Untuned Percussion

Untuned Percussion

Percussion instruments are the oldest kind of musical instrument, excluding the human voice

Percussion Instruments are instruments that are hit, shaken or scraped to make a sound. There are many types and can include:

• stretched membranes (skins)

• hollow objects

• solid metal tubes and discs

• instruments with metal or wooden bars

• hollow instruments containing beads or seeds

• instruments that are scratched or scraped.

Untuned Percussion Instruments

If the sound of a percussion instrument has no fixed pitch, we classify the instrument as untuned. Untuned Percussion Instruments are mainly used to play rhythmic patterns, but they can also be used to heighten musical climaxes in a piece or to add colour to the overall sound.

Bass Drum

very large drum struck with a heavy padded stick

Bongos

small pair of drums of different pitch struck with the fingers

Castanets

two flat pieces of wood hit together with the fingers (sometimes the wooden pieces are mounted on the end of a small stick and shaken)

Claves (pronounced Cla -vays)

pair of wooden sticks struck together

Cowbell

hollow bell struck with a short stick

Cymbals

circular metal discs either struck together or mounted on stands and struck with wooden or padded sticks

Gong

large, heavy bronze disc struck with a beater (a Gong can also called a tam-tam)

Guiro (pronounced gwi-ro)

hollow wooden instrument, often shaped like a fish, whose body is scraped by a small stick

Maracas

hollow wooden instruments filled with beads and shaken

Sleigh Bells

tiny silver bells that are shaken

Snare Drum

small horizontal drum played with wooden sticks (stretched across the bottom skin is a band of wires called the snare)

Tambour

small hand drum

Tambourine

similar to a tambour but with metal jingles in its frame

Triangle

metal rod bent into a triangular shape and struck with a metal beater

Woodblock

hollow block or blocks of wood hit with a stick

Open Ended

What items do you have in your home that are similar or that you could use as an untuned percussion instrument?