| Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trembita |  | Ukraine | Trembita (Ukrainian: Трембіта) is an Ukrainian alpine horn made of wood. Used primarilly by mountain dwellers known as Hutsuls in the Carpathians. It was used as a signaling device to announce deaths, funerals, weddings. The tube is made from a straight piece of pine or spruce. It is split in two in order to carve out the core section. The sections are once again joined together and then wrapped in lime bark. Today it is often used in Ukrainian ethnograophic ensembles and as an episodic instrument in the Ukrainian folk instrument orchestra. |
| Trombone |  | Europe | The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone; sound is produced when the player’s buzzing lips (embouchure) cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. The trombone is usually characterized by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube to change pitches, although the less common valve trombone uses three valves similar to those on a trumpet. Today, the trombone can usually be found in wind ensembles/concert bands, symphony orchestras, marching bands, military bands, brass bands, brass choirs, etc. |
| Tromboon |  | United States | The tromboon (also called a babone) is a musical instrument made up of the reed and bocal of the bassoon attached to the body of a trombone in place of the trombone's mouthpiece, combining the "worst" aspects of each instrument: a reed and a slide. The name of the instrument is a portmanteau of "trombone" and "bassoon". The sound quality of the instrument is best described as comical, loud, and annoying. This instrument is called for in the scores of P. D. Q. Bach in his oratorio The Seasonings as well as the Serenude (for devious instruments). |
| Trompeta China |  | Cuba | The trompeta china (also called corneta china), a Cuban traditional wind instrument, is actually the Chinese suona, an instrument in the oboe family introduced to Cuba by Chinese immigrants during the colonial period (specifically the late nineteenth century). The trompeta china is used primarily in Cuban carnival music, particularly in the eastern region of Santiago, where it is an integral part of the comparsa (carnival musical ensemble). In addition to its use in Cuba, the Canadian jazz saxophonist and flutist Jane Bunnett has taken up the trompeta china and uses it with her Afro-Cuban jazz band. |
| Trumpet |  | Egypt | The trumpet is a musical instrument in the brass family. It has the highest register in the brass section. A musician who plays the trumpet is called a trumpet player or trumpeter. The most common trumpet by far is a transposing instrument pitched in B flat - the note read as middle C sounds as the B flat 2 semitones below - but there are many other trumpets in this family of instruments. The most common type is the B-flat trumpet, but C, D, E-flat, E, F, G and A trumpets are also available. The oldest trumpets date back to 1500 BC and earlier. The bronze and silver trumpets from Tutankhamun's grave in Egypt, bronze lurs from Scandinavia, and metal trumpets from China date back to this period. |
| Tuba |  | France | The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched of brass instruments. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. An orchestra usually has a single tuba, though occasionally a second tuba is required. It serves as the bass of the brass section, though its versatility means it can double as reinforcement for the strings and woodwinds, or increasingly as a solo instrument. The euphonium is sometimes referred to as a tenor tuba, and is pitched one octave higher (in B-flat) than the BB-flat contrabass tuba. The image shows the comparison of euphonium (left) and tuba (right). |
| Tumpong |  | Philippines | The tumpong is a type of Philippine bamboo flute used by the Maguindanaon, half the size of the largest bamboo flute, the palendag. A lip-valley flute like the palendag, the tumpong makes a sound when players blow through a bamboo reed placed on top of the instrument and the air stream produced is passed over an airhole atop the instrument. This masculine instrument is usually played during family gatherings in the evening and is presently the most common flute played by the Maguindanaon. |
| Turkish Ney |  | Turkey | The Turkish ney reed flute, together with the Turkish tanbur lute and Turkish kemençe fiddle are considered the most typical instruments of Classical Turkish music. A rim-blown, oblique flute made of reed, the Turkish ney has six finger-holes in front and a thumb-hole in back. Sizes range from the lowest, Davud (in E/mi, 95 cm long), to the highest, Bolahenk nısfiye (in d/re, 52.5 cm long). Nearly all Turkish neys have a mouthpiece. The classical Turkish ney's closest relatives in other countries, the Arab nay and the Persian ney, do not use a mouthpiece, but rather blow against the sharpened edge of the tube. Noted recent ney players include Niyazi Sayın (see image), Akagunduz Kutbay, and Süleyman Erguner (torun). |
| Txistu |  | Spain | Basque Country (an autonomous community in the Kingdom of Spain) is home to a lively style of folk music called trikitixa, based on a diatonic accordion and a tambourine. Another traditional Basque instrument used in the trikitixa is the txistu. The txistuis a kind of recorder that became a symbol for the Basque folk revival. The name may stem from the general Basque word ziztu (to whistle.) This three-holed recorder can be played with one hand, leaving the other one free to play a percussion instrument. |
| Venu |  | India | The venu is a keyless bamboo transverse flute used in the Carnatic music of South India. Although it is often called Carnatic flute or simply flute in English, venu is the instrument's ancient Sanskrit name. The flute has a blowing hole near one end, and eight closely placed finger holes. The fingers of both hands are used to close and open the holes. The instrument comes in various sizes. The venu is associated with the Hindu god Krishna, who is often depicted playing it. The image shows Krishna (holding a venu) with Radha (right). |
| Vienna Horn |  | Austria | The Vienna horn (German: Wiener Horn) is a type of horn used primarily in Vienna, Austria. It is used throughout Vienna, including the Vienna Philharmonic and Wiener Staatsoper. The Vienna horn uses a peculiar form of double cylinder valve associated with the Viennese firm Uhlmann of the 1840s known as a pumpenvalve, which is distinct from although similar to the standard piston valve. |
| Vuvuzela |  | South Africa | A vuvuzela is an air horn, approximately one metre in length, made from plastic and commonly seen at soccer matches all over the world. Vuvuzela: A rough translation from Zulu meaning making noise. This soccer horn originally made out of tin, but is now locally manufactured (in South Africa) in plastic. It has largely influenced and shaped South Africa’s soccer and sport culture into the alive, vocal and energetic state that it is in today. |
| Wagner Tuba |  | Germany | The Wagner tuba is a comparatively rare brass instrument that combines elements of both the horn and the tuba. It was originally created for Richard Wagner's operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Since then, other composers have written for it. Wagner wanted an instrument that could intone the Valhalla motif somberly like a trombone but with a less incisive tone like that of a horn. That effect was obtained by a conical bore (like a horn) and the use of the horn mouthpiece (tapered as opposed to a cup mouthpiece such as on a trombone). The instrument is built with rotary valves which, like those on the horn, are played with the left hand. |
| Western Concert Flute |  | Europe | The Western concert flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. It is a transverse side-blown musical instrument made of metal. The flute is recognisable by its clean, pure sound. Thousands of works have been composed for the concert flute. The standard concert flute is pitched in C and has a range of about three and a half octaves starting from the musical note C4 (corresponding to middle C on the piano), however, some experienced flautists are able to reach C8. Modern professional flutes may have a longer B-foot joint, which can reach B3. |
| Whistle |  | China | A simple whistle is a woodwind instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. Many types exist, from small police and sports whistles (also called pea whistles), to much larger train whistles, which are steam whistles specifically designed for use on locomotives and ships. Although whistles have a musical characteristic (for example train whistles sound a minor-seventh musical chord) whistles are not usually considered "musical" in the sense of being able to play a chosen melody, but mainly the small whistles can also be used as a – very shrill and loud – noise and rhythm instrument. The whistle has its roots dating back to ancient China. Chinese night watchmen used to blow into the tops of acorns in order to alert the towns of invading Mongolians. |
| 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".) |
| 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). |
| Zurla |  | Macedonia | The zurla is an oboe-like woodwind instrument similar to the Turkish zurna, used in the Republic of Macedonia and nearby Balkan countries. |
| Zurna |  | Georgia | The zurna (also called Surnay, birbynė, lettish horn, surla, sornai, zournas, zurma) is a woodwind instrument with a double reed, popular in the towns of Eastern Georgia and also in Kartlian villages. It has 7 or 8 finger holes above and one finger hole below. The Zurna had often been featured in the Ottoman military bands. |
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