| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soprillo |  | Germany | Soprillo is the brand name of a piccolo or sopranissimo saxophone, the smallest saxophone in the family. It is pitched in B♭, one octave above the soprano saxophone, although the keywork only extends to a written high E♭ rather than F. Due to its small size, the upper octave key has to be placed in the mouthpiece. It is difficult to build an instrument so small, and only recently has a true sopranissimo saxophone been produced. The Soprillo is 12 inches in length (13 inches with the mouthpiece). Because it is so small and requires such a small and focused embouchure, the Soprillo is difficult to play, particularly in its upper register. |
| Sorna |  | Iran | The sornā or Sarnā (also Surna and Zurna) is an ancient Iranian woodwind instrument. The instrument's history dates back to the Achaemenid Dynasty (550-330 B.C.E.), and was used to play at the end of the day from the city gate or from the local administration building. This custom persisted in England until the 19th century, the town waits playing shawms to mark the hours. The instrument was mainly played in outdoors in regional music of Iran in the festive ceremonies (the famous Persian poet Molana Rumi has mentioned the sorna and dohol in his poems). |
| Sousaphone |  | United States | The sousaphone is a wearable tuba descended from the hélicon, and designed in an ergonomically efficient way such that it fits around the body of the wearer, and so it can be easily played while being worn. Often used in a marching band, it is sometimes referred to as a marching tuba. It is named after John Philip Sousa, a famous march composer and conductor. |
| Spanish Laúd |  | Spain | The Spanish laúd is a plectrum plucked chordophone from Spain. It has a flat back and a pear shaped body. It consists of twelve metallic strings (six double), as the bandurria, but the neck is longer than a bandurria. Traditionally it forms part of serenaders or folk string musical groups, together with the guitar and the bandurria. Like the bandurria, it is tuned in fifths. |
| Spanish Vihuela |  | Spain | The Spanish vihuela is a string instruments from 16th century Spain. The vihuela is considered by some to be the (more ancient) precursor to the modern classical guitar. In Italy and Portugal this same instrument was known as viola da mano. In its most developed form, the vihuela was a guitar-like instrument with six double-strings (paired courses) made of gut. Plucked vihuela, being essentially flat-backed lutes, evolved in the mid 1400s, in the Kingdom of Aragón (located in North-Eastern Iberia or Spain). In Spain and Italy (and other regional kingdoms under their influence) the vihuela was in common use in the late 15th and 16th centuries. |
| Spinet |  | France | A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ. When the term spinet is used to designate a harpsichord, typically what is meant is the bentside spinet. The bentside spinet shares most of its characteristics with the full-size instrument, including action, soundboard, and case construction. What primarily distinguishes the spinet is the angle of its strings: whereas in a full-size harpsichord, the strings are at a 90 degree angle to the keyboard; and in a virginals they are parallel to the keyboard, in a spinet the strings are at an angle of about 30 degrees to the keyboard, going toward the right. The image shows a bentside spinet built by Clavecins Rouaud, Paris. |
| Spoon |  | United States | Spoons can be played as a makeshift percussion instrument, or more specifically, an idiophone related to the castanets. A pair of spoons is held with concave sides facing out and with a finger between their handles to space them apart. When the pair is struck, the spoons sharply hit each other and then spring back to their original position. The spoons are typically struck against the knee and the palm of the hand. The fingers and other body parts may also be used as striking surfaces to produce different sounds and for visual effect. In U.S. culture, "playing the spoons" originated in Ireland as "playing the bones," in which the convex sides of a pair of sheep rib bones were rattled in the same way. In 1994, Seattle Grunge band Soundgarden had a hit with the song "Spoonman" that features a spoons performance by street artist Artis the Spoonman. |
| Starosvitska Bandura |  | Ukraine | The Starosvitska bandura is a folk instrument from Ukraine. It is also referred to as Classical or old-time bandura. These instruments usually have some 20-23 strings. Thes instruments are usually hand-made, with no two instruments being exactly the same. The backs are usually hewn out of a single piece of wood, and wooden pegs hold the strings which are tuned diatonically. Traditionally these instruments had gut strings, however, at the beginning of the 20th century common performance practice preferred steel strings. |
| Steelpan |  | Trinidad | Steelpan (also known as steeldrums or pans) is a musical instrument and a form of music originating in Trinidad and Tobago. During WWII, tamboo bamboo bands, which usually performed during Trinidad's Carnival began using steel drums discarded by the US military to make advanced versions of their instruments. Ellie Mannette is credited as the first person to use an oil drum in 1946. By the late 1940s the music had spread to neighbouring islands. The image shows a steelband in Port of Spain in the early 1950s. |
| Steel-string Acoustic Guitar |  | England | A steel-string acoustic guitar, is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. There are many different variations on the construction of, and materials used in, steel-string guitars. More expensive guitars feature solid tonewood tops (often spruce), sides and backs (often rosewood, maple, or mahogany). |
| Street Organ |  | Germany | A Street organ is a mechanical organ designed to play in the street. The operator of a street organ is called an organ grinder. The two main types are the smaller German style and the larger Dutch street organ. The image shows a street organ in Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany. |
| Suling |  | Indonesia | A suling is an Indonesian/Philippine flute made out of bamboo. It is used in gamelan ensembles. Depending on the regional genre, a suling can be tuned into different scales. Sulings are made mainly of 'tamiang' bamboo (Schizostachyum blumei, Nees), a long tube bamboo which has very thin surface. The head of suling, near a small hole, is circled with a thin band made of rattan or rotan to produce air vibration. |
| Suona |  | China | The suona, also called laba (Chinese: 喇叭) or haidi (Chinese: 海笛), is a Han Chinese shawm (oboe). It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors. It is an important instrument in the folk music of northern China, particularly the provinces of Shandong and Henan, where it has long been used for weddings, festival and military purposes. |
| Surbahar |  | India | The Surbahar (also known as bass sitar) is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of North India. It is related to the better-known sitar but has a lower tone. It is usually pitched 2 octaves below the standard sitar but as Indian classical music has no concept of absolute pitch, this may vary. The surbahar is over 130 cm (51 inches) long, uses a dried pumpkin as a resonator, and has a neck made of teak with very long frets that allow a glissando of six notes on the same fret by the method of pulling. |
| Surdo |  | Brazil | The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, most notably samba. Surdo sizes normally vary between 14" and 29" diameter. In Rio de Janeiro, surdos are generally 60cm deep. Surdos used in the northeast of Brazil are commonly more shallow (50cm deep). Surdos may have shells of wood, galvanized steel, or aluminum. Heads may be goatskin or plastic. A Rio bateria will commonly use surdos that have skin heads (for rich tone) with aluminum shells (for lightness). Surdos are worn from a waist belt or shoulder strap, oriented with the heads roughly horizontal. The bottom head is not played. |
| Surma |  | Ukraine | The surma is a type of shawm that had widespread use in the armies of the Cossack host. It is thought that the instrument was introduced into Ukraine from the Caucasus or Turkey where the surma exists under the names zurna and surnai. The instrument surma is made of wood with a conical bore, having a bell at one end and a double reed similar to that used in the oboe at the other. It usually has nine to ten finger-holes and is capable of chromatic sounds through a range of dynamics. The instrument is reminiscent of the sound of the oboe. Presently the surma has found its way into orchestras of Ukrainian folk instruments in a range of sizes such as prima, alto and bass. The image shows a surma (top) and a Ukrainian Cossack trumpet (bottom). |
| Suspended Cymbal |  | Europe | A suspended cymbal is any single cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal. In an orchestral setting, suspended cymbals are most often used for rolled crescendos, or swells. To do this, the player uses a single-stroke roll on the outside edge of the cymbal, using soft mallets, one on each side. At times, a score also calls for hitting the cymbal with a stick or scraping it with a triangle beater. |
| Symphonic Organ |  | United States | The symphonic organ (or concert organ) is a style of pipe organ which flourished during the first third of the twentieth century in town halls and other secular public venues (particularly in the United States and the UK). It is a variation of the classical pipe organ intended for the performance of orchestral transcriptions for pipe organs. The concert organ has seen a revival in the US, Europe and Japan in the latter part of the 20th and 21st century. The image shows a concert organ at the Yokohama Minato-mirai Hall of Kanagawa, Japan. |
| Synthesizer |  | United States | A synthesizer (or synthesiser) is an electronic instrument capable of producing musical sounds. The term originates from the Greek syntithetai. Synthesizers create electrical signals, which are then converted into a sound by a speaker. Analog synthesizers create sound by electrical oscillators which are fed to filters, and digital synthesizers by performing mathematical operations in a microprocessor. Sometimes both methods are used side by side. Both analog and digital synthesized sounds may sound dramatically different than recordings of natural sounds, though digital sampling synthesizers significantly blur this distinction. Music synthesizers sometimes include a keyboard, which makes them reminiscent of certain traditional musical instruments, like a piano or an organ. |
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