Anthropologists and historians repeatedly speculate that percussion instruments were the first musical apparatus ever came into being. But with the utmost certainty, the human voice was the first musical instrument, and surely, percussion tools such as feet, hands, rocks, sticks and logs came in second to the on-going evolution of music. When humans developed tools for hunting and agriculture, their knowledge along side with skill, enabled them to produce more complex tools. They use slit drum, made from a hollowed-out tree trunk. For instance, a simple log may have been shaped to generate louder tones (log drum) and may have been pooled to create numerous tones (set of log drums).

Percussion instruments became much more sophisticated after most of mankind settled into agrarian communities and people found themselves with more time on their hands. Percussion instruments became part of religious beliefs, communication devices and tools for creative expression. By 1000 AD and in some cases far earlier, seed rattles and other instruments were used in Micronesia and Australia, djembes and kalimbas in Africa, maracas and drums in the Americas and gongs, chimes and even xylophones in Asia.

Percussion instruments that are displayed in orchestra first came from Asia Minor. In the 15th century, people began migrating east and brought with them numerous instruments. Our percussion instruments got their initial stages there, when the Crusades took back the drums that they found in the Middle East. From then on, evolution of percussion and drums kicked up a notch and assortments of percussion instruments came into being.

Percussion is categorized by a variety of criteria at times depending on their cultural origin, construction and function within musical orchestration. It is generally referred as ‘the hearbeat’ of a musical ensemble, often functioning close collaboration with bass instruments if present.

Drums and percussions as well as bass are known as the rhythm section of the most popular music genres. Most classical pieces written for an orchestra since the time of Mozart and Haydn are schemed to put emphasis on strings, brass and woodwinds. However, time and again they include a pair of timpani (kettle drums) although not played continuously. But moderately, they serve to offer additional accents when needed.

Small percussion instruments became more popular in orchestral works of the 18th and 19th centuries, but the cymbal and triangle among others were again mostly in the background as accents to the other instruments. It was not until recently when composers began to explore the possibilities of percussion in a leading role.

In almost all types of music, percussion plays a fundamental role. In a military parade, it is the strike of the bass drum that holds the soldiers in step and at a normal speed, and it is the snare that endows that crisp, vital air to the tune of a troop. In traditional jazz, one almost instantly thinks of the distinguishing rhythm of the hi-hats or the ride cymbal when the word “swing” is uttered. In more current popular music genres, it is almost impossible to name at least three or four rock, hip-hop, rap, funk, punk, techno, grunge, alternative and blues songs that don?t have some kind of percussive beat maintaining the tune in time.

There are even musical ensembles which perform works consisting entirely of percussion instruments. The range of percussion instruments is varied enough that compositions can express melody, harmony and rhythm using only percussive elements and of course, these performances are quite a sight to behold.

Tags: didgeridoos, ethnic, hand musical instruments, hand percussion instruments, Music, musical instruments, percussion instruments, recreation

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 7:28 am and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.