Module 3 - Musical Acoustics

Acoustics  ::  String  ::  Brass  ::  Woodwind  ::  Percussion  ::  Keyboard

Percussion

Grab a couple of sticks, bang them together and you have a percussion instrument. Oftentimes when you think of percussion instruments, a drum is the first thing that comes to mind. However the percussion family includes a vast array of instruments. The percussion family includes; drums, the piano, chimes, marimba, cymbals, whistles, the harpsichord and many others. The percussion family produces sound as vibrating bars, vibrating membranes, or vibrating plates.

In this chapter we will focus on two groups of percussion instruments; the membranophones (drums) and the idiophones (xylophone, marimba, chimes,cymbals, etc.)

To successfully complete this chapter you should...

• Read chapter 13 in your text book (pages 257- 286).
• Carefully study the important concepts about percussion instruments.
• Be able to identify instruments in the percussion family and state how the timbre is produced.
• Be able to Classify musical instruments by method of tone production.

Important Concepts

Instrument Classification
Idiophone
Membranophone
Aerophone
Chordophone

Vibration of bars
Glockenspeil
Marimba
Xylophone
Vibes
Chimes
Triangles

Vibrations of membranes
Timpani
Bass drum
Snare drum
Other drums

Vibration of plates
Cymbals
Gong and tam tams
Steel drums
Bells and carillons
Hand bells