1- Plucked strings

The Oud:  

The king of Tarab, the Oud's rich low tone makes it the ideal instrument for long Tarab evenings. It is a pear-shaped lute with a short fretless neck. It can be plucked with the fingers or with a feather (usually made of plastic nowadays). The Oud is essential to thesmall ensembles, as well as to the classical "takht". It is also the instrument of choice to accompany male soloists, and many of the greatest singers are/were great Oud players ( Muhammad Abdel Wahab, Marcel Khalife, ...)

The Qanoun:

The word "Qanun" translates to "law". The instrument however consists of 50(?) strings strung on a metallic table, in a way reminescent of the Santour in Iranian music. The strings however, are plucked instead of "hammered", in a way that produces a very nasal sound. The musician straps metal plucks onto his/her left and right indexes, and sits the instrument on their lap or on a small table. The Qanoun provides the fast attack as well as some of the high harmonics in an orchestra where the melodies are played by the bowed strings or the Oud, thus providing a sharper edge to the music.

 2- Winds 

The Nay:

Bamboo flute, made of an open piece of bamboo, with seven holes (one for the thumb, and 6 for other fingers). Can also come with a mouthpiece made of goat horn. Professional Nays come in sets; for example, a professional nay player will have a case full of different instruments which are tuned to play different maqams. Different Nays also cover different registers.

The Mejwiz:

Made of two "twin" pipes, with a stopper going through them. The Mejwiz is a folk instrument that is often used in weddings and other social gatherings. The whole end is inserted into the mouth, and the musician uses circular breathing, in order to achieve a continuous sound. The instrument sounds very nasal, and is quite loud.

Kernayta: 

This is just the western "clarinette", used in a different setting.

 3- Percussion

Tabla:

Also called Dumbek certain places. It is a drum shaped like an hour glass. Traditionally made of clay, more recently it has been made of metal. The head is made of fish, goat or other animal skins, has also largely been replaced by a plastic substitute. The derbakkeh provides the basic rhythm in an arabic orchestra, and it is a very versatile instrument.

Daff, or oriental tambourine:-

Called Riq or Duff certain places. It is impressive to see a good riq player, and to see the range of sounds and rhythm patterns that they can play. The riq is a small (approx 20cm diameter) circular percussion instrument, with an animal skin head, and many small cymbals on the sides.

The Bendir:

The Bendir is a circular instrument, with a diameter of about 75cm, used in the Maghreb countries. This is what Bahi wrote about it: it is a sort of "rural" instrument. You will not find it in an "urban" music group The typical combination is Gasba (flute) + Bendir + singing. The bendir has a hole in the wooden edge, so that the player may introduce his thumb. Part of the show is to make the bendir turn very rapidly on itself, using the thumb as an axis, between 2 beats.

The bendir is also very often used in Moroccan music of the Gnaoua tradition -among others-. There is a wonderful group named Nass el Ghiwan who masters this instrument and could be a very attractive introduction to it.

 4- Bowed strings

Kamanja, or violin:

The violin was introduced into arabic music by Napoleon's invasion of Egypt. Since then however, it has become an integral part of the classical arabic orchestra, if not of the traditional one. It adapts quite well to the style in that it allows the musician much freedom; being fretless, quarter tones are not a problem. Also different echniques allow the violin (or kamanja) player to adapt quite well whatever style is necessary.

The cello and the double bass are also quite common in Arabic music; the Bass is usually plucked however, and the cello's presence is less frequent.

Rababeh:

A one-stringed Lebanese folk instrument, the Rababeh's nasal sound blends well with the nasal voice of the musician/singer who is performing on it. The technique is mainly to hold a kind of "organ point" on the Rababeh while the performer sings along.