History of Percussion Instruments
There are few certainties about the percussion family. No one can
say how many instruments it contains; few have agreed on playing
techniques; and few could name one orchestral piece specifically written
with percussion in mind. However, one thing is certain, percussion has been
shown over time that it is not merely a matter of beating out rhythm (“
History of Percussion” 1). The family of percussion instruments is the
first musical instrumentation introduced to the world. To this date there
are countless percussion instruments. Each group of instruments has a
different ethnic origin and history in different societies. From the
shallow drums of fourth century B. C. to the giant cot rattles of the
fifteenth century, percussion instruments have had a unique history.
Percussion instruments have had an extensive background on many
factors of their sound, and playing style. All percussion instruments fall
into two main categories, idiophones and membranophones. Idiophones
produce their sound from vibrations without the use of a stretched membrane.
This could include castanets, rattles, and mallet instruments.
Membranophones are those that produce a sound from the vibrations of a
stretched membrane. These include any type of drum hit with a stick. Both
of these instruments are tunable in many different ways and forms;
therefore, these instruments can be used as melodic instruments (“
Percussion” 653).
Basic idiophones (also refereed to as concussion instruments) are
struck together. This includes clappers, cymbals, stones, and castanets.
Percussive idiophones are hit by nonsonorous strikers. These types of
instruments include gongs, triangles, and xylophones. Shaken idiophones
were usually cups or shells that contained rattles or pellets, the shaking
of the shells and cups produced a sound. There are many other idiophones
including scraped, split, and plucked kinds. (“Percussion” 653). These
certain instruments are very important in the percussive arts field.
Membranophones are commonly referred to as just drums. They fall
into many categories such as kettledrums, bowl shaped drums, tubular drums,
friction drums, and mirlitons. Kettledrums and tubular drums are sometimes
tunable drums that can be played with hands or beaters. Friction drums are
rubbed togethe...
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...drum became a major advantage. It was believed that the Muslims
invented the kettledrums (“Percussion” 659). Around the dawn of the
seventh century, the use of drumsticks became a vital role in playing drums
in Asia (“Percussion” 658). China and Japan invented a thunder drum, which
is a drum that resembles the sounds of rolling thunder. These drums were
used during large ceremonies and were played by many men at once. Drums
played a vital role in Chinese and Korean orchestras.
Some orchestras were just percussion orchestras. Around the
twelfth century the first friction drums were used in Spain and Western
Europe.
The history of percussion is very unique and impressive. The
origins of different percussion instruments are interesting to the mind.
Many other musical instruments have a long history but the history of
percussion is very unparagoned and compelling. Today, percussion
instruments are widely used in orchestras and symphonies around the world,
these instruments of the past have taken many different forms. The future
of percussion instruments holds new innovative musical ideas, and an
increase for the music appreciation endeavor.
It is generally agreed that the Buddha was born in 563 BC in Kapilavastu to the ruler of a small kingdom. He grew up with luxuries and had a sheltered life. When he was 29 he came to realize that hi life up to this point had been so empty. He let go any earthly attachments and soon set out to find peace and enlightenment trying to steer away from the cycles of rebirths. He started practicing Yoga and "adopted a life of radical asceticism." He soon gave up this way of thinking and focused on "a middle path between the life of indulgence and that of self-denial." After a time of great inner struggle, he began to wander to different places and preach and organized a monastic community know as the sangha.
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