There are hundreds of different kinds of musical instruments in the world. Almost every country has its own traditional music and musical instruments that have been developed over the centuries. Each musical instrument has its own melody, pitch, rhythm, timbre, loudness, and duration, as well as the notes and chords.

Musical instruments can be classified on the basis of the kind of instrument: chordophones (strings), aerophones (woodwinds and brasses), idiophones (percussion), and membranophones (drums). Stringed instruments or chordophones are those that produce sounds when a string is plucked or strummed. The kind of sound produced depends on the mass of the string, length of the vibrating portion of the string, tension in the string, and the point at which the string is strummed apart from the kind of resonating cavity in the instrument. Viola, violin, cello, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, harp, lute, banjo, balalaika, koto, ukulele, etc. are some of the string instruments.

Woodwinds and brasses generate music when air enters the instrument by blowing. This air vibrates inside the instrument in a particular frequency, thus producing sound. The kind of music depends on the method of tone production, the shape of the instrument, the length of the column of air in addition to the construction of the instrument. Flute, piccolo, clarinet, oboe, horn, mouth organ, saxophone, and bassoon are some of the winds instruments, while the French horn, tuba, trumpet, and trombone are brass instruments.

Percussion instruments produce sounds when struck. The size of the instrument along with the shape of the resonating cavity determines the sound produced. Some percussion musical instruments include the cymbals, the snare drum, bells, gong chime, xylophone, the bass drum, maracas, castanet and the timpani.

Drums include the goblet drums, the barrel drum, the frame drum, the tambourine, and the friction drum. Other kinds of musical instruments are the piano, keyboards, organ, harpsichord, and the Glockenspiel. Each of these musical instruments has sub-categories within them. Musical instruments can also be categorized on the basis of their playing levels—some are suitable for all kinds of players while some are meant only for beginners.

Pictures of musical instruments can be found at most music stores that sell musical instruments. Since musical instruments are selected based on the model, it is not possible to have all the models in the store. Hence, most dealers have pictures of some instruments to select from. Pictures are also found in advertisements and classifieds. There are several websites that have attractive and colorful pictures of musical instruments. They also feature exhaustive information about the product. Most of the pictures can also be downloaded on the computer, or they can be viewed online. Having these pictures helps the buyer to make a better choice when ordering the instrument. Pictures are especially useful for locating a particular kind or rare kinds of musical instruments.