Symphony Orchestra. Percussion and electronic instruments

Percussion includes all instruments that are struck or shaken to produce sounds. Instruments such as xylophones and pipe bells can make different sounds and play whole melodies on them. But most percussion instruments, such as tambourines and maracas, produce only specific sounds, they emphasize the rhythm of the melody.

Percussion instruments included in the orchestra, come from different countries. The homeland of tambourines and timpani is the Middle East, xylophones and marimbas are Africa, metallophones are the Far East, bongos and maracas are South America.

The Indian ghatam drum is an instrument in the form of a clay pot covered with leather; it is played with the palm, fingers and even nails. Cymbals and maracas are percussion instruments.

Cymbals have been played since ancient times, they were used in many countries of the world. Sounds are obtained by striking one plate against another. As you already know, the birthplace of maracas is South America. At first, they simply dried pumpkins, inside of which rumbled seeds. Now maracas are made of wood or plastic.

Percussion in a symphony orchestra

A group of percussion instruments in minor symphony orchestra presented only timpani.

The timpani — in appearance and the way they are played — resemble the well-known drum. These are two copper hemispheres with skin stretched over them. With the help of screws, you can tighten the skin more and less, and this changes the pitch of the sound. This is what distinguishes timpani from a drum, the sound of which does not have a certain pitch. Individual bass sounds on timpani can be obtained with quite high accuracy.

In a large symphony orchestra, in addition to timpani, drums are used (small and large), cymbals — two copper disks that the performer hits one by one, as well as a triangle, a xylophone, and bells. The last two tools are a set of plates of different lengths (wooden ones for the xylophone, metal ones for the bells).

Drum — percussion instrument, which is a hollow cup or cylinder over which the skin is stretched. The sound is created by skin vibrations either under the performer’s palms or under the sticks. Some drums, such as the big drum and tamtam, only emphasize the rhythm of the piece, their sounds do not have a specific pitch. Others, such as orchestral timpani, are tuned to a particular pitch.

The xylophone is made of wooden blocks. These bars, or keys, are arranged in two rows, like piano keys, and below them are vertically suspended metal or plastic resonators. The xylophone is played with hammers with wooden, rubber or plastic tips.

Electronic tools

A famous German composer is considered the creator of electronic music, conductor and music theorist Karlheinz Stockhausen. There are two types of electronic instruments. Some enhance the sound of the instrument. For example, on an electric guitar, sounds are obtained by plucking the strings, this sound is modified and amplified by a microphone. This is how electric violins, pianos and flutes work.

The second group includes electronic instruments that produce sounds themselves. It includes synthesizers that produce a wide variety of sounds, and installations that imitate the sound of percussion instruments. In addition, this group includes the first electronic instruments: theremin and onde marteno. Termenvox was invented in 1920, it produces a whimsical, ringing sound. Onde marteno was invented at the end of the 20s of the 20th century, it makes strange howling sounds.