INSTRUMENTS
Country music has specific instruments to give it its sound. Here are a few of the more common ones today.
The bass is a stringed instrument. Coming in all sizes and shapes, this instrument provides a rhythmic "bottom" for the melody line. The most contemporary versions of basses are the electric four and five strings.
Though they were not originally part of the country instrument configuration, by the 1960s, it would be very rare not to have a drummer in a country band. The drums consist of a bass, a snare, tom-toms, cymbals and a set of sticks, called a "trap" set.
The guitar is a stringed instrument that can be either strummed or "finger-picked". It has been found to be better suited and more versatile for new country music than the banjo. Country music today uses both acoustic and electric guitars.
The piano is a stringed instrument that is played by fingers pressing down on the keys. The strings hammer a series of levers and linkages inside of it. Hearing an electric piano or a synthesizer, though, is more common on a country record today.