balafon: a xylophone from Mali; original instrument of the jali

bomba: African-derived music and dance from coastal regions of Puerto Rico

caja: a box-shaped percussion instrument made of wood

capoeria: an Afro-Brazilian martial arts dance using acrobatic movement

changgo: a double-headed hourglass drum of Korea; used in both festival processions and classical stage music

cheres: a wide belt worn as a bulletproof vest in the Carpathian Mountains

cimbalom: a stringed instrument related to the hammered dulcimer of Western Europe played using two hammers; also known as the tsimbl

conga: a barrel-shaped, single-headed hand drum from Cuba; mainstay of Latin Caribbean percussion

cuatro: guitar-like fretted lead instrument of Puerto Rico with five double courses of strings

cumbia: rhythmically mid-tempo song and dance; perhaps the most popular style in Colombia and widespread throughout Latin America

cumbiamba: a traditional open-air party in Colombia’s Caribbean coastal region

maculêlê: an Afro-Brazilian dance using sticks and machetes which imitates the cutting of sugar cane

mapalé: perhaps one of the purest African rhythms found in Colombia; an up-tempo rhythm played and danced at an incredibly fast speed for long periods of time

maqam: mode system of Arabic and Turkish music with characteristic quarter tones

m’bira: hand-held instrument with tuned metal keys and gourd or wood resonator from Africa; also known as a thumb piano

merengue: folk and popular music of the Dominican Republic; played in a fast 2/4 meter with alternating stanzas and vocal or instrumental refrains, known as a jaleos

nay: an end-blown flute, from the Farsi for “reed”

ngoni: a plucked lute from West Africa

niggunim: mystical melodies associated with Hasidic Judaism

pandereta: a handheld drum from Puerto Rico with a stretched animal skin covering a round wooden frame

panduri: a fretted string instrument from the country of Georgia

plena: a song form of Puerto Rico using frame drums and improvised lyrics of social and political commentary; also known as the “sung newspaper”

puya: a song and dance form related to the cumbia of Colombia, although slightly faster rhythmically

qanun: a predecessor of the harp and piano; often referred to as the Arabic or Turkish zither.

salamuri: an ancient wind instrument from the country of Georgia

salsa: popular hybrid of traditional Cuban and Puerto Rican music fused with American jazz instrumentation; developed in New York City and popularized throughout Latin America

samba de roda: a spontaneous dance from Brazil that is performed in a circle and has roots in Angola

sangen: a three-string instrument of Japan, used in many different styles of traditional music

sikus: a panpipe of the indigenous highland culture of South America

son: a popular song style of Cuba characterized by string accompaniment of guitar and percussion

timbales: mid-sized Afro-Cuban drums played with sticks; popular throughout Latin music

‘ud: short-necked, fretless, plucked lute of the Arab world; the direct ancestor of the European lute

uilleann pipes: the bellows-driven bagpipes of Ireland

vallenato: a form of dance music from Colombia’s Atlantic coast; traditionally played with accordion and caja

yangqin: a Chinese version of the hammered dulcimer

darbuka/dumbek: an hourglass-shaped drum popular throughout the Middle East

didgeridoo: an Australian aboriginal trumpet made from a eucalyptus branch; also used in Haitian music

djembe: goblet shaped hand drum; perhaps the most popular drum from Africa

doli: a percussion instrument from the country of Georgia; made of a small wooden cylinder which is covered by leather.

güira: a metal variant of guïro from the Dominican Republic

güiro: a percussion instrument from Cuba and Puerto Rico made of hollowed-out gourd and played with a scraper

hora: a popular Jewish folk dance performed in a hand-held circle

jali: oral historian, musician and storyteller from the Mandinka culture of western Africa; also known as griot

kayagum: a Korean zither with movable bridges

klezmer: instrumental music of the Jews of Eastern Europe

kora: a harp-lute from West Africa made from a gourd

koto: a Japanese zither with movable bridges