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 …

percussion instrument, A musical instrument that is struck (or sometimes shaken or scraped) to produce sound.

Percussion instruments date from the most ancient times. Two rocks struck together to beat time, or pebbles rattled rhythmically in a gourd, are some of the ancient instruments still used today in some …

3 days ago · The principal types of such instruments, classified by the method of producing sound, are percussion, stringed, keyboard, wind, and electronic. Learn more about the characteristics and …

Nov 20, 2025 · Some 16th-century writers excluded certain instruments from this classification; the musical theorist Lodovico Zacconi went so far as to exclude all percussion instruments and …

Percussion instruments are musical instruments that generally are used to establish rhythm. Percussion instruments make a sound when they are struck, shaken, scraped, plucked, or rubbed.

Tuned bells strung together to form chimes were the most highly regarded percussion instruments of the Middle Ages. They appear frequently in manuscript illuminations from the 10th century onward, …

In 1618 Praetorius depicted an instrument with 15 bars from 15 to 53 cm (6 to 21 inches) in length, tuned diatonically. It remained little exploited until the Flemish carillonneurs combined it with a …

The 19th century saw a rise in the use of percussion instruments in orchestral music. For example, Berlioz called for 10 cymbals in his Requiem (1837), some to be struck together, others to be hit with …

Instruments from all over the world are now commonly available and are divided into two categories: of definite and of indefinite pitch. The former include the xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, …