Percussion 101
A Percussion Instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration.
The term usually applies to an object used in a rhythmic context or with musical intent.
The most common forms of percussion instruments are Drums, Cymbals and Bells.
Anthropologists and historians often speculate that percussion instruments were the first musical devices ever created.
The human voice was probably the first Musical Instrument, but percussion instruments such as hands and feet, then sticks, rocks, and logs were almost certainly the next steps in the evolution of music.
Percussion instruments are classified by various criteria sometimes depending on their construction, ethnic origin, function within musical theory and orchestration, or their relative prevalence in common knowledge.
Idiophones are percussion instruments that create sound by vibration of their entire body. Examples of idiophones are
- Celesta
- Chimes
- Crash cymbals
- Handbells
- Hi-hat
- Orchestra bells
- Singing bowls
- Slit drum
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Wood Block
- Xylophone
Membranophones are a separate category of percussion instruments that produce sound when the membrane or head is struck. Examples of membranophones are
- Bass Drum
- Bongos
- Conga
- Djembe
- Snare Drum
- Tabla
- Timpani
- Tom-tom