Frame drums known as daira consist of a thin membrane of animal skin stretched and glued over a wooden hoop. Metal jingles such as rings, coins, or pairs of cymbals are usually attached to the hoop. The daira is held in one hand and is struck with the fingers, thumb, palm, or heel of the other hand. The pitch is tuned by tightening the skin with heat or loosening it with water.

Singers of maqam, the challenging genre of classical music of the Islamic world, use frame drums like the daira to accompany themselves as they create songs based on religious poetic texts. The daira is also played solo or in small ensembles to accompany dances and ritual processions at important events.

Silk Road Ensemble Musician Shane Shanahan:
(Silk Road Encounters DVD)
"This instrument has a calfskin head, and inside the wooden shell are mounted metal rings that give it a nice rattle sound when you hit it or shake it. You can play many different techniques on this. Three of the basic ones are a low-pitched bass tone, a high-pitched rim tone, and a 'slap' sound (muffled tone). The daira is very old. The frame drums in general are considered the oldest percussion instruments in the world. They found paintings on ancient cave walls that are over 5,000 years old that depict people playing frame drums in various ritual ceremonies."

The qanun is a plucked zither with a flat trapezoid-shaped body. It has 75 strings arranged so that three strings are plucked at the same time to make each pitch. The player uses the right hand to pluck the strings with a plectrum (pick) that is like a thimble with a metal point on one end. The left hand controls a set of switches that pull the strings to change the pitch. Qanun players use these switches to create beautiful melodies that mimic the sound of the human voice. The instrument is rested either on the player's lap or on a table, and played with two plectra, one attached to each index finger.

The qanun is a classical instrument of the Arab world, widely described in both oral and written traditions. Like other instruments of the Islamic world, including the ney and daira, it is often played in improvisation.

The name of the qanun, one of Turkey's primary instruments, comes from the Greek kanon, which means "rule." This shows the role that zithers once had in measuring the size of intervals of musical pitch. Similar trapezoidal zithers are found throughout West Asia and North Africa. Although the history of the qanun extends for several centuries, specifics of the instrument are unknown prior to the mid-nineteenth century.

The Mongolian words morin khuur translate literally to "horse fiddle." This instrument is instantly recognizable by the distinctive pegbox carved in the shape of a horse's head. The tuning pegs on either side of the scroll are known as the "horse's ears." The strings of the instrument and its bow are traditionally made of horsehair, although they are now often made of synthetic material. The morin khuur plays a prominent role in Mongolian music and culture. It is used to accompany folk singers and less frequently as a solo instrument and in small ensembles.

Traditionally the people of Mongolia are nomadic herders, and their love of the horse is an important aspect of Mongolian national identity. The horse on the scroll of the morin khuur and the instrument's ability to imitate the galloping sounds of horses reflect this love.

The pipa is a short-necked, plucked wooden lute. The head of the pipa is usually carved in a symbolic form such as a bat's head, often used because the word for "bat" in Chinese sounds similar to the word for "luck." The strings, once made of twisted silk, are now usually synthetic. The pipa is traditionally played by plucking the strings with a large plectrum (pick). The instrument is now played with small individual plectra placed on the tips of the right-hand fingers.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, instruments with long, straight necks and round resonators with snakeskin or wooden soundboards were played with a forward and backward plucking motion that sounded like "pi" and "pa." For this reason, all plucked instruments in ancient times were called "pipa."

Silk Road Ensemble Musician Wu Man:
(The Silk Road Project—Artist Interviews 2005)
"China is a huge country... [with] so many different ethnicities. It is amazing to see how similar the music is from the western part of China to Central Asian and Mongolian music. It is interesting to let people know that Chinese music is not Chinese music. For example, my instrument, the pipa, is said to be a Chinese instrument, but it came from Central Asia. Everything is related to each other.
The pipa has four strings: A, D, E, A. It has a very long history and has probably existed in China for more than 2,000 years. It is played with plastic fingernails [that attach to the end of each finger], similar to a banjo or guitar; it is a strumming instrument with lots of tremolo techniques. Major keys are the best for this instrument; anything with a flat or sharp key is difficult to make the voice come out."

The shakuhachi is made from the base of a bamboo stalk. A hole is drilled down the center of the stalk, and finger and thumbholes are drilled into the side. The shakuhachi is played by blowing air across the beveled (rounded) edge at the top end of the instrument while covering and uncovering the holes with fingertips.

The shakuhachi has been used in Japan since the fifteenth century to create music for Zen Buddhist meditation. The sounds produced by the shakuhachi range from feather-soft whispers to strong piercing tones. They are often used to reflect sounds from nature such as birdcalls, wind, and water. Today the shakuhachi is also played in jazz groups, orchestras, and popular music ensembles.

The cello, or violoncello, was invented in Italy during the seventeenth century, and became popular in northern Europe during the early 1700s. It is a member of the string instrument family (the group of instruments that makes sound through the vibration of strings). Early cellos were larger than those of today. Antonio Stradivari (1644—1737), the great maker of violoncellos and violins, standardized the size of the cello to what it is today.

The main frame of the cello is made mostly of wood, usually maple, spruce, or pine. Different woods are used for different parts of the cello. The strings of the cello are most often metal but can be made of gut or nylon. The cello is played in an upright position between the legs of a seated musician, resting on a metal spike called the endpin. It produces a deep, rich, and vibrant sound. There are also important parts inside the cello, such as the sound post that transfers sound from the front of the cello to the back.

Musicians that play the cello are called cellists. Cellists use a bow—strung with horsehair—to produce sound on the cello. However, the cello may also be played by plucking the strings.

The violin is the highest-pitched member of a family of instruments that includes the viola, cello, and double bass. It has a fretless fingerboard, four strings, and a distinctively shaped wooden body whose "waist" permits freedom of bowing. The violin is held on the shoulder and bowed with the right hand. It has a wide range of more than four octaves.

The violin evolved in Italy in the sixteenth century from the medieval fiddle and other instruments. Its average proportions were settled by the seventeenth century, but innovations in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries increased its tonal power. With its brilliance, agility, and singing tone, the violin has been immensely important in Western art music, and it has the largest and most distinguished repertoire of any stringed instrument. From the mid-seventeenth century it has been the foundation of the symphony orchestra, which today usually includes 20 to 26 violins. It is also widely used in chamber music and as a solo instrument. It is played as a folk instrument in many countries, with folk violins often being called fiddles.

The viola is a stringed instrument that is played with a bow. The viola serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the violin and the lower lines played by the cello and double bass.

Violas were made as early as the mid-sixteenth century, but composers considered them to be awkward instruments to write music for because of their unique range. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, composers increasingly recognized the viola for its deep tone and unique sound.

The viola has an extremely rich sound that is much more dark-toned and earthy than the violin. It is frequently used for playing harmonies and does not have the wide solo repertoire of the violin. Even though its deep mellow voice has a unique beauty, the viola is often underrated.

The duduk is an instrument that is made of a tube of wood attached to a double reed (two pieces of cane fastened together). It is played by holding the double reed between the lips and blowing while covering and uncovering the holes with the fingers. It is known by several names, including balaban in Azerbaijan. The duduk's velvety sound and wide dynamic range have made it popular for a variety of musical genres. It is traditionally played in small ensembles, but today it is also played in larger professional ensembles.

Recent recordings by innovative musicians such as Djivan Gasparian feature the duduk in musical genres not previously associated with the instrument such as jazz, famous classical ensembles, and soundtracks of major films.

Silk Road Ensemble Musician Gevorg Dabaghyan:
(Armenian interpretation by Harold Hagopian, Silk Road Encounters DVD)
"The duduk is an old Armenian instrument; an instrument of the people, whose sound represents the essence of the Armenian soul. It's made from Armenian apricot tree stumps. The famous sweet taste of Armenian apricots is also found in the Armenian duduk. The particular type of reed and construction of the instrument is unique to the Armenian duduk. It is a difficult instrument to play, as the tone is made by manipulating the lips around the reed, and by using subtle fingering movements covering the holes of the duduk itself."

The naqara are a pair of small kettle drums made of clay covered in animal skin. They are struck with the fingers, thumb, palm, and heel of each hand, or they are played with sticks. One drum functions as a treble drum, the other as a bass.

Historically, kettle drums have been used throughout many Islamic and Middle Eastern nations; carved images of these instruments from Mesopotamia date back to at least 4000 BCE, while instructions for building them have been found on ancient Babylonian tablets. They have also played a significant role in European music since the thirteenth century.

The naqara are used in Azerbaijani and Middle Eastern classical and folk music and are played less frequently than the nagara, a larger kettle drum.

The tutek is a side-blown whistle flute, unlike the Persian ney and Japanese shakuhachi, which are end-blown flutes. A small bump inside the top of the flute interrupts the airflow through the shaft and creates a sound. The player blows into, rather than over, the top of the flute and changes pitch by covering and uncovering the finger holes. The tutek is made of reed or wood.

The tutek was traditionally used by shepherds in the Caucasus region (where Southwest Asia meets Eastern Europe) to create non-religious music. It was played alone or in small ensembles at family festivities. The traditional tutek repertoire consists mainly of shepherds' signals, folk melodies and accompaniments, and dances. Today the tutek is used in popular music and in modern classical pieces.

Instruments called ney include end-blown and side-blown flutes. The end-blown ney of Turkey and Iran (seen in the photo) is made from the stem of a bamboo plant, and is played using a unique technique. The player rests the end of the instrument against his teeth at the side of his mouth and blows across the top. His teeth and tongue shape the sound. Side-blown neys are played by blowing over a hole in the side of the instrument. They may be made from wood, brass, or copper.

The ney is often used to create religious music in the Islamic tradition of Sufism. The music helps to induce a meditative state. Sufi musicians aim to create heavenly sounds through abstract rhythms and patterns of notes, in contrast to the shakuhachi, which typically mimics sounds from nature. The rich, airy sound of the ney has also made it a favorite instrument for folk and classical music.

Silk Road Ensemble Musician Siamak Jahangiri:
(The Silk Road Project—Artist Interviews 2005)
"The ney has two different sounds. The lower sound is deeper and richer, and the higher sound is lighter and more airy. It has a sharp metal or plastic mouthpiece, which goes between your teeth. You try to blow into the instrument using your tongue and lips to create different sounds. There are so many different ney, but the scale is the same for all of them. The tuning is different for each ney, depending on the length of the body of the instrument."

The kemancheh is a spike fiddle. It has a small round wooden body with a spike protruding from the base, a sound table made of animal skin, and a cone-shaped neck. The kemancheh rests on the player's knee or on the ground, and the instrument is twisted on the spike to meet a bow. The kemancheh is played in the tradition of improvised music and produces an elegant, warm sound that allows it to blend well with sounds of other instruments.

The first known written reference to the kemancheh dates from the twelfth century CE. For centuries the kemancheh has been revered as an exceptional instrument for use in courtly, folk, religious, and secular settings. The kemancheh is the only traditional bowed-string instrument of Iranian art music, and has been established in Iran for several centuries. Similar spike fiddles can be found throughout Central and West Asia. The kemancheh is played not only in solo performance but also in ensemble contexts.

Silk Road Ensemble Musician Kayhan Kalhor:
(The Silk Road Project—Artist Interviews 2005)
"Kemancheh literally in Persian means 'hunting boat.' Kemancheh was once a plucked string instrument, and then after discovering the bow it [became] a bowed instrument. There are different kinds of kemancheh around Central Asia mostly with different shapes and lengths of the neck, and different number of strings. The strings are made of steel, but not a long time ago they used silk for the strings."

The santur is a struck zither, which means that it is played by striking the strings with two delicate felt-covered hammers. These hammers are called mezrab. The santur is also known as a hammered dulcimer, because it is played with hammers.

The santur has a shallow, flat, trapezoid-shaped body with several sound posts inside the box and two small rosettes on the top panel, which help to amplify the sound. The santur has 72 strings, which are arranged in groups of four. Each of the four closely spaced strings is tuned to the same pitch. A small, movable, wooden bridge supports each group of four strings, and the bridges are positioned to give the instrument a range of three octaves.

An expert santur player produces light tones by striking the instrument with blinding speed and precision. The earliest predecessors of the modern santur may date back to 1600 BCE and it is one of the main instruments of Iranian music. It is played solo and also in ensembles.

The tabla is a pair of small drums. The treble drum called the tabla or dahina ("right" in Hindi) sits on the floor in front of the player. To the left of the dahina sits a bass kettledrum called the bayan ("left" in Hindi) made of clay or copper. The player hits the center of the skin on the top of each drum with his fingers while pressing down to alter the pitch of the sound. A virtuoso player may produce so many different sounds and inflections from the tabla that the instrument seems to speak.

In India, the process of learning to play the tabla begins when a master adopts a young child (typically six or seven years old) as his student. The student will study with the master every day for a decade or more. The pairing of drums called the tabla was first used in India in the 1700s. Today it is used with all varieties of North Indian instrumental music.

Silk Road Ensemble Musician Sandeep Das:
(Silk Road Encounters DVD)
"These drums are called the tabla, and one is made of wood and the other used to be clay but with traveling my forefathers realized that copper would be a better substance. It is made of goatskin; the black base is made of wood based of rice, iron, glass (stuff glued together)."

The yatga is a plucked zither and varies widely in size, tuning, and number of strings and bridges, depending on the purpose of its use. Its body is a long wooden box with one end angled towards the ground. As with the Korean kayagum, the player uses the right hand to pluck the strings with fingernails while the left hand applies pressure to the strings over the bridges.

Today the most common type of yatga has thirteen strings. However, a twelve-string instrument was traditionally used at the royal court because the number of strings corresponded to the twelve levels of the palace hierarchy. The traditional Mongolian epic poem Janggar includes the tale of a young princess who played on the seven lower bridges of a yatga with 82 bridges and 800 strings. Long zithers similar to the yatga and the kayagum are found throughout East Asia.

The jang-go is an hourglass-shaped drum, and is made from a hollow wooden body and two leather skins. The two sides produce sounds of different pitch and tone, which when played together, represent the harmony of man and woman.

The jang-go often accompanies melodic instruments in the Korean tradition. Rhythm is an element more vigorously utilized in traditional Korean music than in that of China or Japan. Repeated rhythmic patterns, some of subtle complexity, underlie its musical structures. For this reason, drums such as the jang-go are frequently present in performances of traditional Korean music.

Silk Road Ensemble Musician Dong-Won Kim:
(The Silk Road Project—Artist Interviews 2005)
"This instrument has two different skins, which produce different sounds. One side is made of a thick cow skin, which produces a lower sound, and the other is a thin skin made of horsehide, which produces a higher-pitched sound. It has an hourglass-shaped wooden body, held together with rope."

The kayagum is a traditional Korean string instrument and is similar in construction to a long zither. The kayagum typically has 12 strings and is made out of a single hollowed-out piece of wood. The strings are supported by movable bridges on the soundboard, which are moved to adjust the tuning.

The Chinese commented in chronicles dating back to the third and fifth centuries CE that the Koreans "delighted in singing and dancing" at celebrations that marked farming milestones throughout the year, at which chants were performed by a shaman. Chinese chronicles also recorded the presence of indigenous Korean long zithers—which may have been forerunners of the kayagum—and the drums at these celebrations.

In Korea, traditional instruments—whether string, wind, or percussion—are still categorized by the Chinese bayin "eight-sound" system. As in China and Japan, long zithers with silk strings are of central musical importance. The kayagum is one of the principal Korean long zithers. The kayagum and a number of other traditional Korean melodic instruments may be played solo in the sanjo tradition, in which the soloist is joined by a player of the distinctive Korean jang-go drum.

The sheng is a Chinese reed-pipe mouth organ. Its body is a bowl made of metal or wood. It has a blowpipe and 17 or more bamboo or metal pipes that extend from the top of the bowl. The elegant symmetrical arrangement of the pipes represents the two folded wings of the mythical phoenix bird. Each pipe has, inside the bowl, a side hole covered by a metal tongue that interrupts the air current.

The sheng originated in southern China (perhaps among non-Chinese tribal peoples of the far southwest), and was incorporated into Chinese orchestral music by the fifth century BCE. It came to be associated with Buddhist music in China, spreading east to Korea and Japan and west to Central Asia. The Buddhist cave-temple murals at Dunhuang show many scenes of angelic beings hovering over Buddhist sacred sites and playing musical instruments, often including the sheng.

The sheng produces a strikingly clear, metallic sound. Western harmonicas, reed organs, and concertinas use the same basic acoustical principles as the sheng. Mouth organs similar to the sheng are first mentioned in Chinese texts dating from the fourteenth to twelfth century BCE. Today the sheng is mainly used to play Chinese classical music in small and large ensembles with other Chinese instruments such as the pipa and erhu. However, innovative musicians such as Wu Tong, a member of a successful Chinese hard rock band, also use the sheng in popular music.

The ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a short-necked lute with four strings, and the body of the instrument consists of a round wooden soundboard and a fretted neck. A plectrum (pick) is used to play the instrument. The ruan comes in a variety of different sizes, and each size can play a different range of notes—soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.

The ruan is popular in theatrical accompaniment, such as in Chinese opera and Chinese orchestra.

Ruan performance is characterized by a mellow tone quality, which makes it suitable for ensemble or orchestral music. In recent years, however, it has also become more commonly used as a solo instrument.

The erhu is a spike fiddle with two strings. It has a long neck and a round hexagonal, octagonal, or tubular body made of wood. The face of the body is usually covered by the skin of a python or other snake. The bow used to play the erhu is made of horsehair, which is strung on a stick of bamboo. When the erhu is played it is supported on the left thigh of the player and held with the left hand while the right hand moves the bow.

The erhu is part of a group of Chinese bowed instruments known as huqin, which translates to "foreign string instrument," suggesting that these types of instruments were introduced to China from another country. Instruments similar to the erhu have been prevalent in Chinese music since the twelfth century CE.

The origin of the erhu dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618—907), and it was among the instruments played at imperial banquets. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the erhu became popularized at the time of the golden age of the local operas. Since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the playing techniques, repertoire, and musical education of the erhu have undergone rapid development. The expressive sound of the erhu lends itself to use as a solo instrument in small folk and classical ensembles and in Chinese orchestras.

The bawu is a Chinese wind instrument. Although shaped like a flute, it is actually a free-reed pipe, with a single metal reed. It is played horizontally. It has a pure, clarinet-like sound, and its playing technique lends itself to embellishment, such as bending tones often heard in traditional Chinese music.

Although the bawu likely originated in Yunnan Province in southwest China, it has become a standard instrument throughout China, used in modern Chinese compositions for traditional instrument ensembles. It is typically used as a solo instrument, and is often featured in film scores; it is sometimes also heard in popular music recordings.

Free-reed mouth organs were once specific to East and Southeast Asia. With the introduction of one such mouth organ in Paris in the eighteenth century, this instrument type (utilizing tiny brass reeds as the sound source) influenced the European development of several important free-reed instruments: the harmonica, accordion, and harmonium.