One of the earliest instruments was the drum – originally probably a hollow tree trunk, beaten with a stick. Drumming is of great attraction to almost everybody, appealing to our deepest instincts. A selection of photographs below shows various types of drumming.

Drumming appeals to our deepest instincts. This Taiwanese child clearly enjoys drumming. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Drumming is a very important part of any Daoist event in Taiwan – temple festivals, parades, theatre performances, even funerals. Daoism is dealt with in detail elsewhere on this website, see Religion: Daoism in Taiwan.

A simple type of drum is the tabla, which is beaten with the fingertips.

Jain temples in western India are renowned due to their exquisite carvings in white marble. Some of these marvellous temples are presented at Religion: Jainism.

Yet another very simple type of ‘drum’ is the gong, a flat, circular metal disc, beaten with a mallet. This instrument is typical of China, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Blowing through various tubes to produce sounds is another very early type of music. This has evolved into a bewildering array of blowing instruments: flutes, lurs, horns, clarinets, to name but a few.

A third type of instrument is the string instrument, in which you strike your finger nail, or another hard object, on metal strings, amplifying the produced sound in a gourd, or some other hollow object. Or you may rub something, like cat’s hair, on the strings to produce a sound.

During a Kabuki (Japanese theatre) performance in Huwei, Taiwan, this musician is playing on a shamisen, or sangen (both words mean ‘three strings’), a traditional Japanese string instrument, on which you use a broad plectrum, called a bachi. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The harp is an advanced type of string instrument, played with the fingers.

During a music festival, orchestras from various local villages gather in the village of Prägraten, Virgen Valley, Tirol, Austria. Most members are clad in traditional dress. The white feathers in some of the hats symbolize the so-called chamois ‘feathers’ – a tuft of hairs from the back of the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). In former days, Austrian hunters would attach this tuft to their Tyrolian hat.

This man from Zaire is playing on a thumb piano, locally called mbira or kalimba, a musical instrument, consisting of a wooden board, fitted with a resonator. On the board, metal tines of uneven length are attached, and you play by holding the instrument in both hands, plucking at the tines with your thumbs. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

 A wandering musician and his assistant enjoy a break outside the Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The musician has only one leg – the artificial one is seen to the right. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

(Uploaded September 2017)

(Latest update February 2019)