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
