Musical instruments of the Indian subcontinent can be broadly classified according to the Hornbostel–Sachs system into four categories: chordophones (string instruments), aerophones (wind instruments), membranophones (drums) and idiophones (non-drum percussion instruments).
Chordophones
Plucked strings
Bowed strings
• Chikara • Dhantara • Dilruba • Ektara violin • Esraj • Kamaicha • Kingri (string instrument) • Mayuri Vina or Taus • Onavillu • Behala (violin type) • Pena (musical instrument) • Pinaka vina • Pulluvan Veena - one stringed violin • Ravanahatha • Sarangi • Classical Sarangi • Sarinda • Tar Shehnai • Taus • Villu Paatu - arched bow instrument
Other string instruments
- Gethu or Jhallari – struck tanpura
- Gubguba or Jamuku (khamak)
- Pulluvan kutam
- Santoor – Hammered dulcimer
Aerophones
Single reed
- Pepa
- Pungi or Been
Double reed
- Kuzhal
- Mukhavina
- Nadaswaram
- Shehnai
- Sundari
- Tangmuri
Flute
- Alghoza – double flute
- Bansuri
- Venu (Carnatic flute) Pullanguzhal
Bagpipes
- Mashak
- Titti
- Sruti upanga
Free reed
- Gogona
- Morsing
Free reed and bellows
- Shruti box
- Harmonium (hand-pumped)
Brass
- Bigul – see Bugle
- Ekkalam
- Karnal
- Kombu (instrument)
- Ramsinga
- Kahal
- Nagfani
- Turi
- Tutari
Membranophones
Hand drums
Hand frame drums
- Daf, duf, or dafli – medium or large frame drum without jingles, of Persian origin
- Dubki, dimdi or dimri – small frame drum without jingles
- Kanjira – small frame drum with one jingle
- Kansi – small drum without jingles
- Patayani thappu – medium frame drum played with hands
Stick and hand drums
- Chenda
- Davul
- Dhak
- Dhimay
- Dhol
- Dholi
- Dollu
- Idakka
- Thavil
- Udukai
- Urumi (drum)
Stick drums
- Chande
- Davul
- Kachhi Dhol
- Nagara – pair of kettledrums
- Pambai – unit of two cylindrical drums
- Parai thappu, halgi – frame drum played with two sticks
- Sambal
- Stick daff or stick duff – daff in a stand played with sticks
- Tamak'
- Tasha – type of kettledrum
- Timki
- Urumee
Idiophones
- Chigggjha – fire tong with brass jingles
- Chengila – metal disc
- Eltathalam
- Gegvrer – brass vessel
- Ghaynti – Northern Indian bell
- Ghatam and Matkam (Earthenware pot drum)
- Ghunyugroo
- Khartal or Chiplya
- Manjira or jhanj or taal
- Nut – clay pot
- Sankarpjlnjang – lithophone
- Thali – metal plate
- Thattukanvjzhi mannai
- Yakshahgana bells
Melodic
- Jal tarang, ceramic bowls with water
- Kanch tarang, a type of glass harp
- Loh tarang (लोह तरंग), a set of tuned gongs
- Kashtha tarang, a type of xylophone
Hand harmonium
Dwarkanath Ghose (Dwarkin) modified the French pedal harmonium.
Electronic
- Roland HandSonic
- Electronic tanpura
- Electronic (digital) tabla
- Talameter
- Musical instrument of Tamil nadu
- List of Indian dance
References
