As mentioned earlier in this site, a percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration; included in this family of instruments are your regular drums, rattles metal plates or wooden blocks musicians would beat or strike to produce sound in rhythm. In close collaboration with bass instruments, when present, in jazz and other popular music ensembles, the bassist and the drummer (percussionist) are often referred to as the rhythm section. In almost every style of music, percussion plays a pivotal role. In military marching bands and pipes and drums, it is the beat of the bass drum that keeps the soldiers in step and at a regular speed, and it is the snare that provides that crisp, decisive air to the tune of a regiment.
In classic jazz, one almost immediately thinks of the distinctive rhythm of the hi-hats or the ride cymbal when the word “swing” is spoken. In more recent popular music culture, it is almost impossible to name three or four rock, hip-hop, rap, funk or even soul charts or songs that do not have some sort of percussive beat keeping the tune in time.
The formal classifications of most Percussion instruments are either Idiophones (instruments that vibrate when struck, shook, plucked, or scraped) or Membranophones (instruments that have a stretched membrane that vibrates when struck, shook, or rubbed). Informally, Percussion instruments may be further divided into those instruments that produce a definite pitch and those that do not. Some whistles (aerophones) are also included in this category of instruments because they tend to be considered sound effects rather thanserious instruments.
It is the type of sound and music played which would determine the type of percussion instrument one wishes to purchase. Be sure to remember, however, to research on the quality and durability of the materials used to make the instrument so it lasts longer.