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
