The Gurage and certain other populations in the lowlands commonly play the atamo, a small hand drum sometimes made of clay.
The nagarit, played with a curved stick, is usually found in a secular context such as royal functions or the announcement of proclamations, though it has a liturgical function among the Beta Israel. Smaller kebero drums may be used in secular celebrations. The kebero is a large hand drum used in the Orthodox Christian liturgy. Metal leg rattles are common throughout the south. The toom, a lamellophone, is used among the Nuer, Anuak, Majangir, Surma, and other Nilotic groups. The Beta Israel use a small gong called a qachel as liturgical accompaniment, though qachel may also refer to a small bell. They are made from stone slabs or pieces of wood. Rural churches historically used a dawal to call the faithful to prayer. Additionally, the clergy will use walking stick, called mequamia, to maintain rhythm. In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, liturgical music employs the senasel, a sistrum.
The Konso and other people in the south play fanta, or pan flutes. These may be metal (generally found in the north) or bamboo (in the south). Embilta flutes have no finger holes, and produce only two tones, the fundamental and a fourth or fifth interval. Trumpet-like instruments include the ceremonial malakat used in some regions, and the holdudwa ( animal horn compare shofar) found mainly in the south. The washint is a bamboo flute that is common in the highlands. The dita (a five-string lyre) and musical bows (including an unusual three-string variant) are among the chordophones found in the south. In the highlands, traditional string instruments include the masenqo (also known as masinko), a one-string bowed lute the krar (also known as kirar), a six-string lyre and the begena, a large ten-string lyre. Dorze polyphonic singing ( edho) may employ up to five parts Majangir, four parts. In certain southern areas, some music is polyphonic. Music in the Ethiopian highlands is generally monophonic or heterophonic. When played on traditional instruments, these modes are generally not tempered (that is, the pitches may deviate slightly from the Western-tempered tuning system), but when played on Western instruments such as pianos and guitars, they are played using the Western-tempered tuning system. Some songs take the name of their qenet, such as tizita, a song of reminiscence. Three additional modes are variations on the above: tezeta minor, bati major, and bati minor. The music of the Ethiopian Highlands uses a fundamental modal system called qenet, of which there are four main modes: tezeta, bati, ambassel, and anchihoy. Ethiopian music is a term that can mean any music of Ethiopian origin, however, often it is applied to a genre, a distinct modal system that is pentatonic, with characteristically long intervals between some notes.