Pick an instrument on the map and it opens right here, ready to play: a kalimba from Zimbabwe, an oud from the Arab world, a sitar from India, a gamelan from Java. Switch from one to the next without reloading, and start a groove to play over.
Each instrument here is a full instrument, with its own scales, rhythms and songs. The studio puts them side by side so you can hear how the world makes music.
Every instrument is pinned where it comes from. Click a pin, or a name in the list by region, and the instrument opens below, ready to play. The address of the page follows your choice, so you can share a link straight to the oud or the gamelan.
Go from the koto to the darbouka and back: each instrument stays as you left it, with its tuning, its maqam or its raga. Only the instrument on screen listens to your keyboard, and its loops stop when you move on.
Start a groove and play any instrument over it: a shaker in 4/4, the bell pattern of West African music in 12/8, or the tresillo, 3+3+2, heard from Cuba to Brazil. The groove keeps playing while you change instruments.
Pentatonic kalimba and koto tunings, the quarter tones of the Arabic maqams, the ragas of India, the slendro and pelog of Java, the handpan scales: the studio is the fastest way to hear how differently cultures divide the octave.
Many instruments come with songs to play along, traditional tunes in the public domain and originals written by GOONS: listen first, then follow the glowing note. Rhythm instruments loop their classic patterns.
Tap the instruments on a phone or tablet, click them with a mouse, or play them from the computer keyboard. Each instrument shows its keys, read by position on QWERTY, AZERTY and QWERTZ keyboards.
Click a pin on the map, or a name in the list: the instrument opens below.
Tap, click or use your keyboard; each instrument shows how in one line.
Choose a groove in the bar above the instrument and play over it.
Pick another pin: the groove keeps going, the new instrument takes over.
| Type | World music studio: 27 instruments from around the world, playable on one page, free |
|---|---|
| Instruments | Africa: 7; Middle East: 2; South Asia: 4; East Asia: 4; Southeast Asia: 1; Europe: 2; Americas: 5; Oceania: 2 |
| Map | Each instrument pinned at its place of origin, list by region, shareable link per instrument |
| Grooves | Shaker 4/4, bell 12/8, tresillo 3+3+2; 60 to 160 BPM; volume |
| Controls | Mouse, touch, pen and computer keyboard (QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ) |
| Sound | Synthesized in the browser: plucked strings, struck metal and wood, drums, room reverb |
| Requirements | Any modern browser with Web Audio - Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari |
Africa: kalimba (Zimbabwe and southern Africa), djembe (Mali and Guinea, West Africa), balafon (West Africa), mbira (Zimbabwe, the Shona people), kora (The Mandinka of Mali, Senegal, the Gambia and Guinea), talking drum (The Yoruba of Nigeria and Benin, and across West Africa), bendir (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). Middle East: darbouka (Egypt and the Arab world), oud (The Arab world, Turkey and Iran). South Asia: sitar (North India), tabla (North India), singing bowl (Nepal and the Himalaya), jaw harp (South India (morsing) and Rajasthan (morchang)). East Asia: koto (Japan), taiko (Japan), guzheng (China), erhu (China). Southeast Asia: gamelan (Java, Indonesia). Europe: handpan (Switzerland), accordion (Vienna, then Paris and the world). Americas: steel drum (Trinidad and Tobago), pan flute (The Andes: Bolivia and Peru), cajón (The Pacific coast of Peru), congas (Cuba), bongos (Eastern Cuba). Oceania: didgeridoo (Northern Australia), ukulele (Hawaii).
Each musical tradition answers the same questions differently: how many notes in an octave, how to tune them, how to count a rhythm. Playing a kalimba, then an oud, then a gamelan shows those answers better than any explanation. Pentatonic scales turn up on every continent, the quarter tones of the maqam sit between the keys of a piano, and a gamelan is tuned to itself rather than to any standard pitch.
The studio is a quick way to explore. Each instrument also has its own page, with a step-by-step guide, songs, a table of its range and tunings, its history and answers to common questions: use the link above the instrument to open it.
Yes. Every instrument in the studio is free, with no account and nothing to install. They run in your browser with the Web Audio API.
There are 27 instruments for now, from africa, middle east, south asia, east asia, southeast asia, europe, americas, oceania. New instruments are added to the map as they are built.
Yes. When you pick an instrument, the address of the page ends with its name, for example #oud. Anyone who opens that link lands on the same instrument.
Yes. The groove plays on its own, so you can play any instrument over it and keep it going while you change instruments. Its tempo goes from 60 to 160 BPM.
No. Every sound is synthesized live in your browser, which keeps the page light and lets the instruments bend, slide and change tuning.
The world music studio is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds a looper, synths, drum machines and a sequencer that play together - free for 7 days, no card required.
Free on this page, no account. Browse all GOONS apps →