percussion instrument

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

See Tom Teasley playing the frame drum using different drumming styles from various countries

reconstructed Mayan fresco from Bonampak

For Students

percussion instrument summary

Read Next

Woman Playing a Theorbo to Two Men, oil on canvas by Gerard Terborch, 1667-1668. (Baroque Art)

What’s That Sound?: 8 Intriguing Early Musical Instruments

Old broken disused piano with damaged keys

Is the Piano a Percussion or a Stringed Instrument?

Discover

Saint Lucia Day. Young girl wears Lucia crown (tinsel halo) with candles. Holds Saint Lucia Day currant laced saffron buns (lussekatter or Lucia's cats). Observed December 13 honor virgin martyr Santa Lucia (St. Lucy). Luciadagen, Christmas, Sweden

7 Winter Solstice Celebrations From Around the World

Stylish light blue jeans on wooden background, closeup of inset pocket

Why Do Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket?

Close-up of ostriches (Struthio camelus) necks and heads; location unknown.

6 of the World's Most Dangerous Birds

Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and autodidact.

6 Interesting Facts about Srinivasa Ramanujan

Watergate scandal. Richard M. Nixon. President Nixon gives a press conference and talks to the press, March 12, 1971.

9 American Political Scandals

Four year old boy with grandfather and father lighting Hanukkah menorah. Photo taken on: December 21st, 2009

Which Is Correct: Hanukkah or Chanukah?

Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism,

Which Religion Is the Oldest?

percussion instrument

musical instrument

Written by Edmund Addison Bowles, Sibyl Marcuse•All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 3, 2024 • Article History

Key People:: Steve Reich; Anthony Braxton; Baby Dodds; Jo Jones; Clyde Stubblefield

Related Topics:: bell; drum; xylophone; cymbal; clapper

On the Web:: International Journal of Humanities Social Science and Management - Percussion Instruments in Ancient Indian Culture: A Study on Insights from Vedic Literature and Classical Texts (Dec. 03, 2024)

See all related content

percussion instrument, any musical instrument belonging to either of two groups, idiophones or membranophones. Idiophones are instruments whose own substance vibrates to produce sound (as opposed to the strings of a guitar or the air column of a flute); examples include bells, clappers, and rattles. Membranophones emit sound by the vibration of a stretched membrane; the prime examples are drums. The term percussion instrument refers to the fact that most idiophones and membranophones are sounded by being struck, although other playing methods include rubbing, shaking, plucking, and scraping. Although many idiophones and some membranophones are tunable and hence may be ...(100 of 11075 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.