an instrument whose construction material itself produces the sound (such as a bell)
An instrument in which sound is produced by means of resonant metal, wood or glass. This can be a musical comb, free reeds or chimes.
World music classification for instruments that produce sound from the substance of the instrument itself by being struck, blown, shaken, scraped or rubbed. The most common Western instruments in this category belong to the percussion family. Examples include cymbals, triangle, gong and maracas.
(id'-eo-fon) Any instrument that yields a sound by its own substance, being stiff and elastic enough to vibrate without requiring a stretched membrane or strings (e.g., gongs, cymbals, xylophones, metallophones, et al);
A musical instrument, the sound of which is produced by shaking or scraping.
An idiophone is any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument vibrating itself, without the use of strings or membranes. It is one of the four main divisions in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification. Idiophones are probably the oldest type of musical instrument (not counting the human voice).