| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyeongyeong |  | Korea | A pyeongyeong is a traditional Korean percussion instrument, a kind of stone chime or lithophone formed of sixteen L-shaped stone slabs suspended from a frame. Although all the stones have the same shape they vary in pitch according to thickness; the thinner stones are lower in pitch and the thicker stones produce higher pitches. The pyeongyeong is derived from a Chinese instrument, the bianqing. |
| Pyeonjong |  | Korea | The pyeonjong is an ancient Korean musical instrument consisting of a set of 16 bronze bells, played melodically. The bells are hung in a wooden frame and struck with a mallet. Along with the stone chimes called pyeongyeong, they were an important instrument in Korea's ritual and court music going back to ancient times. Although all the bells have the same shape they vary in pitch according to thickness; the thinner bells are lower in pitch and the thicker bells produce higher pitches. Several sets of Chinese bianzhong were imported to the Korean court from China during the Song Dynasty. The instrument is still used in Korean court music. |
| Quijada de Burro |  | Peru | The quijada de burro is a dried-out donkeys jawbone that is played like a guiro in Spanish America, especially in Peru. It is used as a shaker by rattling the molars and a percussion instrument by striking the sides with a stick, or beating the bone with one's palm. Afro Peruvian music is commonly performed by duos of Creole guitars, the Cajon, Cajita and the peculiar Quijada de Burro. |
| Rainstick |  | Chile | A rainstick is a long, hollow tube which is filled with small baubles such as beads or beans and has small pins arranged helically on its inside surface. When the stick is upended, the beads fall to the other end of the tube, making a sound reminiscent of a rainstorm as they bounce off the pins. The rainstick is generally used to create atmospheric sound effects or as a percussion instrument. The rainstick is generally considered to have been invented by Chilean natives in South America, and was played in the belief that it could bring about rainstorms. |
| Ratchet |  | Israel | A ratchet, also called a noisemaker (or, when used in Judaism, a Purim gragger or ra'ashan), is an orchestral musical instrument played by percussionists. Operating on the principle of the ratchet device, a gearwheel and a stiff board is mounted on a handle, which can be freely rotated. The handle is held and the whole mechanism is swung around, the momentum causing the board to click against the gearwheel, making a clicking and rattling noise. Alternatively, smaller ratchets are sometimes held still or mounted and the handle turned rapidly by the player. |
| Ring of Bells |  | England | A "ring of bells" is a set of 3 to sixteen bells hung in a circle for change ringing, a particular method of ringing bells in patterns. Often hung in a church tower, such a set is usually tuned to the notes of a diatonic scale (without intervening chromatic notes). A peal in changing ringing may have bells playing for several hours, playing 5,000 or more patterns without a break or repetition. The distinctive feature of these English-style rings is that they are hung for full-circle ringing: each bell is suspended from a (usually wooden) headstock, which in turn is connected to the bellframe by bearings, allowing the bell to swing freely through just over 360 degrees; the headstock is fitted with a wooden wheel around which a rope is wrapped. The image shows the bell ringing in Stoke Gabriel parish church, south Devon, England. |
| Riqq |  | Egypt | The riqq (also known as riq or rik) is a type of tambourine used as a traditional instrument in Arabic music. It is an important instrument in both folk and classical music throughout the Arabic-speaking world. It traditionally has a wooden frame (although in the modern era it may also be made of metal), jingles, and a thin, translucent head made of fish skin (or, more recently, a synthetic material). Although in the West the tambourine is generally considered to be a simple rhythm instrument suited for unskilled performers, riq players are capable of great subtlety and virtuosity. The riq is used in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, and Syria; in Libya, where it is rare, it is called mriq. It is between 20 and 25 cm in diameter and is now effectively a man's instrument. |
| Rolmo |  | Tibet | Rolmo, a pair of cymbal with broad central bosses, are used in Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies. They are held one above the other and struck by vertical movement. |
| Roneat |  | Cambodia | The roneat is a musical instrument used in the traditional and classical musics of Cambodia. It is used by both the Khmer majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities. The roneat is a trough-resonated keyboard percussion instrument; generally played with two mallets. Roneat ek is a smaller xylophone. Roneat thung is a larger xylophone (see image). Roneat dek is a smaller metallophone. Roneat thong is a larger metallophone. It is no longer used. |
| Saron |  | Indonesia | The saron is a musical instrument of Indonesia, which is used in the gamelan. It typically consists of seven bronze bars placed on a wooden trough, which also serves as resonator. It is usually about 20 cm (8 in) high, and is played on the floor by a seated performer. Three instruments belong to the saron family that employ different sizes and pitch registers: the largest size with the lowest register is called Saron demung or demung. The medium size with a medium octave range is called saron barung or saron. The smallest size and highest register is called saron panerus or peking. |
| Shekere |  | Nigeria | The shekere is a percussion instrument from Africa, consisting of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. Throughout the continent it is called different things, such as the lilolo, axatse (Ghana), and chequere. It is predominantly called shekere in Nigeria. The instrument is used for folkloric as well as some of the popular music. In performance it is shaken and/or hit against the hands. |
| Sil-snyan |  | China | Sil-snyan is a pair of small hand cymbals linked togehther. It is accompanied by the dung-dkar (a conch instrument) and the “mchod-rnga” (an offering drum) in an ensemble, a traditional offering to Buddha. The sound of the ensemble is said to make the ghosts panic and Buddha happy. |
| Singing Bowl |  | Tibet | Singing bowls (also known as 'Himalayan bowls' or 'rin' or suzu gongs in Japan) are a type of bell, specifically classified as a standing bell. Rather than hanging inverted or attached to a handle, standing bells sit with the bottom surface resting. The sides and rim of singing bowls vibrate to produce sound. Singing bowls were traditionally used throughout Asia as part of Bön and Tantric Buddhist sadhana. Today they are employed worldwide both within and without these spiritual traditions, for meditation, relaxation, healthcare, personal well-being and religious practice. |
| Sistrum |  | Egypt | A sistrum is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient Egypt. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and between 10 and 30 cm in width. When shaken the small rings or loops of thin metal on its movable crossbars produce a sound that can range from a soft tinkling to a loud jangling. |
| Slenthem |  | Indonesia | The slenthem (also spelled slentem) is an instrument in the gamelan. It is similar to the family of sarons, in that it usually has seven keys and a range of about an octave, pitched below the saron demung (the lowest saron), and generally the same as the slentho. However, in sound it is much softer than the saron, because its keys are in the delicate shape of those of the gendér, and it is hit with soft mallets (tabuh) like those used on the gendér. The resonator bars below the keys are more similar to the gendér than the saron. It generally plays the basic melody (balungan) of a composition, although it sometimes uses techniques similar to the saron to elaborate. It is especially favored in quieter gamelan ensembles. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Talempong |  | Indonesia | A talempong a small kettle gong which gives its name to an ensemble of four or five talempong as well as other gongs and drums. The term can refer to the instrument, the ensemble, or the genre of music. Talempong is a traditional music of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia. The talempong produce a static texture consisting of interlocking rhythms. Talempong can be used to play a wide variety of music, including traditional and modern. |
| Tambourine |  | Europe | The tambourine or Marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all. The tambourine can be held in the hand or mounted on a stand, and can be played in numerous ways, from stroking or shaking the jingles to striking it sharply with hand or stick or using the tambourine to strike the leg or hip. Tambourines come in many different shapes with the most common being circular. It is found in many forms of music, classical music, Roma music, Persian music, gospel music, pop music and rock and roll. |
| Temple Block |  | Korea | The temple block is a percussion instrument originating in China, Japan and Korea where it is used in religious ceremonies. It is a carved hollow wooden instrument with a large slit. In its traditional form, the wooden fish, the shape is somewhat bulbous; modern instruments are also used which are rectangular in shape. Several blocks of varying sizes are often used together to give a variety of pitches. In western music, their use can be traced back to early jazz drummers, and they are not uncommon in modern orchestral music. Its sound is similar to that of the wood block, although temple blocks have a darker, more "hollow" timbre. The image shows a temple block from Korea. It is called a moktak. |
| Teukjong |  | Korea | The teukjong is a single large bronze bell used in Korean ritual music. It is suspended from a wooden frame. A “kaktoe” made from cow horn is used to strike the teukjong. The bell sounds like a bronze bell in a temple. The teukjong was made popular by King Sejong the Great. |
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