In this modern age of the internet, we try not to engage ourselves in anything manual but the sweet memories of the good old days lie in the hard work people used to do. The children playing outside in the dirt is one of the few good memories the people in their late 60s and 70s have nowadays. But just because we have the internet today does not mean we cannot indulge ourselves in the pleasure of doing something that is not done by artificial intelligence or is one click away on the internet. Now when most of the laborious things are done by AI, we humans have the chance to express our creative side than ever before. So today we have brought to you the top 10 small musical instruments for adults that help you spend time on becoming better at something while also nourishing the inner artist.
1. Kazoo
This musical instrument when blown into adds a buzzing quality to the player’s voice. The kazoo is rather hummed into than blown and the air pressure hits the kazoo membrane which makes it vibrate, creating a buzzing sensation to the voice. The sound made on the instrument results in being different than the player’s voice.
2. Lyre Harp
This instrument is one of the oldest instruments be a part of the lute family of instruments. These are considered yoke lute instruments in organology. One of the earliest examples of lyre was discovered in Mesopotamia, dating to 2700 BCE. There are two types of lyres found, one is the eastern lyre and the other is the western lyre. The examples of this instrument have also been discovered in Egypt, the Levant, Syria, and Anatolia.
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3. Spoons Percussion
Ever thought you would find a musical instrument lying in your kitchen cabinet? Well, the musical spoon percussion also known as Lozhki is nothing but a pair of spoons although they are a huge part of the Russian Folk music where they were introduced first. The instruments are made out of different kinds of woodsuch as birch or maple which results in different types of sounds that are made by the instrument. The player gets the name Lozkhari and many talented players even include 15 spoons at one time to create music.
4. Triangle Percussion
This percussion instrument is considered to be an idiophone. From the name the shape of it is quite clear and it comes with a metallic rod called the beater. Hitting the triangle with a beater results in the vibration of the triangle which produces sound. However, it is not a complete triangle as one of its angleshas an opening with one of the bars not touching the other. The opening is made there to make the instrument have a definite pitch and rich overtones. Even though the instrument is not at all overwhelming to look at and play it played a huge part in European classical music in the middle of the 18th century and also folk music, Cajun music, and rock music. In these genres, the sound is sometimes manipulated by damping the fingers to vary tones.
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5. Tongue Drum
This instrument is also part of the idiophone family so it is clear that the sound made with this instrument is nothing but vibrations that are produced when the instrument is hit. This instrument is played with mallets or fingers and creates a wholesome bell-like tone. The steel drum has its roots in the ancient civilizations of Africans, Aztecs, and Indonesian’s wooden slit drum.The most iconic base structure for today’s modern steel tongue drums is the 1990 Whale Drum by Jim Doble and Tambiro by Felle Vega.
6. Maraca Shaker Rattles
This is also a percussion instrument that has been appearing in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music for centuries. A rattling sound is produced when the maracas are shaken. The Crescentia calabash fruits are filled with a few pebbles and Lagenaria gourds to make a rattling sound. Sometimes human hair is used at the top of the instrument and a cut is made to look like a mouth. Shamans are mainly found to be using the maracas in their spiritual rituals. In the modern day, these instruments are also made with wood, plastic, and leather.
7. Handpan
This instrument belongs to the steelpan family. The term handpan was first seen online when an American steelpan producer Pantheon Steel described their new product desvelopment which will be launched as an alternative to the Hang. The instrument is made of two halves of a shell-like structure with the center tone field named Ding surrounded by at least seven tone fields and an opening at the bottom called Gu.
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8. Ocarina
This instrument is also known as the potato flute and is believed to be belonging toa very old family of instruments dating back over 12,000 years.The instrument usually has one mouthpiece to blow air in with four to twelve holes for fingers. It is usually made with clay or ceramics but nowadays it is made with plastic, wood, glass, metal, and bones. This instrument is of huge significance when it comes to Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. It is known that the Aztecs originally introduced ocarina in the European songs and dances.
9. Kalimba
This instrument is basically the modern and westernized version of the old Mbira of the traditional people of Zimbabwe. The Mbira consisted of a wooden body along a resonator with metal tines attached to it. The music was produced by picking the metal tines with the forefinger of the hands while holding the instruments with both hands. This instrument is considered alamellaphone by musicologists. It is considered as a part of the idiophone family. In South Africa, this instrument is often played in religious ceremonies and weddings. The traditional Mbira was converted to today’s Kalimba in the late 1950s by commercial production done by ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracy.
10. Harmonica
This instrument has a worldwide customer base. It is also known as the mouth organ or French harp and is a free reed wind instrument. It is one of the smallest and compact musical instruments to have so it is very good for traveling too. This affordable and versatile instrument has gained demand from various genres such as Blues, Jazz, Rock, Folk, and Country. The rich tone of this instrument has made it a go-to musical instrument for many famous movies and series.
