Download Percussion Instruments: Types, Roles, and Characteristics in the Orchestra and more Study notes Piano in PDF only on Docsity!
Read the information and answer the questions provided at the end.
The Percussion Family
The percussion family is the largest in the orchestra. Percussion instruments include any instrument that makes a sound when it is hit, shaken, or scraped. It's not easy to be a percussionist because it takes a lot of practice to hit an instrument with the right amount of strength, in the right place and at the right time. Some percussion instruments are tuned and can sound different notes, like the xylophone, timpani or piano, and some are untuned with no definite pitch, like the bass drum, cymbals or castanets. Percussion instruments keep the rhythm, make special sounds and add excitement and color. Unlike most of the other players in the orchestra, a percussionist will usually play many different instruments in one piece of music. The most common percussion instruments in the orchestra include the timpani, xylophone, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, maracas, gongs, chimes, celesta, and piano.
Piano
People disagree about whether the piano is a percussion or a string instrument. You play it by hitting its 88 black and white keys with your fingers, which suggests it belongs in the percussion family. However, the keys lift hammers inside the piano that strike strings (indeed, the piano has more strings than any other string instrument), which produce its distinctive sound. Which family do you think it belongs to? Wherever it fits in, there's no disputing the fact that the piano has the largest range of any instrument in the orchestra. It is a tuned instrument, and you can play many notes at once using both your hands. Within the orchestra the piano usually supports the harmony,
but it has another role as a solo instrument (an instrument that plays by itself), playing both melody and harmony.
Other Percussion Instruments
Timpani
Timpani look like big polished bowls or upside-down teakettles, which is why they're also called kettledrums. They are big copper pots with drumheads made of calfskin or plastic stretched over their tops. Timpani are tuned instruments, which means they can play different notes. The timpanist changes the pitch by stretching or loosening the drumheads, which are attached to a foot pedal. Timpani are a central part of the percussion family because they support rhythm, melody and harmony. Most orchestras have four timpani of different sizes and tuned to different pitches and they are usually played by one musician, who hits the drumheads with felt-tipped mallets or wooden sticks. The timpani player must have a very good ear because he/she usually needs to change the pitches of the drums during performances.
Xylophone
The xylophone originally came from Africa and Asia, but has a Greek name that means "wood sound." The modern xylophone has wooden bars or keys arranged like the keys of the piano, which the player hits with a mallet. You can change the quality of the pitch by using different kinds of mallets (hard or soft), and by hitting the wooden bars in different ways. Attached to the bottom
Triangle
You've probably played a triangle yourself at one time or another. It's a small metal bar that's bent into the shape of a triangle and makes a ringing sound when you hit it. There are many sizes of triangles and each one sounds a different pitch. You play the triangle by holding it on a string and striking it with a metal beater. The size and thickness of the beater can change the sound the triangle makes.
Snare Drum
The snare drum is a smallish drum made of wood or brass with drumheads made of calfskin or plastic stretched over both ends of a hollow cylinder. It has a set of wire-wrapped strings stretched across the bottom head (the snare), which give the snare drum its unique "rattling" sound when the drum is hit. A small switch on the side of the drum allows the player to turn the snare on or off depending on the requirements of the piece. The snare drum is an untuned drum, so it doesn't sound distinct pitches. It is often used in military music and is a central part of any marching band. Snare drums are used to keep the rhythm and make special sounds, such as drumrolls. You play the snare drum by hitting the top with drumsticks, mallets or brushes.
Bass Drum
The bass drum , like the double bass, is the biggest member of the percussion family and therefore makes the lowest sounds. The bass drum is built like a very large snare drum, although without the snare; it is also an untuned instrument. You play the bass drum by hitting either drumhead with sticks that have large soft heads, often covered with sheepskin or felt. It can produce a lot of different sounds from roaring thunder to the softest whispers.
Tambourine
Have you played one of these? A tambourine is a small drum with metal jingles set into the edges. Both the drumhead and the jingles are untuned. To play it, you hold it in one hand and tap, shake or hit it, usually against your other hand.
Maracas
Maracas come from Mexico. They are rattles, often made from gourds (a kind of squash), filled with dried seeds, beads or even tiny ball bearings that make them rattle. Maracas can also be made of wood or plastic; the sound they make depends on what they're made of. To play them, you hold them in your hands and shake.
Gong
The gong , also known as the tamtam , is a very large metal plate that hangs suspended from a metal pipe. It looks similar to a cymbal and is also untuned, but is much larger and has a raised center. To play it, you hit the center with a soft mallet. Depending on how hard you hit it, you can make a deafening crash or the softest flicker of sound.
Chimes
Chimes are metal tubes of different lengths that are hung from a metal frame. When you strike the tubes with a mallet, they sound like the ringing bells of a church. Each chime sounds a different pitch.
For the following questions, name the type of instrument the statement describes. Answers many repeat and could have more than one answer.
Played in its center by using a soft mallet.
Changes pitch by using foot pedals.
Can be made by many different materials and rattle when played.
Comes in many sizes and makes the most noise.
Wooden keys and has resonators underneath.
Smaller version of and similar to the piano.
Biggest member and makes a variety of sounds.
Can be placed in more than one instrument family and can also be performed as a solo instrument.
Played by hand using two pieces of wood.
Has meta bars and is played with hard mallets.
Contains two different parts that make sound using both hands.
Held by a string and hit with a metal beater to play it. Shaped like its name.
Sounds like church bells when played.
Has wire strings that give a rattling sound.
Name all percussion instruments that have resonators.
Name all percussion instruments that are played with mallets.
Name all percussion instruments that are played by hand.
Name all percussion instruments that are or can be played with drumsticks.
