Category Archives: Facts

Drymba is a fairly common instrument in Western Ukraine, also called the Jaw harp. Drymba is a linguaphone instrument. It resembles a small metal horseshoe, the ends of which are elongated parallel to each other. There is a fixed steel tongue or reed with a curved tip in the centre. This tongue or reed is…

There are two types of traditional Indigenous music. The first one is social music, and the second one is ceremonial music. Ceremonial music is vocal with percussive accompaniment, while social music consists mostly of songs which are accompanied by rattles and drums.

Bombarde is a double-reed wind instrument, commonly used in Breton music. It has a shape of a straight conical tube with 7-9 holes. Bombarde is made of wood and is usually 25 to 50 cm long.

Dan Ty Ba is a Vietnamese guitar with four strings, which is often used in a traditional orchestra or played solo. The instrument is made of wood and shaped like a cut-in-half pear. To play this guitar, a musician has to use a plectrum, quickly plucking the strings of a guitar upward or downward. 

Burczybas is a Kashubian (Polish) folk instrument, made of a bottomless barrel and an animal skin stretched on one side. There are two types of burczybas: Burczybas włosowy and Burczybas łańcuchowy. Both types were originally used for ceremonial purposes, but currently they are used only during performances of Kashubian bands.

The Ōtsuzumi (大鼓), also known as the Ōkawa (大皮) or as a hip drum, is an hourglass-shaped Japanese drum. This musical instrument is commonly used in Noh, Nagauta, Geza, etc. The Ōtsuzumi is made of a cherry wood attached to the drum skin by iron rings. The drum is usually placed on the left thigh…

The music of Portugal has much in common with the music of Spain. The main reason for this is the influence of the ancient cultures of the East (Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians) on the formation of the musical culture of Lusitania (an ancient Iberian Roman province located where most of modern Portugal and part of western…

Noh (能) or nōgaku (能楽) music is one type of Japanese theatrical music. Kan'ami Kiyotsugu and his son Zeami Motokiyo are considered to be the founders of the school of Noh theater. Instruments used in Noh include the taiko (太鼓) stick drum, a big drum called the ōtsuzumi (大鼓), a smaller drum called the kotsuzumi…

We would like to remind you that Nagata Shachu will perform at Nuit Blanche Toronto tomorrow, September 29th, from 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM and from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Nuit Blanche Toronto is a free sunset-to-sunrise event, suported by the City of Toronto in collaboration with Toronto’s arts community. This is not only…

Ligawka is a wooden horn, it is one of the oldest Polish instruments. It can be from 1  to 4.5 meters long and is a slightly conical. In the past ligawka was used as a signal (when shepherds needed to keep a herd of sheep, goats, or cattle together) or ceremonial (including in a funeral…