Most musical compositions can not do without the clarity and pressure of percussion instruments. Percussion includes various instruments, the sound of which is extracted using blows or shaking. They are able to give originality and reflect the special character of a musical work.
Often, it is the drummers who become the main ones in creating the rhythmic basis of the composition. And in some genres, percussion instruments are given one of the main roles. This is simply surprising, because most percussion instruments do not even have a pitch, and each individual is capable of issuing a single, characteristic voice.
Percussion History
Despite the apparent modernity, percussion instruments, perhaps, can be called the most ancient of all existing. The oldest tools found date back to the sixth millennium BC.
Percussion instruments can be found in cultures of all times and peoples. It is noteworthy that in many ethnic groups percussion instruments are filled with sacred meaning. They are used in various shamanistic rituals and rituals.
Percussion is a percussion musical instrument, different from the classical percussion kit.
Percussion instruments
All percussion instruments are combined according to the method of sound extraction - percussion. The sources of sound in such instruments can be a variety of surfaces: wood, metal, plastic, membrane, string, various boxes - in a word, everything that a human imagination can fit.
Percussion instruments have a certain pitch. These include: metallophone, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, bells, timpani and others.
A group of instruments with an indefinite height include ratchets, shakers, tambourines, a triangle, castanets, and many other noise instruments. Percussion is a musical instrument that perfectly complements the main sound. Percussion instruments are the highlight of musical works.
Drum kit
The type and composition of the drum kit depends on the characteristics of the genre, style and general compositional features. A standard drum kit includes drums and cymbals of various sizes.
Types of drum kit cymbals:
- Crash - the largest and most powerful cymbals in a drum kit.
- Ryde - plates that make a clear, but short sound. Used to create accents.
- Hi-hat - plates located on one rod. Management takes place using the pedal. The sound is short and very sonorous. Hi-hat - the perfect plates for creating accents.
Types of drum kit :
- The snare drum is an indispensable instrument of the drum kit.
- Tom-tom is represented by a group of three drums: high, low and floor.
- The bass drum is the largest drum. The sound of this instrument is loud, deep, velvety.
String Percussion Instruments
It is generally accepted that the piano is a classic keyboard instrument. However, only professionals can refute this. The fact is that the method of extracting sound from a piano or piano is based on the principle of hammer blows on strings of different thicknesses. So can you call a piano a percussion instrument?
The device of the piano is a complex system of strings, hammers and keys. In fact, the musician plays the keys, but the strings emit sound, and the mallets are the way to extract the sound. Therefore, the piano is considered a keyboard-string-percussion instrument.
However, the piano is not the only instrument combining the characteristics of several groups. To string percussion instruments also include: cymbal, centur, clavichord, chang and others.
What is percussion?
Percussion is a musical instrument of the shock group. The word "percussion" comes from the Latin "percussion" - "tapping." In music, any object can be a percussion instrument, from which at least some sound can be extracted by tapping. That is, a percussion instrument can be considered as a classic tambourine, and, in fact, a tin can.
Classical percussion - percussion instruments that are not part of the drum kit. The percussion group includes almost all ethnic percussion instruments - maracas, Congo, bongos, castanets, rattles, tom-toms and many others.
Where is percussion used?
Unlike the classical function of percussion instruments - creating a rhythmic pattern, percussion instruments are able to convey various national gradations.
Currently, you can find musical groups performing their compositions, accompanied by only the instruments of a percussion group. As a rule, ritual and ritual songs of tribal peoples, as well as some modern vocal and dance numbers, become such compositions.
Percussion is a musical instrument that is accessible even to children. The most common percussion instruments formed the basis of early and preschool musical development programs.
Children's percussion instruments
A mandatory element of introducing kids to the musical art is the development of a sense of rhythm.
At the initial stage, instruments that are not related to pitch are used. It is important to understand that it is rather difficult for kids to build a rhythmic and melodic line at the same time.
From a very young age, simple percussion instruments are introduced into the musical education of children: a tambourine, maracas, a drum, rattles, bells, a triangle and other percussion.
The musical rhythm is mastered mainly with the help of various percussion instruments. Using maracas, tambourines and bells, kids learn the most important musical rules.
Most preschoolers easily master xylophone and metallophone.
However, percussion is a tool for all generations. In fact, the first percussion instruments that develop a sense of rhythm in babies appear even in early infancy. And these are ordinary, well-known rattles.
Children's percussion
Percussion in music for children plays a huge role.
For an early age, the use of a classic drum kit is unusual. There is nothing surprising in the fact that children's “noisers” are seen as percussion - a musical instrument. The children's group of percussion instruments consists of rattles, maracas, bells and metallophones. And therefore the simplest percussion is usually accessible to kids. A musical instrument, the photo of which is presented above, is generally rarely perceived as a musical one. But the rattle is nothing but the first children's maracas.
However, some talents refute myths about the lack of a sense of rhythm in babies. Irrefutable evidence can be considered Lenya Shilovsky from Novosibirsk, who showed absolutely everyone that babies are unidentified objects, which in no way can be considered primitive. This baby has become a symbol of an entire generation, which many consider lost.
The role of percussion and percussion instruments in music
Undoubtedly, the creation of a rhythmic composition is the main task of all percussion instruments.
However, many percussion instruments add a special charm to the musical composition:
- ethnic instruments serve as an indisputable expression of the national spirit and national characteristics;
- children's noise instruments allow children to instill a rhythmic culture and express children's immediacy.
Ritual instruments incorporate centuries-old wisdom, culture and traditions of different nations.
Perhaps there is no more extensive group of musical instruments than percussion. In whatever style the composition is performed, percussion instruments always play one of the main roles. So, it’s no coincidence that percussion instruments create a mood. And every hit is unique!