Aerophones: producing sound through the direct vibration of air, rather than through the vibration of air by another medium. They are subdivided into three categories: flutes, reeds, and trumpets.

Flutes are instruments in which a column of air is set in vibration when the air is split on an edge. Reed instruments have one or more small pieces of material that vibrate when air is blown over or through them and into a tube. Trumpets require the performer to vibrate the lips rather than a reed.

Chordophones: having one or more strings stretched between two points. Sound is produced when a string vibrates. Two basic types, lutes and zithers, comprise the majority. The shape of the instrument is the key feature that distinguishes a lute from a zither.

The strings of a zither are stretched parallel to the entire sounding board. Thus, nearly the whole instrument acts as a resonator. In addition to a resonating body, a lute has a neck, which allows a performer to vary the acoustical length.

Idiophones: produce sound through the instrument itself vibrating. Most idiophones fall into one of three categories: plucked, struck, or shaken.

Membranophones: having a vibrating membrane, traditionally animal skin but often synthetic today, that is stretched over a frame.

Not all membranophones are struck; those that are not—such as friction drums and “singing membranes” are less common.