The tanbura is a pentatonic, five-stringed lyre, particularly known in Upper Egypt and often seen in Cairo in ancient times. It has a bowl or rectangular-shaped resonator and a wooden frame consisting of two laterals supporting a yoke. The right-hand fingers usually sweep across all the strings at once while the left hand fingers are used to stop the strings whose tones are not needed at that moment. This technique resembles that shown on monuments in ancient Egypt. The Suez region provides a type of instrument of a slightly smaller size called simsimiyya. The instrument emerged in the region of the Suez Canal probably around the turn of the 20th century. Until recent times each ship employed a simsimiyya player who would bring joy to the voyage and it was also believed that they had the power to make the winds rise. It is linked to the bambutia dance, singing and also the practice of the zar.

The rababa is the earliest known fiddle, a bowed instrument with two strings, and is associated with folk and art music. The rababa was used by classical takht ensembles before being replaced by the western violin. The playing of the rababa can reach sophisticated heights and in these moments the line between art and folk music becomes blurred.

The nay with its many variations is a flute made of a reed with five or six finger holes on the front and one on the back. It occupies a major place in the Egyptian folk music tradition, the mystical Sufi orders as well as in art music. It is one of the oldest and simplest known instruments from the days of the ancient Egyptians. The kawala is a variation of the nay. It is shorter than the nay and has an additional finger hole.

The mizmar is a wooden oboe with a conical bore. Different mouth pieces can be exchanged and produce different tones with a penetrating sound.

Traditionally this instrument accompanies songs, public processions and certain traditional dances such as the tahtib, Egypt’s combat dance performed by men, raqs el khail, the dance of the horse, and gawazee dances.

There are many sizes and types of mizmar instruments. The smallest that is just 30 cm long is called a sibs.

Egyptian percussion instruments are numerous and important as rhythm is vital in Egyptian music:
The tabla baladi accompanies the professional mizmar ensembles at processions and dances. It is a double-skinned bass drum, beaten with a thick stick on one side and with a thin stick on the other side. The tabla baladi hangs at an angle from the player’s neck. One of the great masters of the talbla baladi was Gad Al Rabb, he passed away in 2009.

The nagrazan is a copper drum that hangs around the musician’s neck and is played with two wooden sticks held in both hands. It is used for the traditional tahtib music as well as Sufi music.

The heavy vase-shaped drum made of earthenware and fish skin is called tabla or darabuka. It was used traditionally by the awalim to accompany their wedding songs and is still present in most shaabi ensembles.

The doholla is the tabla’s bigger brother with a deeper sound. The duff is a simple wooden frame drum with a single membrane made of goat skin.

The tiny round copper cymbals which are attached to dancers’ or musicians’ thumbs and middle fingers are called sagat. They were used by the awalim and the ghawazee to accompany their singing and dancing.

The arghul is double-piped clarinet with a mouthpiece. The longer tube acts as a drone and produces a very rich sound. It is a typical Egyptian instrument which traditionally accompanied epic songs, mawaweel and dances. An ancient arghul was found in the tomb of Tutakhamen and can be seen in the Egyptian Museum. The virtuoso playing of musicians like Mustapha Abdel Aziz reminds us of its noble past. He passed away some years ago.

The accordion is a European invention from the 19th century. It is mostly associated with the common people and was spread by Europeans who emigrated to different countries. It became popular among folk musicians and has been integrated into traditional music styles all over the world.

In Egypt the accordion is used in the urban baladi music, which developed in urban areas like Cairo, Alexandria or El Minya during the turn of the last century. There it took on an important role in the instrumental solo improvisations and the accompaniment of the Mawal, the improvisation of the voice. The European accordion has been adjusted technically by Egyptian musicians to play the quarter tones in Egyptian music. It is interesting to know that different accordion craftsmen or players like Gamil Gamel often tune the same registers in a slightly different manner to personalize their accordion. Other European instruments that have been incorporated into this particular musical form are the saxophone, the clarinet and the trumpet.

The music instruments found in Middle Eastern art music are qanoon, req, oud, rababa (see above) or later in history the  kamanga (violin).   They form the takht ensemble, a small six-piece musical group specialized in the classical repertoire. In Egypt the ensemble consists of oud, qanun, kamanga, ney (see above), riq and tabla. The word takht means ‘podium’ in Arabic. Instrumental forms include: bashraf, samai, tahmilah, dulab. The ensemble may be joined by a male or female vocalist and a group of four to six singers who provide the refrain.  Vocal genres performed include dawr, muwashshah, layali, maluf, qasidah and mawwal.

The oud is a pear-shaped, stringed instrument, which is often seen as the predecessor of the western lute,  distinguished primarily by being without frets. The oud is commonly used in Middle Eastern music and is part of a traditional takht ensemble.

The qanun is a string instrument found in Middle Eastern art music which is associated with the zither. The strings are stretched over a single bridge poised on fish-skins on one end and attached to tuning pegs at the other end. The qanun is a descendant of the ancient Egyptian harp and Egypt can be considered one of the longest harp cultures in history.

The req is a percussion instrument, a circular wooden frame drum, with fish or goat skin and 5 jingling discs integrated in the frame.  It is played with the fingers of both hands and the instrument is carried in the hight of the sternum. This instrument is associated with Egyptian-Middle Eastern art music and is part of the traditional tahkt ensemble.