Type of musical instrument that produces a sound by being hit
A
percussion instrument
is a
musical instrument
that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a
beater
including attached or enclosed beaters or
rattles
struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excluding
zoomusicological
instruments and the
human voice
, the percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments.
[1]
In spite of being a very common term to designate instruments, and to relate them to their players, the percussionists, percussion is not a systematic classificatory category of instruments, as described by the scientific field of
organology
. It is shown below that percussion instruments may belong to the organological classes of
idiophone
,
membranophone
,
aerophone
and
chordophone
.
The
percussion section
of an orchestra most commonly contains instruments such as the
timpani
,
snare drum
,
bass drum
,
tambourine
, belonging to the membranophones, and
cymbals and
triangle
, which are idiophones. However, the section can
also
contain aerophones, such as
whistles
and
sirens
, or a blown
conch
shell. Percussive techniques can even be applied to the human body itself, as in
body percussion
. On the other hand,
keyboard instruments
, such as the
celesta
, are not normally part of the percussion section, but
keyboard percussion
instruments such as the
glockenspiel
and
xylophone
(which do not have piano keyboards) are included.
Percussion instruments are most commonly divided into two classes:
pitched percussion
instruments, which produce notes with an identifiable
pitch
, and
unpitched percussion
instruments, which produce notes or sounds in an indefinite pitch.
[2]
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]
[3]
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Function
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Percussion instruments may play not only
rhythm
, but also
melody
and
harmony
.
[
citation needed
]
Percussion is commonly referred to as "the backbone" or "the heartbeat" of a
musical ensemble
, often working in close collaboration with bass instruments, when present. In jazz and other popular music ensembles, the pianist, bassist, drummer and sometimes the guitarist are referred to as the
rhythm section
. Most classical pieces written for full orchestra since the time of
Haydn
and
Mozart
are orchestrated to place emphasis on the
strings
,
woodwinds
, and
brass
. However, often at least one pair of
timpani
is included, though they rarely play continuously. Rather, they serve to provide additional accents when needed. In the 18th and 19th centuries, other percussion instruments (like the
triangle
or
cymbals
) have been used, again generally sparingly. The use of percussion instruments became more frequent in the 20th century classical music.
In almost every style of music, percussion plays a pivotal role.
[4]
In military
marching bands
and
pipes and drums
, it is the beat of the bass drum that keeps the soldiers in step and at a regular speed, and it is the snare that provides that crisp, decisive air to the tune of a regiment. In classic jazz, one almost immediately thinks of the distinctive rhythm of the
hi-hats
or the ride cymbal when the word-swing is spoken. In more recent popular-music culture, it is almost impossible to name three or four rock, hip-hop, rap, funk or even soul charts or songs that do not have some sort of percussive beat keeping the tune in time.
Because of the diversity of percussive instruments, it is not uncommon to find large musical ensembles composed entirely of percussion. Rhythm, melody, and harmony are all represented in these ensembles.
Percussion notation
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Music for pitched percussion instruments can be
notated
on a
staff
with the same
treble
and
bass
clefs
used by many non-percussive instruments. Music for percussive instruments without a definite pitch can be notated with a specialist rhythm or
percussion-clef
. The guitar also has a special "tab" staff. More often a bass clef is substituted for rhythm clef.based on the previous reservation
Classification
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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.
The word percussion derives from the Latin verb
percussio
to beat, strike in the musical sense, and the noun
percussus
, a beating. As a noun in contemporary English, Wiktionary describes it as the collision of two bodies to produce a sound. The term is not unique to music, but has application in medicine and weaponry, as in
percussion cap
. However, all known uses of
percussion
appear to share a similar lineage beginning with the original Latin percussus. In a musical context then, the
percussion instruments
may have been originally coined to describe a family of musical instruments including drums, rattles, metal plates, or blocks that musicians beat or struck to produce sound.
The
Hornbostel?Sachs
system has no high-level section for
percussion
. Most percussion instruments as the term is normally understood are classified as
idiophones
and
membranophones
. However the term
percussion
is instead used at lower-levels of the Hornbostel?Sachs hierarchy, including to identify instruments struck with either a non sonorous object hand, stick, striker or against a non-sonorous object
human body
, the ground. This is opposed to
concussion
, which refers to instruments with two or more complementary sonorous parts that strike against each other and other meanings. For example:
111.1
Concussion idiophones
or clappers
, played in pairs and beaten against each other, such as
zills
and
clapsticks
.
111.2
Percussion idiophones
, includes many percussion instruments played with the hand or by a
percussion mallet
, such as the
hang
,
gongs
and the
xylophone
, but not
drums
and only some
cymbals
.
21
Struck drums
, includes most types of drum, such as the timpani, snare drum, and tom-tom.
412.12
Percussion reeds
, a class of wind instrument unrelated to
percussion
in the more common sense
There are many instruments that have some claim to being percussion, but are classified otherwise:
Percussion instruments are sometimes classified as
pitched
or unpitched. While valid, this classification is widely seen as inadequate. Rather, it may be more informative to describe percussion instruments in regards to one or more of the following four paradigms:
By methods of sound production
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]
Many texts, including
Teaching Percussion
by Gary Cook of the University of Arizona, begin by studying the physical characteristics of instruments and the methods by which they can produce sound. This is perhaps the most scientifically pleasing assignment of nomenclature whereas the other paradigms are more dependent on historical or social circumstances. Based on observation and experimentation, one can determine how an instrument produces sound and then assign the instrument to one of the following four categories:
Idiophone
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]
"Idiophones produce sounds through the vibration of their entire body."
[5]
Examples of idiophones:
Membranophone
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Most objects commonly known as
drums
are membranophones. Membranophones produce sound when the membrane or head is struck with a hand, mallet, stick, beater, or improvised tool.
[5]
Examples of membranophones:
Chordophone
[
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]
Most instruments known as chordophones are defined as
string instruments
, wherein their sound is derived from the vibration of a string, but some such as these examples
also
fall under percussion instruments.
Aerophone
[
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]
Most instruments known as aerophones are defined as
wind instruments
whereby sound is produced by a stream of air being blown through the object. However,
plosive aerophones
, such as the
udu
, are percussion instruments and may also overlap with the idiophone family. In certain situations, such as in an
orchestra
or
wind ensemble
, wind instruments, such as the
Acme siren
or various
whistles
, are played by percussionists, owing to their unconventional and simple nature.
By musical function or orchestration
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]
When classifying instruments by function it is useful to note if a percussion instrument makes a
definite pitch
or
indefinite pitch
.
For example, some percussion instruments such as the
marimba
and
timpani
produce an obvious fundamental pitch and can therefore play
melody
and serve
harmonic
functions in music. Other instruments such as
crash cymbals
and
snare drums
produce sounds with such complex overtones and a wide range of prominent frequencies that no pitch is discernible.
Definite pitch of Music
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]
Percussion instruments in this group are sometimes referred to as pitched or tuned.
Examples of percussion instruments with definite pitch:
Indefinite pitch
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]
Instruments in this group are sometimes referred to as non-pitched, unpitched, or untuned. Traditionally these instruments are thought of as making a sound that contains such complex frequencies that no discernible pitch can be heard.
In fact many traditionally unpitched instruments, such as triangles and even cymbals, have also been produced as tuned sets.
[3]
Examples of percussion instruments with indefinite pitch:
By prevalence in common knowledge
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]
It is difficult to define what is common knowledge but there are instruments percussionists and composers use in contemporary music that most people would not consider
musical instruments
. It is worthwhile to
try
to distinguish between instruments based on their acceptance or consideration by a general audience.
For example, most people would not consider an
anvil
, a
brake drum
(on a vehicle with
drum brakes
, the circular hub the brake shoes press against), or a fifty-five gallon
oil barrel
musical instruments yet composers and percussionists use these objects.
Percussion instruments generally fall into the following categories:
Conventional or popular
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]
Unconventional
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]
One pre-20th century example of found percussion is the use of
cannon
usually loaded with blank charges in
Tchaikovsky
's
1812 Overture
.
John Cage
,
Harry Partch
,
Edgard Varese
, and
Peter Schickele
, all noted composers, created entire pieces of music using unconventional instruments. Beginning in the early 20th century perhaps with
Ionisation
by
Edgard Varese
which used air-raid sirens among other things, composers began to require that percussionists invent or find objects to produce desired sounds and textures. Another example the use of a hammer and saw in
Penderecki
's
De Natura Sonoris No. 2
. By the late 20th century, such instruments were common in modern percussion ensemble music and popular productions, such as the off-Broadway show,
Stomp
. Rock band
Aerosmith
used a number of unconventional instruments in their song
Sweet Emotion
, including
shotguns
, brooms, and a sugar bag. The metal band
Slipknot
is well known for playing unusual percussion items, having two percussionists in the band. Along with deep sounding drums, their sound includes hitting baseball bats and other objects on beer kegs to create a distinctive sound.
By cultural significance or tradition
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It is not uncommon to discuss percussion instruments in relation to their cultural origin. This led to a division between instruments considered common or modern, and folk instruments with significant history or purpose within a geographic region or culture.
Folk percussion instruments
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"Common" drums
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]
This category includes instruments that are widely available and popular throughout the world:
By capability of melodic production
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By percussive beater
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The percussionist uses various objects to strike a percussion instrument to produce sound.
Names for percussionists
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The general term for a musician who plays percussion instruments is "percussionist" but the terms listed below often describe specialties:
Within rock music, the term "percussionist" is often used to refer to someone who plays percussion instruments but is not primarily a drummer. The term is especially found in bands where one person plays drums and another plays other hit instruments.
See also
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References
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Notes
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- ^
Note however that percussion instruments such as the xylophone, which share the layout of the piano keyboard but themselves have no keyboard, are termed keyboard percussion and are universally regarded as being within the percussion family.
Citations
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]
- ^
The Oxford Companion to Music
, 10th edition, p.775,
ISBN
0-19-866212-2
- ^
"Instruments: Philharmonia Orchestra"
. Philharmonia.co.uk. Archived from
the original
on 2013-07-22
. Retrieved
2015-03-30
.
- ^
a
b
"Percussion ? Musical Instruments at your Fingertips"
.
www.miayf.org
. Archived from
the original
on July 4, 2015.
- ^
"Drums from around the World ? Elephant Drums"
.
Elephant Drums
. 2019-03-13
. Retrieved
2019-03-13
.
- ^
a
b
Gary D. Cook,
Teaching Percussion
, p.2, 3rd edn, 2006, Thomson Schirmer,
ISBN
0-534-50990-8
Further reading
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External links
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]