This is a list of musical instruments for every letter of the alphabet, from accordion to zurna. Each one has its family and one line about what it is. Use it for homework, a word game, or an alphabet book of your own.
How to read the list
Most instruments belong to one of four families.
- Strings: the sound comes from a string that shakes.
- Woodwinds: the player blows across a hole or through a reed.
- Brass: the player buzzes the lips into a metal mouthpiece.
- Percussion: the player hits, shakes, or scrapes it.
Keyboard instruments are listed as keyboard.
A to E
| Instrument | Family | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Accordion | Keyboard | A box with bellows that the player squeezes, with keys or buttons |
| Bagpipes | Woodwind | Pipes fed with air from a bag under the arm |
| Banjo | Strings | A round body with a skin top, and five strings |
| Bass drum | Percussion | The largest drum in the orchestra |
| Bassoon | Woodwind | A long, low woodwind with a double reed |
| Bongo drums | Percussion | Two small drums played with the hands |
| Castanets | Percussion | Two small shells that click together |
| Celesta | Keyboard | A small keyboard whose hammers strike metal bars |
| Cello | Strings | A large string instrument that the player holds between the knees |
| Clarinet | Woodwind | A black tube with a single reed |
| Cymbals | Percussion | Two metal plates that crash together |
| Didgeridoo | Wind | A long wooden tube from Australia. The player buzzes the lips, as on a trumpet. |
| Djembe | Percussion | A goblet-shaped drum from West Africa |
| Double bass | Strings | The largest and lowest string instrument |
| English horn | Woodwind | A larger, lower cousin of the oboe |
| Erhu | Strings | A Chinese instrument with two strings and a bow |
| Euphonium | Brass | A small tuba with a warm sound |
F to L
| Instrument | Family | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Fiddle | Strings | Another name for the violin, used in folk music |
| Flute | Woodwind | A metal tube that the player holds sideways |
| French horn | Brass | A coiled brass tube with a wide bell |
| Glockenspiel | Percussion | A row of small metal bars played with mallets |
| Gong | Percussion | A large metal disc that hangs from a frame |
| Guitar | Strings | Six strings, plucked or strummed |
| Harmonica | Wind | A small box of reeds that the player blows and draws on |
| Harp | Strings | A tall frame with 47 strings |
| Harpsichord | Keyboard | An older relative of the piano that plucks its strings |
| Ipu | Percussion | A gourd drum from Hawaii |
| Jaw harp | Percussion | A small metal frame that the player holds at the mouth and twangs |
| Jingle bells | Percussion | Small round bells on a strap or a stick |
| Kalimba | Percussion | A small box with metal tongues, played with the thumbs |
| Kazoo | Other | A tube that buzzes when the player hums into it |
| Koto | Strings | A long Japanese instrument with 13 strings |
| Lute | Strings | A pear-shaped ancestor of the guitar |
| Lyre | Strings | A small harp from ancient Greece |
M to R
| Instrument | Family | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Mandolin | Strings | A small instrument with eight strings in pairs |
| Maracas | Percussion | A pair of rattles |
| Marimba | Percussion | A large instrument with wooden bars and pipes below them |
| Ney | Woodwind | A reed flute from the Middle East |
| Nyckelharpa | Strings | A Swedish fiddle with keys |
| Oboe | Woodwind | A woodwind with a double reed. It tunes the orchestra. |
| Ocarina | Woodwind | A small, rounded flute made of clay |
| Organ | Keyboard | A keyboard that sends air through pipes |
| Pan flute | Woodwind | A row of pipes of different lengths |
| Piano | Keyboard | 88 keys that make hammers strike strings |
| Piccolo | Woodwind | A tiny flute, the highest instrument in the orchestra |
| Qanun | Strings | A flat instrument from the Middle East with many strings, played on the lap |
| Quena | Woodwind | A flute from the Andes mountains |
| Rainstick | Percussion | A tube filled with seeds or beads |
| Recorder | Woodwind | A simple flute with a whistle mouthpiece |
S to Z
| Instrument | Family | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Saxophone | Woodwind | A metal instrument with a single reed |
| Sitar | Strings | A long-necked instrument from India |
| Snare drum | Percussion | A drum with wires underneath that rattle |
| Sousaphone | Brass | A tuba that wraps around the player, for marching |
| Steel drum | Percussion | A tuned metal pan from Trinidad and Tobago |
| Tambourine | Percussion | A hoop with small metal discs |
| Theremin | Electronic | An instrument the player does not touch |
| Timpani | Percussion | Large copper drums that can be tuned to notes |
| Tin whistle | Woodwind | A small metal whistle with six holes |
| Triangle | Percussion | A bent steel bar struck with a metal beater |
| Trombone | Brass | A brass instrument with a slide |
| Trumpet | Brass | The highest brass instrument, with three valves |
| Tuba | Brass | The largest and lowest brass instrument |
| Ukulele | Strings | A small guitar with four strings, from Hawaii |
| Uilleann pipes | Woodwind | Irish bagpipes pumped with the elbow |
| Vibraphone | Percussion | Metal bars with spinning discs that make the sound wobble |
| Viola | Strings | A little larger and lower than a violin |
| Violin | Strings | The smallest and highest of the string family |
| Washboard | Percussion | A ridged board that the player scrapes |
| Woodblock | Percussion | A hollow block of wood |
| Xylophone | Percussion | Wooden bars played with mallets |
| Yangqin | Strings | A Chinese instrument whose strings are struck with thin sticks |
| Zither | Strings | A flat box with many strings, played on a table or the lap |
| Zurna | Woodwind | A loud double-reed pipe from Turkey and nearby lands |
Things to do together
Alphabet game. Go around the table. Each person names an instrument for the next letter. Use the list when you get stuck.
Sort by family. Write ten of the names on cards. Sort them into strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
Hear one new instrument. Pick an instrument you have never heard. Find a video of someone playing it.
Make an alphabet book. Draw one instrument for each letter. It will take 26 pages.
Find it on a map. Many of these come from one country or region. Find the home of the koto, the sitar, the djembe, and the steel drum. Read instruments from around the world.
Print and play
Print the instrument families listening chart. Find an instrument that suits your child with the instrument picker quiz. Read about the families in string instruments, woodwind instruments, brass instruments, and percussion instruments.
For all four families, see instruments of the orchestra for kids.
More from this guide
This article is part of Instruments of the orchestra for kids: the four families and how they sound.
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The brass family explained for parents and kids: how the trumpet, French horn, trombone, and tuba make sound, how to tell them apart, and pieces to hear.
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Cello vs double bass for kids and parents: size, strings, sound, how each is played, their jobs in the orchestra, and two pieces that show the difference.
Easiest instruments for a child to learn, and why
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.