The Armenian duduk (pronounced “doo-DOOK”) or tsiranapogh (meaning “apricot-made wind instrument”) is a musical instrument with two reeds made of wood. It is made from apricot wood and comes from Armenia. Similar versions of the duduk are found in the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the Middle East.
The panduri (Georgian: ფანდური) is a traditional Georgian stringed instrument played by plucking. It is found in many areas of Eastern Georgia, including Pshav-Khevsureti, Tusheti, Kakheti, and Kartli. The panduri is used to support solo songs about heroes, humor, and love, as well as dances.
A bandura is a traditional Ukrainian stringed folk instrument played by plucking the strings. It combines features of a zither and a lute. Before the 1940s, it was also called a kobza.
The bayan (Russian: баян, IPA: [bɐˈjan]) is a kind of accordion with buttons that can play all the notes in a musical scale. It was created in Russia during the early 1900s and is named after Boyan, a famous poet from the 11th century.
The domra (Russian: домра, Russian pronunciation: [ˈdɔmrɑ], plural: domry) is a Russian folk string instrument from the lute family. It has a round body and three or four metal strings.
A joik, also spelled yoik, is a traditional type of song from Sámi music, performed by the Sámi people who live in Northern Europe. People who perform joik are called joikaaja (in Finnish), joiker (in Norwegian), or jojkare (in Swedish). Originally, the word “joik” described only one style of Sámi singing, but in English, it is often used to describe all traditional Sámi songs.
A joik or yoik (adapted for English, with the spelling “yoik” matching how it is pronounced; also called luohti, vuolle, vuelie, or juoiggus in Sámi languages) is a traditional type of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sápmi in Northern Europe. A person who performs joik is called a joikaaja (in Finnish), a joiker (in Norwegian, and adapted for English), or jojkare (in Swedish). Originally, joik was one type of Sami singing style among several, but in English, the word is often used to describe all kinds of traditional Sami singing.
The kanklės (Lithuanian: [ˈkɐŋʲkʲlʲeːs]) is a string instrument played by plucking the strings. It belongs to the Baltic box zither family, which is also called the Baltic psaltery. This family includes other similar instruments such as the Latvian kokles, Estonian kannel, Finnish kantele, and Russian gusli.
Kokle (Latvian pronunciation: [‘kʊ͡ɔk.le]; Latgalian: kūkle) or historically kokles (kūkles) is a string instrument from Latvia. It belongs to the Baltic box zither family, which also includes the Lithuanian kanklės, Estonian kannel, Finnish kantele, and Russian krylovidnye gusli. The earliest archaeological evidence of kokles in modern Latvia dates to the 13th century.
Nordic folk music includes traditions from the Nordic countries, especially those in Scandinavia. The Nordic countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. The different areas in the Nordic countries have some shared traditions, but many of these traditions have become different over time.