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14.1 Percussion Instruments: SE111 - Study Noted #7

Percussion instruments are classified into two main categories: membranophones, which produce sound through a vibrating membrane (like drums), and idiophones, which create sound through the instrument itself vibrating (like triangles). Membranophones include struck, string, and friction drums, while idiophones are divided into struck, plucked, blown, and friction types. Both categories encompass a variety of instruments that can play rhythm, melody, and harmony.

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30 views1 page

14.1 Percussion Instruments: SE111 - Study Noted #7

Percussion instruments are classified into two main categories: membranophones, which produce sound through a vibrating membrane (like drums), and idiophones, which create sound through the instrument itself vibrating (like triangles). Membranophones include struck, string, and friction drums, while idiophones are divided into struck, plucked, blown, and friction types. Both categories encompass a variety of instruments that can play rhythm, melody, and harmony.

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Pratosh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SE111 - Study Noted #7

14.1 Percussion Instruments


Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. They are
perhaps the oldest form of musical instruments. Some percussion instruments play not only
rhythm, but also melody and harmony.

The timpani, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, bell, tubular bells, crotales and glockenspiel
all play a definite pitch. The snare drum, bass drum, tom-tom, timbales, triangle and wood
block do not in general. However, some percussionists tune drumheads to specific pitches
when recording albums or in preparation for specific composer requirements. Gongs can be
tuned or un-tuned. Tuned cymbals exist but are rare.

The two major categories of percussion instruments are membranophones, which add
timbre to the sound of being struck, such as drums, and idiophones, which sound of
themselves, such as the triangle. The tambourine is both membranophone and idiophone,
having both a head and jingles.

A membranophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a


vibrating stretched membrane. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the
original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, the other three being
idiophone, chordophone and aerophone

Most membranophones are drums. Hornbostel-Sachs divides drums into three main types:
struck drums, where the skin is hit with a stick, the hand, or something else; string drums,
where a knotted string attached to the skin is pulled, passing its vibrations onto the skin; and
friction drums, where some sort of rubbing motion causes the skin to vibrate (a common type
has a stick passing through a hole in the skin which is pulled back and forth).

An idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by way of the instrument
itself vibrating, without the use of strings or membranes. It is one of the four main divisions in
the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, the others being
membranophone, chordophone and aerophone (a fifth division, electrophone, was added in
a later revision). Idiophones are probably the oldest type of musical instrument
Most percussion instruments that are not drums are idiophones. Hornbostel-Sachs divides
idiophones into four main sub-categories. The first division is the struck idiophones
(sometimes called concussion idiophones). This includes most of the non-drum percussion
instruments familiar in the west. They include all idiophones which are made to vibrate by
being hit, either directly with a stick or hand (like the triangle or marimba), or indirectly, by
way of a scraping or shaking motion (like maracas or flexatone). Various types of bells fall
into both categories

The other three sub-divisions are plucked idiophones, such as the jew's harp, music box or
thumb piano; blown idiophones and friction idiophones, such as the singing bowl, glass
harmonica, glass harp, turntable etc

14.2 Questions for study and revision

1.​ Describe the two main categories of percussion instruments and explain their
properties
2.​ How are idiophones categorized?

Week 14
​ 1​ 2009/10

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