The percussion family
Above, the Louisville Leopard Percussionists demonstrate many different orchestral percussion instruments in an arrangement of "Zeppelin!"
The instruments of the percussion family
The percussion family is the only family that has an unlimited number of instruments. This is because almost anything can be turned in to a percussion instrument. A percussion instrument is anything that can be hit, shaken, or scraped to make it vibrate. Very carefully, walk around your house and notice how many objects make sound when you hit them, shake them, or scrape them. Can you make different sounds by combining different combinations of hitting, shaking, and scraping?
The primary instruments that we will be learning about in class are considered the standard symphony orchestra instruments. These are instruments that composers have been writing for for many years, and are well established in the musical world. Instruments such as a ladder or trash can are used in one or two pieces, but orchestral instruments have hundreds or thousands of piece composed for them.
The orchestral instruments that we will learn about are grouped in to two categories; Pitched and unpitched. Pitched instruments have multiple keys on them that produce a different pitch when struck, allowing them to play chromatic or melodic lines much as a wind or string instrument would. An example of a pitched instrument is the xylophone. Un-pitched instruments produce only one pitch when played, therefore they are not as capable of playing melodic or chromatic melodies as pitched instruments. An example of an unpitched instrument is a bass drum.
The pitched instruments that we will learn about are:
The un-pitched instruments that we will learn about are:
These instruments represent a very small sample of the large percussion family, these are the instruments most commonly used in our music classroom or in a symphony orchestra.
The primary instruments that we will be learning about in class are considered the standard symphony orchestra instruments. These are instruments that composers have been writing for for many years, and are well established in the musical world. Instruments such as a ladder or trash can are used in one or two pieces, but orchestral instruments have hundreds or thousands of piece composed for them.
The orchestral instruments that we will learn about are grouped in to two categories; Pitched and unpitched. Pitched instruments have multiple keys on them that produce a different pitch when struck, allowing them to play chromatic or melodic lines much as a wind or string instrument would. An example of a pitched instrument is the xylophone. Un-pitched instruments produce only one pitch when played, therefore they are not as capable of playing melodic or chromatic melodies as pitched instruments. An example of an unpitched instrument is a bass drum.
The pitched instruments that we will learn about are:
- Glockenspiel (Sometimes referred to as bells)
- Xylophone
- Metallophone
- Marimba
- Vibraphone
- Timpani
- Gong
The un-pitched instruments that we will learn about are:
- Snare Drum
- Bass Drum
- Djembe
- Tubano
- Hand Drum
- Cymbal
- Tam-Tam
- Maracas
- Tambourine
- Various shaker instruments
These instruments represent a very small sample of the large percussion family, these are the instruments most commonly used in our music classroom or in a symphony orchestra.