PERCUSSION

The word percussion stands for a family of musical instruments. The percussion family contains many familiar instruments such as the timpani, crash cymbals, and the xylophone, but a percussionist must also be able to play many other kinds of unusual instruments, for instance a whip or a blacksmith's anvil.

The family of percussion is defined by a simple rule: anything you hit (that makes music) is a percussion instrument. If you have ever clapped along with the radio, or tapped your foot to the music, then you have played a part in this family called "Body Percussion". Body Percussion is making music by striking parts of your body.

The percussion instruments you will commonly see at a Singapore Symphony Orchestra concert are divided into two groups.

The first group contains instruments which can't play a specific note. An example of an instrument from this group is the Triangle, the triangle make a beautiful sound, but should never sound like a B flat (or any other musical pitch). We call these instruments, "Indefinite Pitch" percussion. Examples are the crash cymbals, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine and the triangle.

The second group contains instruments that can play specific notes. These are known as "Definite Pitch" percussion. Examples are the xylophone and the timpani. These instruments can be played individually, or with other instruments in the orchestra. The xylophone often plays with the violins or the flute, while the timpani often plays with the double bass or the tuba.

Sometimes the percussionist in an orchestra has to play more than one instrument. He or she must arrange many instruments within easy reach, and then play each one according to the composer's instructions. This combination of the instruments is called, "Multiple Percussion", and often contains a mixture of Definite Pitch Percussion and Indefinite Pitch Percussion.

The vibrations of percussion instruments are set up by stretched membranes, like the calfskin of the kettledrum, or by plates or bars made of metal, wood, or other sonorous materials.

Extremely loud sounds may be drawn from percussion instruments like the bass drum or cymbals; however, percussion sounds die away more quickly than those of other instruments.


HISTORY

Percussion instruments have long been used to emphasize rhythm and to heighten climaxes. But until about 1900, they played a far less important role in western music than strings, woodwinds, or brasses. Composers of our century have been more willing to exploit the special colours of the percussion family and have occasionally written entire pieces for it to show off, such as lonisation (1931) by Edgard Varese.

Jazz and rock musicians have, of course made good use of percussion instruments. Yet, for all these recent explorations, western musicians barely approach the incredibly varied use of percussion found in Africa and Asia, where subtle changes of rhythm, tone colour, and dynamics are used with great imagination.


Chimes
Timpani
Xylophone
Vibraphone
Glockenspiel
Temple Blocks
Bass Drum
Cymbals
Gong
Snare Drum
Tambourine
Triangle
Sound Production
Special Effects