Lore:Instruments

Instruments are objects used to produce sounds for use in music.

References
Contents
Instruments	Accordion Bell and Chimes Drum Esraj Flute and Fife Frog-caller Gong Harp Horn Key Harp Lyre Lute Marimba Music Box Organ Pungi Qanun Tambourine Tanbur Trombone Trumpet Violin Vossa-satl Whistle

Accordion[edit]

Arenthian "squeeze boxes" are popular amongst Colovian travelers.

The Orcs of the Wrothgarian Mountains also commonly play accordions which are jokingly called "Orc-cordians".

Bell and Chimes[edit]

Argonians from Dhalmora sometimes wear tail bands with bells attached to them.

Wind chimes are often made with a variety of materials such as fox bones, driftwood, brass, silver, scrap metal, seashells, fragments of scrib, and ogre bones to name a few.

Reachfolk use bells and chimes in their rituals. They believe that their sound draws the attention of the spirits.

A bell (Daggerfall)
Khajiiti chimes
Khenarthic Bell
Sixth House bell hammer
Sixth House chimes

Drum[edit]

Drums are a common instrument throughout Tamriel and are commonly used by bards, armies, and tribes.

They can be made from a wide variety of materials, such as the back-teeth of bull alits which make acoustically impressive drum bases, guarskin drumheads, wooden bases, elk skin drumheads and giant snake skin drumheads to just name a few.

The Bosmer celebrate the life of revered Spinners by creating a drum out of their skin.

War drums are used by the Imperial Legion, Orcs, and the Yokudans.

Orcs are known for their penchant for percussion instruments in general. Iron Orcs utilized drums during executions.

Reachfolk witches use bristle-pine drums to wake the spirits during magical rituals.

Totem of the Brotherhood is a drum artifact related to Hircine.

The Tsaesci are known to have pellet drums.

Drum (Morrowind)
Nordic drum (Skyrim)
Argonian slave drum
Ceremonial Argonian drum
Orsimer drum
Reman war drum
Drum of Hircine (right)
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Argonian playing a mire drum
Orsimer warcaller's drum

Esraj[edit]

Common amongst the Khajiit.

An ancient Khajiiti esraj
A Khajiit playing an esraj

Flute and Fife[edit]

Flutes and fifes are common instruments, with there being many variants such as slide-flutes, kazoos, and nose-flutes for example.

They can be made from a variety of materials such as silver, moon-sugar cane, armbones and hand-carved kwama limbs.

The ancient Yokudans had instruments similar to modern flutes made of gold but the knowledge of how to play these has been lost.

Bard playing a flute (Daggerfall)
A flute of the Ateia family
A pan flute
Akaviri flute
A fife of the Ateia family

Frog-caller[edit]

An Argonian instrument used to call for frogs.

A frog-caller

Gong[edit]

Dead-Water Tribe warriors wear battle gongs on their arms and strike them to frighten enemies.

Reachfolk use gongs in their rituals. They believe that sound of gong draws the attention of the spirits.

Elsweyr gong
Hlaalu gong
A Na-Totambu ceremonial gong that represents Satakal.

Harp[edit]

First Era Altmer harp
Tuneless Harp of Fiirgarion the Bard

Horn[edit]

Dragonhorns are legendary artifacts crafted primarily by the Dragonguard, used as weapons against the Dragons. They are magical warhorns carved out of the horns of dragons, inscribed with various arcane runes, and are capable of producing a tonal sound that incapacitates dragons.

Old Orsinium possessed a horn called the Horn of Beasts which had been crafted by Zbulgat the Wild-Walker. This horn summoned the creatures of the Wrothgarian Mountains. Bears, echatere, and hundreds of other wild creatures rallied to defend the city walls when the horn was blown, however King Golkarr blew the horn three times during a single moon cycle, and on the third blare the horn cracked. This horn was later recovered from Old Orsinium by the House of Orsimer Glories museum.

Imperial war horn
Nord war horn
Horn of Jurgen Windcaller
A Kothringi bugle fashioned from the horn of a leviathan and dyed with silver-blue pigments to match the skin color of the Kothringi people
A Reachman horn that may have been fashioned from the extinct Markarth musk ox or a minotaur
A dragonhorn

Key Harp[edit]

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Key Harp being played.

Key Harps are commonly played by Bretons on High Isle.

Lyre[edit]

Lodestone, a lyre said to have been stolen from Sheogorath
A lyre
A Khajiiti lyre

Lute[edit]

Lutes are a common instrument throughout Tamriel and are commonly used by bards. The Sticky-Fingered Lute was created by a merciless music teacher from Summerset Isle. Anyone that strummed it was cursed to never let it go until they played the perfect melody.

Bard playing a lute (Daggerfall)
A Dunmer lute (Morrowind)
A lute (Skyrim)
A lute (Blades)
A lute (ESO)
Lute of Blue Longing, said to be cursed with the spirit of a queen betrayed in love
Minotaur Lute

Marimba[edit]

One known type of marimba is an Argonian style marimba made of carefully-selected resonant reptile teeth.

Music Box[edit]

Music boxes are used all over Tamriel and play a specific song.

The Altmer are known to make clockwork nightingales that when wound up can fly across a room whilst singing.

A music box
That Breezy Night in Bruma music box
The Merry Meadmaker music box
Aldmeri Dominion music box
Red Diamond music box
Music box that plays the traditional New Life Festival song "A Frost Melt Melody"
Music box that plays "Dancing Among the Flowers Fine"
Music box that plays "In Dreams and Memories"
Psijic Order music box

Ocarina[edit]

Some ocarinas are created from stone through magical means. Rocks hollowed by magic and sanded smooth produce sounds similar to blowing over empty bottles.

Organ[edit]

Organ (Daggerfall)

Pungi[edit]

Pungis are often used by snakecharmers in Hammerfell.

The Maormer of Pyandonea are also known to use pungis to charm snakes of all sizes.

Snakecharmer playing a pungi (Arena)
Snakecharmer playing a pungi (Daggerfall)
Snakecharmer playing a pungi (Redguard)

Qanun[edit]

Mostly played by Khajiit

Khajiiti qanun

Tambourine[edit]

Tambourines are made from a variety of materials such as cherrywood, silver, and the skin of hoarvors. The Baandari use tambourines.

Tanbur[edit]

A tanbur with a provenance linking it to Yokuda.

Trombone[edit]

Trumpet[edit]

Violin[edit]

Vossa-satl[edit]

An Argonian instrument which uses living frogs from several species to create the instrument's unique sound.

A vossa-satl
Frogs inside the vossa-satl

Whistle[edit]

Whistles are one of the most common instruments across Tamriel, with them being used for a variety of reasons.

There are various types of whistles relating to animal training and hunting such as dog whistles, birdcall whistles used by foresters

Whistle (ESO)

References[edit]