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Musical instruments are an important part of the Polynesians life.

Before the arrival of the great navigators in Polynesia, the musical instruments were limited and served most of all to mark the tempo.
- the "vivo" or nasal flûte with four holes is rarely used nowadays...
- the "pu" or marine conch pierced with one hole towards the point, sends out powerful sounds and was used by the warriors when at sea.
- the "pahu" (which once described all drums) is a wooden drum (in uru, ati or vi wood) with a membrane traditionnally in shark skin and now mostly in calf skin, tightened by strings, wood sticks and rings. In the Australs, it was carved.
- the "to'ere", the Polynesian percussion by excellence and originally from the Cook Islands, is a drum with a slit, without membrane, artfully cut from a wood piece (in ati -tamanu-, miro -rosewood-, or pou) from which the lenghth and the proportion have an influence on the final "ta'i" (sound).
The small to'ere is laid vertically and is played with one stick giving the "ta'iri ho'e".
The big to'ere is laid horizontally (on 2 support boards) and is played with two sticks giving the "ta'iri piti".
The more you hit towards the extremity, the drier and sharper the sound is.
- the "tari parau" which is a bit of the big drum of the Polynesians is probably from Rurutu in the Australes.
This drum has two membranes and the choice of wood is not important. Nowadays, it is not rare to see materials such as plastic or metal being used!
-Finally, the Ukulele (instrument of portuguese origin), came from the Hawaii Islands, at the beginning of the century, like the other string instruments.
A good orchestra counts at least five musicians. The leader is called "to'ere arata'i" .