| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xalam |  | Mali | Xalam, also spelled khalam, is the Wolof name for a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa. The xalam is thought to have originated from modern-day Mali, but some believe that, in antiquity, the instrument may have originated from ancient Egypt. Many believe that it is an ancestor to the American banjo. The xalam, in its standard form, is a simple lute with one to five strings. The wooden body (soundbox) of the instrument is oval-shaped and covered with the hide of cattle. |
| Xaphoon |  | United States | The Xaphoon (also known as Maui Xaphoon or Bamboo Sax) is a single-reed keyless bamboo wind instrument. The Xaphoon was invented during the 1970s by the American instrument maker Brian Wittman, who still makes all of his instruments by hand, using local bamboo cut from the forests of the eastern end of his home island of Maui, Hawaii. It is very similar in construction to the chalumeau, a keyless European single reed folk instrument that was the ancestor of the clarinet. Although the Xaphoon is referred to as a Bamboo Saxophone, it is actually more similar in tone to a clarinet in its lower octave. Its sound also bears some resemblance to cylindrical double reed instruments with a similar timbre such as the Armenian duduk or the Chinese guan. |
| Xiao |  | China | The xiao (Chinese: 簫) is an ancient Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of dark brown bamboo (called "purple bamboo" in Chinese). It is also sometimes called dongxiao (traditional Chinese: 洞簫), dong meaning "hole." The ancient name for the xiao is shùdí (豎笛, literally "vertical bamboo flute".) |
| Xiaoluo |  | China | The xiaoluo (Chinese: 小鑼) is a small Chinese gong made of high-tin bronze. It is beaten with a stick. The image shows a xiaoluo played by a member of the Nakhi (Naxi) Orchestra, China. |
| Xun |  | China | The xun (Chinese: 塤) is a Chinese vessel flute made of clay or ceramic. It is one of the oldest Chinese instruments. The xun is made in several sizes and is in the shape of an egg. It has a blowing hole on top and generally eight smaller finger holes (three each for the index, middle, and ring fingers of each hand, and one for each thumb). |
| Xylophone |  | Indonesia | The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia. It consists of wooden bars of various lengths that are struck by plastic, wooden, or rubber mallets. Each bar is tuned to a specific pitch of the musical scale. Xylophone can refer to western style concert xylophones or to one of the many wooden mallet percussion instruments found around the world. Many western historians believe xylophones began in Eastern Asia, spreading to Africa. It is likely that the xylophone reached Europe during the Crusades. The xylophone, which had been known in Europe since the Middle Ages, was by the 19th Century associated largely with the folk music of Eastern Europe, notably Poland and Eastern Germany. By 1830, the xylophone had been popularized to some extent by a Russian virtuoso named Michael Josef Gusikov. In 1831 he constructed what he called a wood and straw instrument (see image), essentially a xylophone laid out like a cimbalom on a soundboard made from rolls of straw which allowed a loud resonance. |
| Xylorimba |  | Austria | The xylorimba (also known as xylo-marimba or marimba-xylophone) is a pitched percussion musical instrument which is a xylophone with an extended range. It is not a combination of the xylophone and the marimba, although the name might imply that. Like a marimba or xylophone, the xylorimba consists of a series of wooden bars laid out like a piano keyboard. It combines the large of the marimba with the higher register of the xylophone. It has been used in a number of 20th century classical works. |
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