Mongolian musical instruments

Before the democratic revolution in 1911 several instruments had been restricted to noblemen or for use in monastery ceremonies. The yatga especially wasn't allowed to commoners if the number of strings exceeded eight; only at court could the eleven or twelve stringed yatga be played.

In contrast most of the Mongolic ethnicities adopted four instruments for folk music and other oral performances: the Tovshuur, huuchir, morin khuur and the tsuur. Nowadays some ethnicities changed from the tovshuur to the shanz.

In modern times some instruments have been adapted like the 21-stringed yatga (about 10 strings added), the morin khuur (modification of the sound box and string material) - or invented in the 1960s for completing orchestras like the "ih huur", a horse headed double bass, also having a trapezoid sound box.

Instruments

Plucked

stringed and skinned instrument made from a 4-foot long spoon-alike nomad tool for airag making, especially popular in Oirat territories. All tovshuur are homemade and because of this, the materials and shape of the tovshuur vary depending on the builder and the region. For example, depending on the tribe, the string might be made of horsehair or sheep intestine. The body of the tovshuur is bowl shaped and usually covered in tight animal skin. Also this musical instrument originated from ancient nomads. This musical instrument is much forgotten today in Mongolia.

Bowe

Morin Khuur (Mongolian: "морин хуур") - the national instrument of Mongolia.It is a typical Mongolian two-stringed instrument. The body and the neck are carved from wood. The end of the neck has the form of a horse-head and the sound is similar to that of a violin or a cello. The strings are made of horsetail hair. It is played with a bow made of willow, stringed with horsetail hair and coated with larch or cedar wood resin.

Struck

Yoochin hammered dulcimer of varying strings struck using two bamboo hammers

Wind

• Tsuur (Mongolian: ᠴᠤᠭᠤᠷ/цуур) - end blown flute without mouthpiece, mostly made from light wood, like bamboo, other materials:
• Buree class (Mongolian: "бүрээ") - clarinet style of blown instruments
  • Ever Buree - (Mongolian: "эвэр бүрээ") - horn-shaped clarinet
  • Bayalag Buree - (Mongolian: "баялаг бүрээ" ) - straight clarinet
  • Hiidiin buree - long and deep as an alp horn
  • Tsagaan buree - Mongolian seashells
• Limbe - (Mongolian: "лимбэ") - end blown flute with a mouthpiece
• Bishguur (Mongolian: Mongolia Language) - oboe like in appearance with a double reed, a long hardwood body and copper or brass bell