Indian musical instruments can be broadly classified according to the

Hornbostel–Sachs Hornbostel–Sachs or Sachs–Hornbostel is a system of musical instrument classification devised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, and first published in the in 1914. An English translation was published in the '' Galpin Society ...

system into four categories:

chordophone String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the s ...

s (string instruments),

aerophone An aerophone () is a musical instrument that produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes (which are respectively chordophones and membranophones), and without the vibration of the inst ...

s (wind instruments), membranophones (drums) and

idiophone An idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself, without the use of air flow (as with aerophones), strings ( chordophones), membranes ( membranophones) or electricity ( electroph ...

s (non-drum percussion instruments).

Chordophones

Plucked strings

Bowed strings

* Chikara * Dhantara *

Dilruba The dilruba (also spelt dilrupa) is a bowed musical instrument originating in India. It is slightly larger than an esraj and has a larger, square resonance box. The dilruba holds particular importance in Sikh history. It became more widely k ...

* Ektara violin * Esraj * Kamaicha *

Kingri (string instrument) Kingri is a chordophone Indian bowed string instrument (string spike fiddle), similar to Rabab and Ravanastron. It has a resonator box of unglazed pottery, through which a stick is passed to function as the neck. History The Kingri is mentioned ...

* Mayuri Vina or Taus * Onavillu * Behala (violin type) *

Pena (musical instrument) Pena is a mono string instrument falling in the lute category, slightly similar to some of the traditional Indian stringed musical instruments such as the ravanahatha, ''ubo'' or the ''kenda''. It is the traditional musical instrument of Manip ...

* Pinaka vina * Pulluvan Veena - one stringed violin * Ravanahatha * Sarangi * Classical Sarangi * Sarinda * Tar Shehnai * Villu Paatu - arched bow instrument +

Behala Behala is a locality of South West Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala is a part of Kolkata Municipal Corporation area. It is broadly spread across Ward Nos. 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, ...

- Bengal Murshidabad Violin Persian "Behaaleh" (Restless)

Other string instruments

* Gethu or

Jhallari The jhallari, jallary, getchu vadyam or gethuvadyam, is a string percussion instrument from South India. It consists of a large resonator (kudam) carved and hollowed out of a log (usually of jackwood), a tapering neck of 1 to 2 feet long, a string ...

– struck tanpura *

Gubguba The gubguba, also known as gabgubagub, guba, gopijantro, gubgubbi, ananda lahari, premtal, khamak, khomok, chonka, jamidika, jamuku and bapang is an Indian percussion string instrument. It consists of a dried gourd or wooden resonator through whi ...

or Jamuku (khamak) * Pulluvan kutam *

Santoor The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is ...

– Hammered dulcimer

Aerophones

Single reed

Pepa Performance Evaluation Process Algebra (PEPA) is a stochastic process algebra designed for modelling computer and communication systems introduced by Jane Hillston in the 1990s. The language extends classical process algebras such as Milner's ...

* Pungi or

Been Been may refer to: *To be * Have been * Been (surname) * Beens, an ethnic group of Bangladesh *Pungi or been, an Indian wind instrument *Rudra veena The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra ...

Double reed

Kuzhal The kuzhal is a traditional double reed wind instrument used in the south Indian state of Kerala. It is similar in construction to a '' nagaswaram'' or a large ''shehnai'', and has a very shrill and penetrating tone. Kuzhal is primarily used as ...

* Mukhavina * Nadaswaram *

Shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.Sundari * Tangmuri

Flute

* Alghoza – double flute *

Bansuri A bansuri is an ancient side blown flute originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal like material used in Hindustani classical music. It is referred to as ''nadi'' and ''tunava'' in the ''Ri ...

* Venu (Carnatic flute) Pullanguzhal

Bagpipes

* Mashak * Titti * Sruti upanga

Free reed

Gogona The ''gogona'' is a type of jaw harp, a vibrating reed instrument that is used primarily in the traditional Bihu music in Assam. In Boro language, it is known as ''Gongina''. It is made of a piece of bamboo/horn that has a bifurcation on one end. ...

Morsing The morsing (also mukharshanku, mourching, morching or morchang; Sanskrit: दंत वाद्यन्तरात्मसत्रस्य, Telugu: మోర్సింగ్, Kannada: ಮೋರ್ಸಿಂಗ್, Rajasthani: मोर� ...

Free reed and bellows

* Shruti box * Harmonium (hand-pumped)

Brass

* Bigul – see

Bugle The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure. History The bugle developed from early musical or communication ...

* Ekkalam * Karnal * Kombu (instrument) * Ramsinga * Kahal * Nagfani * Turi * Tutari

Membranophones A membranophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification. ...

Hand drums

Hand frame drums

Daf Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...

, duf, or dafli – medium or large frame drum without jingles, of Persian origin * Dubki, dimdi or dimri – small frame drum without jingles *

Kanjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in India for many centuries. The kanjira's emergence in South Indian Carnatic ...

– small frame drum with one jingle * Kansi – small drum without jingles *

Patayani thappu The Patayani thappu is an Indian frame drum with a wooden frame. It is played with the hands. Thappu is used in the ritual art of Kerala known as Padayani, in which the drum accompanies stylized dance movements and provides percussive music ...

– medium frame drum played with hands

Stick and hand drums

Chenda The Chenda ( ml, ചെണ്ട, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende ...

* Davul * Dhak * Dhimay * Dhol * Dholi * Dollu *

Idakka The ''idakka'' (), also spelt edaykka/edakka, is an hourglass-shaped drum from Kerala in south India. This handy percussion instrument is very similar to the pan-Indian damaru. While the damaru is played by rattling knotted cords against the res ...

* Thavil *

Udukai The udukkai, udukai or udukku (Tamil language, Tamil: உடுக்கை) is a member of the family of membranophone percussion instruments of India and Nepal used in folk music and prayers in Tamil Nadu. The drums are an ancient design of ho ...

* Urumi (drum)

Stick drums

Chande The ''chande'' is a drum used in the traditional and classical music of South India and particularly in Yakshagana theatre art of Karnataka. It follows the Yakshagana Tala system. The rhythms are based on pre-classical music forms that Ka ...

* 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 The chengila, or cennala, is an Indian gong which helps the traditional singer or dancer keep time. Context and Playing Technique The chengila is a percussion instrument that maintains a steady beat and provides musical background. The thick bel ...

– metal disc * Eltathalam * Gegvrer – brass vessel * Ghaynti – Northern Indian bell *

Ghatam The ghaṭam ( sa, घटं ''ghaṭaṁ'', kan, ಘಟ ''ghaṭah'', ta, கடம் ''ghatam'', te, ఘటం ''ghatam'', ml, ഘടം, ''ghatam'') is a percussion instrument used in various repertoires across India. It's a varian ...

and Matkam (Earthenware pot drum) * Ghunyugroo * Khartal or Chiplya * Manjeewera 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 * Kashtha tarang, a type of

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

Hand harmonium

Dwarkanath Ghose ( Dwarkin) modified the French pedal harmonium.

Electronic

* Roland HandSonic * Electronic tanpura * Electronic (digital) tabla * Talameter

References

{{Rāgas as per Performance Time Indian musical instruments

Musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

Lists of musical instruments