Instruments
Hurdy Gurdy
A hurdy gurdy is a stringed instrument with several strings arranged so that they can be played simultaneously by a rotating wheel covered with rosin. It is essentially a mechanical violin. This method of producing sound is similar to string instruments such as the violin, but because the hurdy gurdy produces several notes together, with a melody accompanied by chords made by "drone strings", its sound is perhaps more comparable to that of bagpipes. For this reason, the hurdy gurdy is often accompanied by the bagpipes, particularly in French and contemporary Hungarian folk music.
Bouzouki
The bouzouki is the mainstay of modern Greek music, and is also found in Irish music. It is a stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body and a very long neck. The bouzouki is a member of the 'long neck lute' family and is similar to a mandola. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound.
Oud
The oud, is a pear-shaped, stringed Iranian musical instrument, still in use in traditional Middle Eastern music. It has 11 strings played with a plectrum.
Rauschpfeife
The rauschpfeife is a musical instrument of the woodwind family, originally popular in Europe in the mid-16th Century. In common with the crumhorn and cornamuse, it is a wooden double-reed instrument with the reed enclosed in a windcap. The player blows into a slot in the top of the windcap to produce the sound.