LEARN ABOUT MARK TWAIN IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF WORLD OF WONDER

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2013

© 2013 Triefeldt Studios, Inc.Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

At a bookstore near you: Two full-color World of Wonder compilations: “Plants & Animals” and “People & Places.”

By Laurie Triefeldt

Percussion instruments are thought to be the first man-made musical instruments. This family of instruments produces

sound when struck with an object or the hand. There are hun-dreds of percussion instruments, including scrapers, beaters,

rattles, drums, cymbals and bells. Their sounds are as varied as their construction. They are most often used to keep rhythm.

Adondo

Timpani

Bongos

Claves

Ashiko

Tambourine

Maracas

Bodhrán

Conga

SabaroKutiribaKutirindingo

Timbal

Tabla

ClassificationMost percussion instruments are either idiophones (instruments that vibrate when struck, shaken, plucked or scraped) or membranophones (instruments with a stretched membrane that vibrates when struck, shaken, or rubbed). Percussion instruments can be further classified as those that pro-duce pitch and those that do not.

Parts of a drumThe outside of a drum, not the top drumming surface or the drum-head, is called the shell. The materials used to make a drum can have a major effect on its tone and on the intensity of the sound. Metal, clay, wood and leather all produce different sounds. The drum’s diameter and shell thick-ness also influence its sound. Drumheads are usually made of calfskin or plastic. Some drums have two drumheads; others have just one.

Throw-off Disconnects the snares

Batter head (top)

Hoop or rim

Lugs

Tension rods

Parts of a snare drum

Resonant head

Snares: Wires that produce the “buzz” sound heard from a snare drum

Guiro (scraper)

Cymbals, triangles, gongs, maracas, tambourines and hand drums are sometimes referred to as the toys in the percussion instrument family.

The glockenspiel uses mallets to pro-duce tones from metal bars. The difference between a glockenspiel and a xylophone is that the bars of a xylophone are made of wood, not metal.

Because of its shape, the timpani is also known as a kettledrum. Mallets made of felt, leather or wood produce different tones. Timpani are usually played in pairs or in groups of four.

Castanets

Cymbals

Afuche- cabasa

Triangle

Sleigh bells

The tabla is from North India. It is a set of two drums played with the hands. The larger, left-hand drum is called the bayan; the smaller, right-hand drum is the dayan.

The adondo, or talking drum, is widely used in West Africa and can be used to communicate or send messages.

Riding tom

Crash cymbals are smaller and thinner than ride cymbals.

Riding toms add variety to the rhythm.

Right-handed rock drum kit

Buddy Rich 1917 – 1987

Jazz & band leader

Some famous drummers

Gene Krupa 1909 – 1973

Jazz & big band

Ringo Starr 1940 –

The Beatles

Sheila E. 1957 –

Percussionist & singer

A Mandinka drum ensemble, played by the Mandinka people of Senegal and Gambia, consists of three drummers and their tuned drums.

Glockenspiel

SOURCES: World Book Encyclopedia, World Book Inc.; www.studymode.com; http://guitaralliance.com; http://drumnuts.com; www.buckinghammusic.com

Riding tom

Bass drum

Large tom

Ride cymbal

Crash cymbal

Snare drum

Crash cymbal

Hi-hat cymbal