| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ngombi |  | Uganda | The ngombi is a harp zither used by a group called Ndere Troupe to perform traditional music from across Uganda. It is also used in Pygmy music by Central African Republic people. |
| Ngoni |  | Mali | The ngoni is a popular traditional musical instrument which comes from West Africa. It looks like a guitar, its body is of hollowed-out wood with dried animal skin stretched over it like a drum. The ngoni is known to have existed since 1352, when Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveller reported seeing one in the court of Mansa Musa. In the hands of a skilled ngoni instrumentalist, the ngoni can produce fast rapid melodies. In recent years some great young instrumentalists have developed the ngonis technical range. |
| Ninera |  | Slovakia | The ninera (or kolovratec) is a small-wheeled hurdy gurdy from Slovakia. The wheel diameter is less than 14 cm, or about 5.5 inches. The guitar-shaped ninera has two drones, one diatonic melody string and a broad keybox. It is superficially similar to the tekerő (Hungarian hurdy gurdy), but lacks the buzzing bridge. The image shows a ninera made and played by Tibor Koblicek. |
| Nipple Gong |  | Thailand | Nipple gongs have a raised boss or nipple in the centre, often made of a different metal to the rest of the gong. They have a clear resonant tone with less shimmer than other gongs, and two distinct sounds depending on whether they are struck on the boss or next to it. They most often are tuned to various pitches. Nipple gongs range in size from 6" to 14" or larger. Sets of smaller, tuned nipple gongs can be used to play a tune. The image shows a very large nipple gong at a Buddhist temple in Roi Et, Isan, Thailand. |
| Njarka |  | Mali | The njarka is a small, bowed fiddle made from gourd with long neck and one thin gut string from Mali. Afel Bocoum (born 1955) is a musician from Mali, noted as a singer and guitarist. His group, Alkibar (the name means 'messenger of the great river' in Sonrai) consists of two acoustic guitars, a njarka, a njurkle (a kind of lute), calabash and djembe percussion, and two female singers as well as male singers in the choruses. |
| Njurkle |  | Mali | The njurkle is a traditional musical instrument from Mali. It is a monochord instrument similar to a banjo. |
| Noah Bells |  | India | "Noah Bells" is the common name given to a distinct type of bell hand-manufactured in India by ancient and inherited traditions. Some monasteries in India are credited with manufacturing Noah Bells for hundreds of years. These bells are popular among collectors because of their intricate resonances and also because of the mystique that surrounds them. Old Indian belief holds that Noah Bells scare away devils and evil spirits. |
| Nohkan |  | Japan | The nohkan (kanji: 能管; hiragana: のうかん) is a Japanese bamboo transverse flute with a three octave range. It is also called fue. The nohkan is commonly used in Noh theatre. Noh (能), or Nōgaku (能楽) is a major form of classic Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. |
| Northumbrian Smallpipes |  | England | The Northumbrian smallpipes (also known as the Northumbrian pipes) are bellows-blown bagpipes from the north-east of England. They share the unusual characteristic (along with the Uilleann pipes, played on the knee), of being able to play staccato. Here this is done by giving the chanter a completely closed end. This combined with the unusually tight fingering (each note is played by lifting only one finger or opening one key) means that traditional Northumbrian piping is staccato in style. The chanter has a number of metal keys, most commonly seven, but chanters with a two octave range can be made which require seventeen keys, all played with either the right hand thumb or left hand pinkie. |
| Nose Flute |  | Hawaii | The nose flute is a popular musical instrument played in Polynesia and the Pacific Rim countries. Other versions are found in Africa, China and India. Ohe hano ihu in Hawaiian means "bamboo, breath, nose." It is made from a single bamboo node with a hole at the node area for the breath and three holes for the notes on the top side of the tube. It was often used in conjunction with chants and song. The Hawaiians believe that the nose is pure and innocent unlike the mouth which can say many things. So the breath entering and exiting the 'ohe hano ihu is purer than the mouth. |
| Nyatiti |  | Kenya | The nyatiti is an eight-stringed plucked lyre from Kenya. It is a classical instrument used by the Luo people of Western Kenya, typically in Benga music. It is about three feet long. The player holds it to his chest, seated on a low stool, with the base firmly to the ground. Usually it is played together with the oporo, a curved horn. |
| Nyckelharpa |  | Sweden | A nyckelharpa (literally "key harp", plural nyckelharpor) is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when the key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string. The nyckelharpa is similar to both a fiddle and a hurdy gurdy. Since the end of the 20th century the nyckelharpa has become more and more popular, even outside of Sweden and in different music styles. |
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