A
percussion instrument can be any object which produces a sound by being
struck 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 and/or with
musical intent.
The word, "percussion", has evolved from Latin terms: "percussio" (which
translates as "to beat, strike" in the musical sense, rather than the violent
action), and "percussus" (which is a noun meaning "a beating"). As a noun in
contemporary English it is described at
Wiktionary as "the collision of two bodies to produce a sound". The usage of
the term is not unique to
music but has
application in medicine and weaponry, as in
percussion cap, but all known and common uses of the word, "percussion",
appear to share a similar lineage beginning with the original Latin: "percussus".
In a musical context then, the term "percussion instruments" may have been
coined originally to describe a family of instruments including
drums, rattles,
metal plates, or wooden blocks which musicians would beat or strike (as in a
collision) to produce sound.
History
Anthropologists and historians often explain that percussion instruments were
the first musical devices ever created. The first musical instrument used by
humans was the voice but percussion instruments such as our hands and feet, then
sticks, rocks, and logs were the next steps in the evolution of music.
Classifications
Percussion instruments can be, and indeed are, classified by various criteria
sometimes depending on their construction, ethnic origin, their function within
musical theory and orchestration, or their relative prevelance in common
knowledge. It is not sufficient to describe percussion instruments as being
either "pitched" or "unpitched" which is often a tendency; 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
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 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 experiment, one can determine exactly how an instrument produces
sound and then assign the instrument to one of the following five categories:
"Idiophones produce sound when their bodes are caused to vibrate." (Cook,
2006)
Examples of idiophones:
Most objects commonly known as "drums"
are membranophones. "Membranophones produce sound when the membrane or head is
put into motion." (Cook, 2006)
Examples of membranophone:
-
Tom-tom
- Snare
drum
- Timpani
-
Lion's roar: The lion's roar might be, incorrectly, considered a
chordophone as rope or string is used to activate the membrane. However,
it is the membrane which sounds.
- Wind machines: A wind machine in this context is not a wind tunnel and
therefore not an
aerophone.
Instead, it is an aparatus (often used in
theatre as
a sound effect) in which a sheet of canvas (a membrane) is rubbed
against a screen or
resonator
-- this activity produces a sound which resembles the blowing of wind.
Most instruments known as "chordophones" are defined as
string instruments, but some such as these examples are, arguably,
percussion instruments also.
Most instruments known as "aerophones" are defined as
wind instruments such as a
saxophone
whereby sound is produced by a person or thing blowing air through the object.
However, the following example instruments, if played at all in a musical
context, are played by the percussionists in an ensemble. Examples of aerophones:
Electrophones are also percussion instruments. In the strictest sense, all
electrophones require a loudspeaker (an
idiophone
or some other means to push air and create sound waves). This, if for no
other argument, is sufficient to assign electrophones to the percussion family.
Moreover, many composers have used the following example instruments and they
are most often performed by percussionists in an ensemble. Examples of
electrophones:
By musical
function/orchestration
It is in this paradigm that it is useful to define percussion instruments as
either having
definite pitch or
indefinite pitch. For example, some instruments such as the
marimba and
timpani
produce an obvious fundamental pitch and can therefore play melody and serve
harmonic functions in music while 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 discernable.
Instruments in this group are sometimes referred to as "pitched" or "tuned".
Examples of percussion instruments with definite pitch:
Instruments in this group are sometimes referred to as "non-pitched", "unpitched",
or "untuned". This phenomenon occurs when the resultant sound of the instrument
contains complex frequencies through which no discernable pitch can be heard.
Examples of percussion instruments with indefinite pitch:
By prevalence in common
knowledge
Although it is difficult to define what is "common knowledge", there are
instruments in use by percussionists and composers in contemporary music which
are certainly not considered by most to be
musical instruments of any kind. Therefore, it is worthwhile to try
to make distinction between instruments based on their acceptance or
consideration by a general audience. For example, it is safe to argue that most
people would not consider an
anvil, a
brake drum
(the circular hub on modern vehicles which houses the brakes), or a fifty-five
gallon oil
barrel to be musical instruments, yet these objects are used regularly by
composers and percussionists of modern music.
One might assign various percussion instruments to one of the following
categories:
Conventional/Popular
Unconventional
(Sometimes referred to as "found" instruments)
- spokes on a bicycle wheel
- brooms
- a shopping cart
- metal pipes
- clay pots
- garbage cans
John Cage,
Harry
Partch,
Edgard Varèse, all of whom are notable composers, created entire pieces of
music using unconventional instruments. Beginning in the early 20th century,
perhaps with Ionisation by
Edgard Varèse which used air-raid sirens (among other things), composers
began to require percussionists to invent or "find" objects to produce the
desired sounds and textures. By late-20th century, such instruments had become
common in modern percussion ensemble music and popular productions such as the
off-broadway show,
STOMP.
By cultural
significance/tradition
This topic should be investigated with caution so as to avoid being
politically or historically incorrect. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to
discuss percussion instruments in relation to their cultural origin which has
led to a dualism between instruments which are considered "common" or "modern"
and those which have a significant history and/or significant purpose within a
geographic region or among a specific demographic of the world's population.
"World"/"Ethnic"/"Folk"
drums
This category may contain instruments which have special significance among a
specific ethnic group or geographic region. Such as:
"Common" drums
This category may contain instruments which are widely available throughout
the world and have experienced popularization among a variety of world
populations. Such as:
Function
Percussion instruments play not only
rhythm, but
also melody and
harmony.
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 bassist and the
drummer are oftened 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 eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
other percussion instruments (like the
triangle or
cymbals) have been used, again relatively sparingly in general. The use of
percussion instruments became more frequent in the twentieth century classical
music.
In almost every style of music, percussion plays a pivotal role. 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 apparent and alive in these musical groups, and in live
performance they are quite a sight to see.
Percussion music
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;
More often a treble clef (or sometimes a bass clef) is substituted for rhythm
clef.
Names for percussionists
The general term for a musician who plays percussion instruments is
"percussionist" but the terms listed below are often used to describe a person's
specialties:
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