | Turkey | Kös is a large kettledrum used in a modern mehter marching band. It is a bass drum resembling the timpani. |
| Koto |  | Japan | The koto (琴 or 箏) is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument derived from Chinese Guqins. Koto are about 180 centimetres (71 in) long and have 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the length of the instrument. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, forefinger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings. |
| Kpanlogo |  | Ghana | Kpanlogo is a barrel drum used in kpanlogo music. The drum originates from the Ga people of the Greater Accra Region in Ghana, West Africa. Kpanlogo drums are a part of the membranophone family of musical instruments; a shell covered by a drumhead made of one of many products, usually rawhide. The drum has a tapered body carved from a single piece of wood that is similar in shape to a conga. The drumhead is typically made from goat, antelope, or cow skin that is stretched over one end of the drum and is tightened through the use of six wooden pegs. The skin can be tightened by tapping the pegs into the drum. |
| Krar |  | Ethiopia | The krar is a five- or six-stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Ethiopia and Eritrea. The instrument is tuned to a pentatonic scale. The Krar is plucked with a pitch range that varies depending of the number of strings on the instrument. Krars are skin covered and decorated with wood, cloth, and beads. |
| Krylovidnye Gusli |  | Russia | The krylovidnye gusli is one of the traditional musical instruments from Russia. It is a wing-shaped gusli. It is much smaller than a shlemovidnye gusli, and had more resemblance to Scandinavian folk psalteries such as the kantele. They were held much more like modern guitars, although strings were still muted by the left hand through a special opening in the instrument's body. This modification was more prevalent in northern parts of Russia, especially Novgorod and Pskov. |
| Kubing |  | Philippines | The kubing is a type of Philippine Jew's harp of bamboo found among the Maguindanaon and other Muslim and non-Muslim tribes in the Philippines and Indonesia. It is also called kobing (Maranao), kolibau (Tingguian), aru-ding (Tagbanua)), aroding (Palawan), kulaing (Yakan), karombi (Toraja), yori (Kailinese). Ones made of sugar palm-leaf are called karinta (Munanese), ore-ore mbondu or ore Ngkale (Butonese.) The kubing is traditionally considered an intimate instrument, usually used as communication between family members in close quarters. |
| Kudüm |  | Turkey | Kudüm is one of the most fundamental rhythm instruments in classical Turkish music. The person playing it is called kudümzen. It is among ney, rebap, and halile as one of the four main instruments in Mevlevi music. It consists of a pair of small, hemispherical drums. Traditionally kudüm was played in religious ceremonies; in a secular context, like in mehter music, its slightly bigger cousin nakkare is played. The kudüm is played with two wooden sticks made of soft wood known as zahme. |
| Kulintang |  | Philippines | Kulintang is a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. As part of the larger gong-chime culture of Southeast Asia, kulintang music ensembles have been playing for centuries in regions of the Eastern Malay Archipelago — the Southern Philippines, Eastern Indonesia, Eastern Malaysia, Brunei and Timor. The kulintang is played by striking the bosses of the gongs with two wooden beaters. The image shows a kulintang ensemble performance in Daly City. |
| Kulintang A Kayo |  | Philippines | The kulintang a kayo (literally, “wooden kulintang”) is a Philippine xylophone of the Maguindanaon people with eight tuned slabs arranged horizontally atop a wooden antangan (rack). Made of soft wood such as bayug, the kulintang a kayo is a common found among Maguindanaon households with a musical background. |
| Kulintang A Tiniok |  | Philippines | The kulintang a tiniok is a type of Philippine metallophone with eight tuned knobbed metal plates strung together via string atop a wooden antangan (rack). Kulintang a tiniok is a Maguindanaon term meaning “kulintang with string” but they also could call them kulintang a putao, meaning “kulintang of metal.” The Maranao refer to this instrument as a sarunay (or salunay, salonay, saronay, saronai, sarunai), terminology which has become popular for this instrument in America. |
| Kultrun |  | Chile | Kultrun is a Mapuche (the Indigenous inhabitants of Central and Southern Chile and Southern Argentina) ceremonial drum. |
| Kutiyapi |  | Philippines | The kutiyapi, also called faglong, fegereng or fuglung, is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only stringed instrument among the Maguindanaon (a province of the Philippines). It is four to six feet long with nine frets made of hardened beeswax. The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as from the jackfruit tree. |
| Kuvytsi |  | Ukraine | The Kuvytsi (Ukrainian: Кувиці) or Rebro, is one of the most ancient of folk instruments and is better known in the West as the Pan pipe. Pan pipes have been found in archeological excavations in Ukraine that date back some 5,000 years. The instrument consists of several pipes each of which, when blown endwise, produces one sound. Various versions of the kuvytsi exist in Ukraine, such as the one-sided kuvytsi, which consist of a system of pipes from large to small in one direction or double-sided kuvytsi, which have their largest pipe in the center. |
| Kuzhal |  | India | The kuzhal is a traditional double reed wind instrument used in the South Indian state of Kerala. It is similar in construction to a nagaswaram or a large shehnai and has a very loud and penetrating tone. It is used primarily for outdoor festivals, in conjunction with drums and other percussion instruments. The instrument has a wooden body with a conical bore, at the end of which is affixed a brass bell. The player blows through a double reed and closes small holes with both hands. The image shows players using chenda (drum) and kuzhal during Panchari melam performance. |
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