Explore the World’s Musical Instrument Heritage
Discover how instruments are built, how their sounds evolved, where their traditions began, how historic examples survive, and why musical objects can carry the memory of a culture.
Choose the kind of instrument you want to explore
String Instruments
Lutes, zithers, harps, bowed strings and other instruments whose voices begin with vibrating strings.
Explore strings → WWind Instruments
Flutes, reeds, horns, pipes and historic wind traditions shaped by breath, bore and material.
Explore winds → PPercussion
Drums, bells, tuned bars and struck instruments from ceremonial, folk and orchestral traditions.
Explore percussion → KKeyboard Instruments
Pianos, organs, harpsichords and other instruments where keys connect the performer to a sounding mechanism.
Explore keyboards →Follow the story behind the instrument
An instrument is more than a name or sound. Explore its makers, materials, historical setting, ownership, conservation and cultural meaning.
Three ways into musical heritage
Start with the question that interests you most and move naturally into related parts of the collection.
Where did it come from?
Trace an instrument through place, time, tradition and the communities that carried it forward.
How was it made and preserved?
Look closely at construction, materials, workshop knowledge, condition and conservation.
Why does this instrument matter?
Explore provenance, rarity, collections and the differences that separate related instruments.
Continue exploring the collection
Frame Drums: Ancient Percussion Across Cultures
Read the guide → PercussionXylophone: From Folk Traditions to the Orchestra
Read the guide → PercussionGamelan Instruments: The Bronze Sound of Indonesia
Read the guide → WindsGemshorn: The Medieval Flute Made from Horn
Read the guide → WindsRauschpfeife: The Loud Double-Reed Instrument of the Renaissance
Read the guide → WindsAlphorn: The Long Wooden Horn of the Alps
Read the guide →Start broad, then follow the instrument that catches your attention
Browse the complete instrument collection, begin with the history of musical instruments, or compare related instruments side by side. Each route leads into the wider network of craftsmanship, preservation and cultural heritage.