Beginners Guide to Percussion Instruments
Ask almost anyone what exactly is percussion and I bet you they can’t name more than one instrument, if that.
Some instruments in the percussion family are not often thought of as being a percussion instrument. Cymbals and timpani are often thought of as the main focus of percussion and drums in general. The drums in a band one could not do without and are thought of as being the beat or foundation of the sound and rightly so. Drums are not the only percussion as we will see. You will greatly expand your knowledge of music as a whole if you learn one or more of the instruments in the percussion category.
Percussion can be defined as striking one body against another; especially such as gives a sound or report. When you learn piano you are seldom made privy to the manner of its sound production and the fact that it is a percussion instrument. The piano straddles two groups, chordophones and percussion; being a stringed instrument but having the sound produced by hammers striking the strings. Open the piano and see how the hammers strike the strings to grasp the effects of percussion. The sounds of music are produced in many and various ways.
Percussion is divided into other classifications as well. Percussion instruments are either idiophones or membranophones and are defined as instruments that produce sounds through the vibration of their entire body when struck or instruments that have a stretched membrane that vibrates. Some examples of idiophones are the triangle, cymbals and the vibraphone. Membranophone examples are congas, bongos and the tom tom. Whether a definite pitch is produced or not is a further division of percussion instruments.
As many instruments in this area can produce defined pitches, players are often required to learn to read music as it is essential to playing.
Percussion can be much more than what you might think. Percussion instruments can play not only rhythm, but harmony and melody as well. The beat of the music is found in marching band music as well as the modern jazz quartet. Percussion is the soul of music.
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November 20th, 2009 at 2:54 am
Thanks for a very informative and well written article. When I wanted to sign up for drums in middle school, they said I had to have piano training. Somehow I was able to start without having that experience but did take up the piano a few years later. Piano helped me tremendously in learning music theory and music in general. Before taking up the piano, most of the music I read for drums/percussion was basically just reading the rhythm.
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Thank God, or what ever deity you pray to, that you took the piano up! You can’t go wrong with that.
I wonder, do you still play? If not …
Keep on Jammin’