african musical instruments
Olivia Hensley
Updated on August 19, 2026
5 popular African music instruments
The Kora. The Kora is so widely used across West Africa that a Pan-African music and culture awards ceremony – the Kora Awards – was named after the instrument. Uhadi musical bow. Uhadi is the Xhosa version and name of a bow instrument. Mbira. Djembe drum. Marimba.
What are the 4 main categories of African musical instruments?
Introduction. African musical instruments are classified into four groups namely; idiophones, chordophones, aerophones and membranophones.
What are ten African instruments?
10 Instruments You Didn’t Know Were From Africa
Akoting. Found in Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bisau (all in West Africa), the akoting is believed to have given birth to the modern-day banjo. Mbira. Kora. Balafon. Ekwe. Udu. Algaita. Marimba.
What is the main instrument in Africa?
Harps are the main stringed instrument in Africa. They are quiet instruments that usually accompany a singer/storyteller/poet. Harps in Africa date back at least 5,000 years. Today, they are mostly found just south of the Sahara desert from Mauritania on the west coast to Uganda on the east coast.
What are the 8 types of African music?
14 African musical styles for you to explore
Soukous. Soukous is a form of music that stems from rumba. JuJu. Mbalax. Zilin. Gnawa. Mbaqanga. Chimurenga. Majika.
What is a traditional African percussion instrument?
The shekere (from Yoruba Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀) is a West African percussion instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads or cowries woven into a net covering the gourd. The instrument is common in West African and Latin American folkloric traditions as well as some of the popular music styles.
What instruments are used in West Africa?
Instruments Used in West African Music
The djembe, tama and sabar are drums. The balafon is like a xylophone, and there are several stringed and wind instruments, such as the reed flute, thekora and the kontingo.
What are traditional musical instruments?
Traditional/Local Musical Instruments
Cordophones (stringed instruments) Bowed stringed instruments: Plucked stringed instruments: Aerophones (Wind instruments) Membranophones (Skinned ınstruments) Ideophones (Instruments that strike their own bodies)
What are the traditional African Chordophone instruments?
Chordophones. This class, comprising instruments that produce sound from strings stretched between fixed points, is well represented in Africa. There is an abundance of specimens in the form of zithers, lutes, and harps.
What is an African drum called?
The djembe is one of West Africa’s best known instruments. This goblet-shaped drum is traditionally carved from a single piece of African hardwood and topped with an animal skin as a drumhead. In western understanding, the drum belongs to the membranophone class of instruments in the percussion family.
What instruments do they play in Kenya?
They are still used throughout the country. Drums come in many shapes and sizes. Different drums are used for different dances. These are made from animal horns.
Other instruments include;
Bells.Whistles.Fiddle.Flute (Muturiru)Harps.
Is the violin an African instrument?
While the violin family (including the cello, fiddle, viola, etc.) isn’t originally from Africa, there are similar instruments in the continent that have been there since the 5th century in certain regions.
What is a traditional African percussion instrument?
The shekere (from Yoruba Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀) is a West African percussion instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads or cowries woven into a net covering the gourd. The instrument is common in West African and Latin American folkloric traditions as well as some of the popular music styles.
What are the different types of musical instruments?
There are five main instrument families: strings, woodwind, brass, keyboards, and percussion.
What are traditional musical instruments?
Traditional/Local Musical Instruments
Cordophones (stringed instruments) Bowed stringed instruments: Plucked stringed instruments: Aerophones (Wind instruments) Membranophones (Skinned ınstruments) Ideophones (Instruments that strike their own bodies)
What type of instrument is a mbira?
The thumb piano, or mbira – a name derived from Shona language of Zimbabwe – is uniquely African percussion instrument. In the distant past it was made entirely of wood or bamboo and could have been used for a few thousand years.