History of Percussion Instruments
July 16th, 2009 by David Zed, under Music. No Comments
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.
Several of the percussion instruments used in Western orchestral music came west from the Levant and the Balkans along with returning Crusaders in the 11th-13th centuries. These instruments became widely known in their own right and their designs influenced the work Western instrument makers.
The function of percussion instruments within an orchestra or other musical ensemble varies depending on their design and size. Some instruments produce sounds which can carry melodic or harmonic roles, while others are strictly percussive in nature. Composers and arrangers usually assign the percussion and instruments in the lower register parts which make them work as a team to create a rhythmic basis for the composition.
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.
The 1700s and 1800s saw small percussion instruments such as cymbals and triangles coming into use in the orchestral setting, though again largely in a supporting role. It wasnt until later that percussion instruments were accorded a more equal footing with other instruments within the context of the orchestra.
However, percussion is an integral part of nearly every musical style aside from classical-period orchestral and chamber group works. Percussion instruments are the basis of military music, where they set the pace for marching troops to follow. In more contemporary forms such as jazz, the sound of the hi-hat, ride cymbal and brushed snare are nearly synonymous with the genre. Modern popular music genres including hip hop, rock, heavy metal and even country music would be nearly unimaginable sans the rhythmic framework provided by percussion instruments.
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.
