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The Percussion Family: Types, Role, and Important Instruments in the Orchestra, Lecture notes of Piano

Explore the percussion family, the largest and most diverse in the orchestra. Discover the role of percussionists, the difference between tuned and untuned instruments, and learn about the most common percussion instruments such as timpani, xylophone, cymbals, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, maracas, gongs, chimes, celesta, and piano. Understand the unique characteristics and sounds of each instrument.

What you will learn

  • How do percussionists change the pitch of tuned instruments like the timpani during performances?
  • Which percussion instruments are commonly used in the orchestra and what are their unique characteristics?
  • What are the main differences between tuned and untuned percussion instruments?

Typology: Lecture notes

2021/2022

Uploaded on 09/12/2022

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The Percussion Family
The percussion family is the largest family 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.
The piano is a percussion instrument. You play it by hitting its
88 black and white keys with your fingers, which suggests it
belongs in the percussion family. 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.
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
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The Percussion Family

The percussion family is the largest family 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. The piano is a percussion instrument. You play it by hitting its 88 black and white keys with your fingers, which suggests it belongs in the percussion family. 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. 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. 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 of the wooden bars are metal tubes called resonators, where the sound vibrates. This gives the xylophone its bright bell-like sound. Cymbals are the biggest noisemakers of the orchestra. They are two large metal discs, usually made of spun bronze. Cymbals, which are untuned, come in a range of sizes, from quite small to very large. The larger the cymbal, the lower the sound they make. Cymbals can be used for drama and excitement, to accent the rhythm or create delicate sound effects. You can play the cymbals either by hitting one cymbal against the other, or you can use sticks, mallets or brushes to hit one or both cymbals. 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.