List of musical instruments by Hornbostel–Sachs number: 321.31

This is a list of instruments by Hornbostel–Sachs number, focusing on those classified under 321.31. These instruments are called spike lutes. They are made from a resonator and a string bearer that are connected together. The strings are parallel to the sound table, and the handle, which is also the string bearer, passes straight through the resonator.

The spike in the name spike lute comes from the handle that goes through the resonator, often forming a spike after it comes out. In some instruments like the Chinese erhu, the spike is small and not very noticeable, but in others like the rebab, it helps hold the instrument during playing. These instruments come in three main shapes based on the resonator: spike bowl lutes, spike box lutes, and spike tube lutes.

West African griot and spike lutes

Spike lutes are popular in West Africa, along with tanged lutes, where the handle does not go all the way through the resonator. A special group of West African musicians called griots only play tanged lutes, while other performers play both spike and tanged lutes.

These lutes can have resonators made from wood, metal like an old can, hide, or a half-calabash gourd. Non-griot lutes are used for many reasons, especially for hunting. It's believed that one or more of these instruments may be the ancestor of the African American banjo.

Classification

Instruments that make sound with vibrating strings are called chordophones or string instruments. Some of these instruments have a part that makes the sound and another part that holds the strings, and these parts are connected so they can't be separated without breaking the instrument.

There are special kinds of these instruments called lutes, where the strings are parallel to the part that makes the sound. One group of lutes has a simple handle. In this group, we find instruments where the handle goes right through the middle of the sound-making part, called spike lutes.

These spike lutes can be further divided:

• 321.311: Instruments with a bowl-shaped sound part, either natural or carved, called spike bowl lutes
• 321.312: Instruments with a box-shaped sound part, called spike box lutes or spike guitars
• 321.313: Instruments where the handle goes through the sides of a tube-shaped sound part, called spike tube lutes

The way the strings are played can also change, using things like hammers, hands, a plectrum, a bow, a wheel, a ribbon, a keyboard, or a mechanical drive.