The Nigerian musical landscape is a vibrant blend of rich indigenous heritage and modern Afrobeat, gospel, and pop culture. The most played instruments feature a mix of traditional drums and shakers, along with contemporary instruments like the keyboard, guitar, and saxophone.
1. The Talking Drum (Gangan / Dundun)
The gangan, or talking drum, is a traditional West African hourglass-shaped drum, most notably played by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. It is designed to mimic the pitch, rhythm, and tonal inflections of human speech.
2. The Keyboard / Synthesizer
A synthesizer (or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates and shapes audio signals electronically to create everything from emulated acoustic sounds to entirely new, otherworldly tones. Rather than using vibrating strings or air columns, it shapes simple electrical vibrations into complex music.
3. Shekere (Sekere)
The sekere (or shekere) is a traditional West African percussion instrument made from a dried, hollowed-out gourd covered in a woven net of beads or cowrie shells. Played by shaking, twisting, or striking the gourd, it produces a rich, rhythmic sound that is essential to both traditional celebrations and modern genres like Afrobeat.
4. The Acoustic / Electric Guitar
An acoustic guitar features a hollow body that naturally resonates, projecting sound without external equipment. An electric guitar features a solid body, requiring an amplifier to reach performance volumes. Both instruments share the same fundamental notes (E, A, D, G, B, E) and learning methods.
5. Bata Drums
The bata (or bàtá) is a traditional, double-headed hourglass-shaped drum originating from the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. It holds deep historical, cultural, and spiritual significance, often serving as a medium for communication and celebration.
6. Oja / Opi
The Ọjà is a traditional wooden or bamboo wind instrument from the Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria. Often called a “talking flute,” it produces a vibrant, high-pitched melody. Far beyond simple music, it is a spiritual tool, a praise-singing device, and a means of non-verbal communication during cultural events.
7. Drum Set
A drum set—also called a drum kit or “trap set”—is a collection of percussion instruments arranged for a single musician. Drummers use their hands, drumsticks, or brushes to strike the instruments and pedals to operate the bass drum and hi-hat.
8. Saxophone
The saxophone is a single-reed woodwind instrument invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. Despite being made of brass, it is classified as a woodwind because its sound is produced by a vibrating wooden reed attached to the mouthpiece.
9. Ikoro
The Ikoro is a monumental, sacred wooden slit drum used by the Igbo people of Nigeria as an ancient instrument of mass communication. Unlike smaller, portable drums (like the ekwe), the massive Ikoro remains fixed in the village square beneath a protective shelter.
10. Agidigbo
The agidigbo (also known as the molo or Yoruba thumb piano) is a traditional plucked lamellophone instrument featuring metal tongues mounted on a large wooden box. Popularized in southwestern Nigeria’s apala and waka music genres, it conveys proverbs and serves as a “speech surrogate” by mimicking the tonal inflections of the Yoruba language.
. 👉 Click Marvin Empire for a free consultation – Quick response, Pickup or Same-day delivery
