Examples Of Membranophones – Examples Of Musical Instruments
EXAMPLES OF MEMBRANOPHONES – In this topic, we will now look at some examples of membranophones or vibration-generating instruments.

Membranophones
As mentioned above, these are, again, musical instruments that generate sound via the vibration of a stretches surface, as opposed to string instruments like violins and guitars; or air-generating instruments like flutes and oboes.
Membranophones are usually in the form of percussion instruments but there are non-drum instruments that fall in this category.
Examples
- Mirlitons, Kazoos and Swazzles – By far the only membranophones that are not drums. As for its distinction:
- Mirlitons – Also known as an eunuch flute or an onion flute, this consists of a wooden tube that slightly widened to form a bell. Although part of the woodwind family, it uses vibrations to produce a sound
- Kazoo – A type of mirliton which has a buzzing timbral quality to the voice of the player.
- Swazzle – Also known as swoozie, schwazzle or swatchel, it is made of two strips of metal that are bound around a cotton tape reed.
- Cylindrical Drums – They are straight-sided and usually two-headed drums. They, at times, have a buzzing string attached to it.
- Conical Drums – These drums are sloped on the sides and are one-headed.
- Barrel Drums – A one-headed drum that usually has an open bottom and a bulge located at the middle.
- Hourglass Drums – Also known as waisted drums, these have the actual shape of an hourglass and are laced onto the body. The pitch of these drums can be changed via squeezing the laces.
READ ALSO : Examples Of Computer Virus: Examples Of Agents That Infects Computers