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What percussion instrument exists. Percussion instruments: names and types

What percussion instrument exists. Percussion instruments: names and types

08.05.2019

A group of instruments united according to the method of sound production per beat. The sound source is a solid body, a membrane, a string. There are instruments with definite (timpani, bells, xylophones) and indefinite (drums, tambourines, castanets) ...

A group of instruments united according to the method of sound production per beat. The sound source is a solid body, a membrane, a string. There are instruments with definite (timpani, bells, xylophone) and indefinite (drums, tambourines, castanets) ... encyclopedic Dictionary

See Musical Instruments...

Those from which the sound is extracted by a blow. These include keyboard instruments, but it is customary to call them drums used in the orchestra. They are divided into tools with stretched skins, metal and wood. Some of them have… Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

percussion musical instruments- ▲ musical instrument strike membrane: drum. tambourine. tom-tom. timpani instr. cauldron-shaped with one membrane. tambourine. flexatone. carillon. self-sounding: castanets. xylophone. vibraphone. glockenspiel. celesta. dishes. ancient: tympanum. ... ... Ideographic Dictionary of the Russian Language

Musical instruments whose sound source is stretched strings, and the sound is produced by hitting the string with a tanguette, hammer or sticks. To S. at. m. and. include piano, cymbals, etc. See String musical ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Strings Plucked Bowed Wind Wood Brass Reed ... Wikipedia

Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Instruments designed to extract musical sounds (see Musical sound). The oldest functions of musical instruments are magical, signaling, etc. They existed already in the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. In modern musical practice ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Instruments that have the ability to reproduce, with the assistance of a person, rhythmically organized and fixed in pitch sounds or a clearly regulated rhythm. Each M. and. has a special timbre (color) of sound, as well as its own ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Books

Musical Instruments of the World for Children, Sylvie Bednar. Who would have thought that any piece of fruit, a piece of wood, ordinary spoons, a shell, a bowl or dry grains could turn into musical instruments? But people showed amazing...
REUSABLE STICKERS. Musical Instruments, Alexandrova O. Little Timoshka dreams of learning how to play. But on what? String, wind, percussion instruments - what to choose? Help Timoshka - glue funny pictures. The stickers are reusable so...

- musical instruments, the sound on which is produced by hitting (with hands, sticks, hammers, etc.) on the body becomes its source. The largest and oldest family of all musical instruments. Sometimes percussion instruments are called a word percussion(from English. percussion ).

A musician who plays percussion instruments is called drummer or percussionist, in rock and jazz groups - also drummer.

1. Classification

Depending on the sound source, percussion instruments can be:

An exotic percussion instrument came from the western regions of Ukraine to other regions of the republic, for the specific coloring of the sound it is called a bull. In a small conical shell, the upper opening is covered with leather. A bunch of horsehair is attached to it in the center. The musician, with his hands moistened in kvass, pulls his hair and produces persistent sounds of a chord.

4. Multimedia

Sources

Brief musical dictionary, M.1966
Hymn to drum art (Rus.)
Percussion musical instruments (Rus.)

Literature

A. Andreeva. Percussion instruments of a modern symphony orchestra. - K .: "Musical Ukraine", 1985
A.Panaiotov. Percussion instruments in the modern orchestra. M, 1973
E.Denisov. Percussion instruments in the modern orchestra. M, 1982

? ? Percussion musical instruments

certain pitch

They were used in ancient times by the peoples of the Middle East and the African continent to accompany warlike and religious dances and dances. Percussion instruments, whose names are numerous, as well as their types, are very common today, not a single ensemble can do without them. These include those in which the sound is extracted with the help of a blow.

Classification

According to their musical qualities, that is, according to the possibility of extracting sounds of one or another pitch, all types of percussion instruments can be divided into 2 groups, the names of which are presented in this article: with an indefinite pitch (cymbals, drums, etc.) and with a certain pitch ( xylophone, timpani). They are also divided depending on the type of vibrator (sounding body) into self-sounding (castanets, triangles, cymbals, etc.), lamellar (bells, vibraphones, xylophones, etc.) and webbed (tambourine, drums, timpani, etc.).

Now you know what types of percussion instruments exist. Let's say a few words about what determines the timbre and loudness of their sound.

What determines the volume and timbre of the sound

The loudness of their sound is determined by the amplitude of the vibrations of the sounding body, that is, the force of impact, as well as the size of the sounding body. Amplifying the sound in some instruments is achieved by adding resonators. The timbre that certain types of percussion instruments have depends on many factors. The main ones are the method of impact, the material from which the instrument is made, and the shape of the sounding body.

Webbed percussion instruments

The sounding body in them is a membrane or stretched membrane. These include percussion instruments, whose names are: tambourine, drums, timpani, etc.

timpani

The timpani is an instrument with a certain pitch, which has a metal body in the shape of a cauldron. A membrane made of tanned leather is stretched across the top of this cauldron. A special membrane made of polymeric materials is currently used as a membrane. It is fixed on the body with tension screws and a hoop. Screws located around the circumference release or tighten it. The percussion instrument of the timpani is tuned as follows: if the membrane is pulled, the system becomes higher, and if it is lowered, it will be lower. In order not to interfere with the membrane to vibrate freely, there is a hole at the bottom for air movement. The body of this tool is made of brass, copper or aluminum. Timpani are mounted on a tripod - a special stand.

This instrument is used in an orchestra in a set of 2, 3, 4 or more cauldrons of different sizes. From 550 to 700 mm is the diameter of modern timpani. There are the following types of them: pedal, mechanical and screw. Pedal ones are the most common, since you can rebuild the instrument to the desired key without interrupting the game by pressing the pedal. In timpani, the sound volume is approximately equal to a fifth. Below all the others, a large timpani is tuned.

Tulumbas

Tulumbas is an ancient percussion instrument (kind of timpani). He served in the XVII-XVIII century in the army, where he was used to give alarms. In shape, this is a pot-shaped resonator. This ancient percussion instrument (kind of timpani) can be made of metal, clay or wood. The top is lined with leather. This design is beaten with wooden bats. A dull sound is produced, somewhat reminiscent of a shot of cannons.

drums

We continue to describe percussion instruments, the names of which were listed at the beginning of the article. Drums have an indefinite pitch. These include various percussion instruments. The names listed below all refer to drums (various varieties). There are large and small orchestral drums, large and small pop drums, as well as bongos, tom-bass and tom-tenor.

A large orchestral drum has a cylindrical body, covered with plastic or leather on both sides. It is characterized by a deaf, low, powerful sound, extracted by a wooden mallet with a tip in the form of a ball of felt or felt. For drum membranes, today they began to use a polymer film instead of parchment skin. It has the best musical and acoustic properties and higher durability. At the drums, the membranes are fixed with tension screws and two rims. The body of this instrument is made of or sheet steel and lined with artistic celluloid. It has dimensions of 680x365 mm. The large pop drum has a design and shape similar to that of an orchestral drum. Its dimensions are 580x350 mm.

The small orchestral drum is a low cylinder covered with plastic or leather on both sides. The membranes (membranes) are attached to the body with the help of coupling screws and two rims. To give the instrument a specific sound, special strings or stringers (spirals) are stretched over the lower membrane. They are driven by a reset mechanism. The use of synthetic membranes in drums made it possible to significantly improve the reliability of operation, musical and acoustic characteristics, presentation and service life. The small orchestral drum has dimensions of 340x170 mm. He is included in the symphony and military brass bands. The small pop drum has a device similar to an orchestral one. Its dimensions are 356x118 mm.

Tom-tom-bass drums and tom-tom-tenor drums do not differ in their device. They are used in drum sets. The tenor tom is attached to the bass drum with a bracket. Tom-tom-bass is installed on a special stand on the floor.

Bongs are drums that are small in size, with plastic or leather stretched on one side. They are included in the drum set. Bongs are interconnected with adapters.

As you can see, many percussion instruments are related to drums. The names listed above can be supplemented by including some less popular varieties.

Tambourine

A tambourine is a shell (hoop), on one side of which plastic or leather is stretched. Special slots are made in the body of the hoop. Brass plates are reinforced in them, they look like small orchestral cymbals. Inside the hoop, sometimes small rings, bells are strung on spirals or on stretched strings. All this tinkles at the slightest touch to the tambourine, creating a special sound. The membrane is struck with the palm of the right hand (its base) or with the fingertips.

Tambourines are used to accompany songs and dances. In the East, the art of playing this instrument has reached virtuosity. Solo playing on the tambourine is also common here. Dyaf, def or gaval is an Azerbaijani tambourine, haval or daf is Armenian, daira is Georgian, doira is Tajik and Uzbek.

Plate percussion instruments

We continue to describe percussion musical instruments. Photos and names of plate drums are presented below. Such instruments, which have a certain pitch, include xylophone, marimba (marimbafon), metallophone, bells, bells, vibraphone.

Xylophone

A xylophone is a set of wooden blocks of various sizes that correspond to sounds of different pitches. The bars are made from rosewood, spruce, walnut, maple. They are placed in parallel in 4 rows, following the order of the chromatic scale. These bars are attached to strong laces, and are also separated by springs. A cord passes through the holes made in the bars. A xylophone for playing is laid out on a table on rubber share pads, which are located along the cords of this instrument. It is played with two wooden sticks with a thickening at the end. This instrument is used for playing in an orchestra or for solo playing.

Metallophone and marimba

The metallophone and marimba are also percussion instruments. Do the photos and their names mean anything to you? We invite you to get to know them better.

A metallophone is a musical instrument similar to a xylophone, but its sound plates are made of metal (bronze or brass). His photo is presented below.

Marimba (marimbafon) is an instrument whose sounding elements are wooden plates. It also has metal tubular resonators to enhance the sound.

Marimba has a juicy, soft timbre. Its sound range is 4 octaves. The playing plates of this instrument are made of rosewood. This ensures good musical and acoustic characteristics of this instrument. Plates are arranged in 2 rows on the frame. In the first row - plates of basic tones, and in the second - semitones. Resonators installed in 2 rows on the frame are tuned to the sound frequency of their respective plates. A photo of this tool is presented below.

The main knots of the marimba are fixed on the support trolley. The frame of this cart is made of aluminium. This provides sufficient strength and minimum weight. Marimba is used both for educational purposes and for professional play.

vibraphone

This instrument is a set of aluminum plates, chromatically tuned, which are arranged in 2 rows, similar to a piano keyboard. Plates are installed on a high table (bed) and fastened with laces. In the center under each of them are cylindrical resonators of a certain size. Through them pass in the upper part of the axis, on which fan fans (impellers) are fixed. This is how vibration is achieved. Damper device has this tool. It is connected under the bed to the pedal so that you can muffle the sound with your foot. The vibraphone is played with 2, 3, 4, and sometimes a large number of long sticks with rubber balls at the ends. This instrument is used in a symphony orchestra, but more often - in pop or as a solo instrument. His photo is presented below.

bells

What percussion instruments can be used to play bell ringing in an orchestra? The correct answer is bells. This is a set of percussion instruments used in symphony and opera orchestras for this purpose. Bells consist of a set (from 12 to 18 pieces) of cylindrical pipes, which are tuned chromatically. Usually pipes are chrome-plated steel or nickel-plated brass. Their diameter is from 25 to 38 mm. They are hung on a special frame-rack, the height of which is about 2 m. Sound is extracted by striking the pipes with a wooden hammer. The bells are equipped with a special device (pedal-damper) for muffling the sound.

bells

This is a percussion instrument consisting of 23-25 metal plates tuned chromatically. They are placed in steps in 2 rows on a flat box. The black keys of the piano correspond to the top row, and the white keys to the bottom row.

Self-sounding percussion instruments

Talking about what kind of percussion instruments are (names and types), one cannot fail to mention self-sounding percussion instruments. This type includes the following instruments: cymbals, tom-toms, triangles, rattles, maracas, castanets, etc.

Dishes

Cymbals are metal discs made of nickel silver or brass. A somewhat spherical shape is given to the disks of the cymbals. Leather straps are attached to the center. A long ringing sound is emitted when they hit each other. Sometimes one plate is used. Then the sound is extracted by blowing a metal brush or stick. Orchestral cymbals, gong cymbals and Charleston cymbals are produced. They sound loud and harsh.

Let's talk about what other percussion instruments are. Photos with names and descriptions will help you get to know them better.

Triangle orchestral

The orchestral triangle (its photo is presented below) is a steel bar of an open triangular shape. This instrument is suspended freely when played and then struck with a metal stick, while performing various rhythmic patterns. A ringing, bright sound has a triangle. It is used in various ensembles and orchestras. Triangles are produced with two sticks made of steel.

The gong or tam-tam is a bronze disc with curved edges. A beater with a felt tip is struck in its center. It turns out a gloomy, thick and deep sound, reaching full strength gradually, not immediately after the impact.

Castanets and maracas

Castanets (a photo of them is presented below) - this is Spain. This ancient percussion instrument is shaped like shells tied with a cord. One of them faces the spherical (concave) side to the other. They are made from plastic or hard wood. Castanets are available as single or double castanets.

Maracas are balls of plastic or wood filled with shot (small pieces of metal) and decorated colorfully on the outside. They are equipped with a handle to make them comfortable to hold during the game. Various rhythmic patterns can be played by shaking the maracas. They are used mainly in pop ensembles, but sometimes in orchestras.

Rattles are sets of small plates fixed on a wooden plate.

These are the main names of percussion musical instruments. Of course, there are many more of them. We talked about the most famous and popular.

Drum kit, which has a variety ensemble

In order to have a complete picture of this group of instruments, it is also necessary to know the composition of percussion kits (installations). The most common is the following composition: bass and snare drum, large and small single cymbal, paired cymbal hei-hat ("Charleston"), bongos, tom-tom alto, tom-tom tenor and tom-tom-bass.

A large drum is installed on the floor in front of the performer, for stability it has resistant legs. The tom-tom alto and tom-tom tenor drums can be fixed on the top of the drum with the help of brackets. It also provides an additional stand, on which an orchestral cymbal is fixed. Mounting on the bass drum tom-tom alto and tom-tom tenor brackets adjust their height.

The mechanical pedal is an integral part of the bass drum. The performer uses it to extract sound from this musical instrument. Be sure to include a small pop drum in the drum set. It is fastened with three clamps on a special stand: one retractable and two folding. The stand is installed on the floor. This is a stand, which is equipped for fixing in a certain position, as well as changing the inclination of the snare drum with a locking device.

The snare drum has a muffler and a reset device that are used to adjust the tone. Also, a drum kit sometimes includes several tom-tom tenors, tom-tom altos and tom-tom drums, of different sizes.

Also (its photo is presented below) includes orchestral cymbals with a stand, a chair and a mechanical stand for the "Charleston". Maracas, triangles, castanets and other noise instruments are companion instruments of this setup.

Spare parts and accessories

Spare accessories and parts of percussion instruments include: stands for orchestral cymbals, for a snare drum, for Charleston cymbals, timpani sticks, a mechanical mallet for a drum (large), sticks for a small drum, pop drumsticks, orchestral brushes, mallets and leather for bass drum, straps, cases.

Percussion instruments

It is necessary to distinguish between percussion and percussion instruments. Percussion instruments include piano and grand piano. The strings of a piano are arranged horizontally and are struck by a hammer from the bottom up. The piano differs in that the hammer strikes in the direction away from the player on the strings forward. The strings are stretched in a vertical plane. Due to the richness of sounds in terms of strength and height, as well as the great possibilities of these instruments, the grand piano and piano have received a common name. Both instruments can be called in one word - "piano". The piano is a stringed percussion instrument by the method of producing sound.

The keyboard mechanism used in it is a system of levers interconnected, which serves to transfer the energy of the pianist's fingers to the strings. It consists of mechanics and is a set of keys, the number of which may vary depending on the sound range of an instrument. The keys are usually lined with plastic overlays. Then they are mounted on the keyboard frame with the help of pins. Each of the keys has a pilot, a primer and an overlay. It transmits, as a lever of the first kind, the pianist's effort on the mechanical figure. Mechanics are hammer mechanisms that convert the musician's effort when pressing a key into a blow to the hammer strings. Hammers are made of hornbeam or maple, their head is covered with felt.

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State autonomous vocational educational institution of the city of Moscow

"College of Entrepreneurship No. 11"

COURSE WORK

On the topic of: Percussion instruments

Specialty: "Musical Literature"

Performed:

Student Safronova Kristina Kirillovna

Supervisor:

Department Lecturer

Audiovisual technologies

Bocharova Tatyana Alexandrovna

Moscow 2015

1. PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS

Udamry musical instruments are a group of musical instruments, the sound of which is extracted by hitting or shaking (swinging) [hammers, beaters, sticks, etc.] over the sounding body (membrane, metal, wood, etc.). The largest family of all musical instruments.

Percussion musical instruments appeared before all other musical instruments. In ancient times, percussion instruments were used by the peoples of the African continent and the Middle East to accompany religious and martial dances and dances.

These days, percussion instruments are very common, as no ensemble can do without them.

Percussion instruments are instruments whose sound is produced by striking. According to their musical qualities, i.e., the possibility of obtaining sounds of a certain pitch, all percussion instruments are divided into two types: with a certain pitch (timpani, xylophone) and with an indefinite pitch (drums, cymbals, etc.).

Depending on the type of sounding body (vibrator), percussion instruments are divided into webbed (timpani, drums, tambourine, etc.), lamellar (xylophones, vibraphones, bells, etc.), self-sounding (cymbals, triangles, castanets, etc.).

The loudness of the sound of a percussion instrument is determined by the size of the sounding body and the amplitude of its vibrations, i.e., the force of impact. In some instruments, amplification of the sound is achieved by adding resonators. The timbre of the sound of percussion instruments depends on many factors, the main of which are the shape of the sounding body, the material from which the instrument is made, and the method of impact.

1.1 Webbed percussion instruments

In webbed percussion instruments, the sounding body is a stretched membrane or membrane. These include timpani, drums, tambourine, etc. percussion bell sound drum

The timpani is an instrument with a certain pitch, having a metal body in the form of a cauldron, in the upper part of which a membrane of well-dressed leather is stretched. Currently, a special membrane made of high-strength polymeric materials is used as a membrane.

The membrane is attached to the body with a hoop and tension screws. These screws, located around the circumference, tighten or release the membrane. Thus, the timpani is tuned: if the membrane is pulled, the system will be higher, and, conversely, if the membrane is released, the system will be lower. In order not to interfere with the free vibration of the membrane in the center of the boiler, there is a hole at the bottom for air movement.

The case of the timpani is made of copper, brass or aluminum, they are mounted on a stand - a tripod.

In an orchestra, timpani are used in a set of two, three, four or more cauldrons of various sizes. The diameter of modern timpani is from 550 to 700 mm.

There are screw, mechanical and pedal timpani. Pedal ones are the most common, since with one click on the pedal, you can rebuild the instrument to the desired key without interrupting the game.

The sound volume of the timpani is about a fifth. The big timpani is tuned lower than all the others. The sound range of the instrument is from the F of a large octave to a small octave. The middle timpani has a range of sound from B of a large octave to F of a small octave. Small timpani - from D small octave to la small octave.

Drums are instruments with an indefinite pitch. There are small and large orchestral drums, small and large pop drums, tom-tenor, tom-bass, bongos.

A large orchestral drum is a cylindrical body covered on both sides with leather or plastic. The big drum has a powerful, low and hollow sound, which is played with a wooden mallet with a ball-shaped tip made of felt or felt. At present, instead of expensive parchment skin, a polymer film has been used for drum membranes, which has higher strength indicators and better musical and acoustic properties.

The membranes at the drums are fixed with two rims and tension screws located around the circumference of the tool body. The body of the drum is made of sheet steel or plywood, lined with artistic celluloid. Dimensions 680x365 mm.

The large pop drum has a shape and design similar to the orchestra drum. Its dimensions are 580x350 mm.

The small orchestral drum has the appearance of a low cylinder covered on both sides with leather or plastic. The membranes (webs) are attached to the body with two rims and pinch screws.

To give the drum a specific sound, special strings or spirals (stringer) are pulled over the lower membrane, which are driven by a reset mechanism.

The use of synthetic membranes in drums has significantly improved their musical and acoustic capabilities, operational reliability, service life and presentation. The dimensions of the small orchestral drum are 340x170 mm.

Small orchestral drums are included in military brass bands, they are also used in symphony orchestras.

The small variety drum has the same device as the orchestral one. Its dimensions are 356x118 mm.

The tom-tom-tenor drum and the tom-tom-bass drum do not differ in design and are used in pop drum kits. The tom-tenor drum is attached with a bracket to the bass drum, the tom-tom-bass drum is installed on the floor on a special stand.

Bongs are small drums with leather or plastic stretched on one side. They are part of the pop drum set. Between themselves, the bongs are connected by adapters.

A tambourine is a hoop (shell), in which leather or plastic is stretched on one side. Special slots are made in the body of the hoop, in which brass plates are fixed, looking like small orchestral cymbals. Sometimes, even inside the hoop, small bells and rings are strung on stretched strings or spirals. All this from the slightest touch to the instrument tinkles, creating a peculiar sound. Impacts on the membrane are made with the ends of the fingers or the base of the palm of the right hand.

Tambourines are used for rhythmic accompaniment of dances and songs. In the East, where the art of playing the tambourine has reached virtuosity, solo playing on this instrument is common. The Azerbaijani tambourine is called def, dyaf or gaval, Armenian - daf or haval, Georgian - daira, Uzbek and Tajik - doira.

1.2 Plate percussion instruments

Plate percussion instruments with a certain pitch include xylophone, metallophone, marim-bafon (marimba), vibraphone, bells, bells.

Xylophone - is a set of wooden blocks of different sizes, corresponding to different sounds in pitch. Bars are made of rosewood, maple, walnut, spruce. They are arranged in parallel in four rows in the order of the chromatic scale. The bars are fastened on strong laces and separated by springs. The cord passes through the holes in the bars. To play, the xylophone is laid out on a small table on the share rubber pads located along the cords of the instrument.

The xylophone is played with two wooden sticks with a thickened end. The xylophone is used both for solo playing and in the orchestra.

The range of the xylophone is from the small octave to the fourth octave.

Metallophones are similar to xylophones, only the sound plates are made of metal (brass or bronze).

Marimbafons (marimba) is a percussion musical instrument, the sounding elements of which are wooden plates, and to enhance the sound, tubular metal resonators are installed on it.

Marimba has a soft, juicy timbre, has a sound range of four octaves: from a note to a small octave to a note to the fourth octave.

Playing plates are made of rosewood wood, which provides high musical and acoustic properties of the instrument. The plates are arranged on the frame in two rows. The first row contains the main tone plates, the second row contains the semitone plates. Resonators mounted on a frame in two rows (metal tubes with plugs) are tuned to the sound frequency of the corresponding plates.

The main components of the marimba are fixed on a support trolley with wheels, the frame of which is made of aluminum, which ensures minimum weight and sufficient strength.

Marimba can be used both by professional musicians and for educational purposes.

The vibraphone is a set of chromatically tuned aluminum plates arranged in two rows similar to a piano keyboard. The plates are mounted on a high frame (table) and fastened with laces. Under each plate in the center are cylindrical resonators of the appropriate size. Axes pass through all the resonators in the upper part, on which fan impellers are mounted - fans.

A portable silent electric motor is mounted on the side of the bed, which rotates the impellers evenly throughout the entire playing of the instrument. Thus, vibration is achieved. The instrument has a damper device connected to the pedal under the bed to dampen the sound with the foot. The vibraphone is played with two, three, four sometimes longer sticks with rubber balls at the ends.

The range of the vibraphone is from F of a small octave to F of the third octave, or from to the first octave to the third octave.

The vibraphone is used in a symphony orchestra, but more often in a variety orchestra or as a solo instrument.

Bells are a set of percussion instruments that are used in opera and symphony orchestras to imitate bell ringing. The bell consists of a set of 12 to 18 cylindrical pipes tuned chromatically.

Pipes are usually nickel-plated brass or chrome-plated steel with a diameter of 25--38 mm. They are hung in a rack frame about 2 m high. The sound is extracted by hitting the pipes with a wooden hammer. The bells are equipped with a pedal-damper device for muffling the sound. The range of bells is 1-11/2 octaves, usually from F to a large octave.

Bells are a percussion musical instrument, which consists of 23-25 chromatically tuned metal plates placed in a flat box in two rows in steps. The top row corresponds to black and the bottom row to white piano keys.

The sound range of the bells is equal to two octaves: from a note to the first octave to a note to the third octave, and depends on the number of plates.

1.3 Self-sounding percussion instruments

Self-sounding percussion instruments include: cymbals, triangles, tam-tam, castanets, maracas, rattles, etc.

Cymbals are metal discs made of brass or nickel silver. The discs of the cymbals are given a somewhat spherical shape, leather straps are attached to the center.

When the cymbals hit each other, a long ringing sound is made. Sometimes one cymbal is used and the sound is extracted by hitting a stick or a metal brush. Orchestral cymbals, Charleston cymbals, gong cymbals are produced. Cymbals sound sharply, ringing.

The orchestral triangle is a steel bar, which is given an open triangular shape. When playing, the triangle is freely suspended and hit with a metal stick, performing various rhythmic patterns.

The sound of the triangle is bright, ringing. The triangle is used in various orchestras and ensembles. Orchestral triangles with two steel sticks are produced.

A tam-tam or gong is a bronze disc with curved edges, the center of which is struck with a felt-tipped mallet, the sound of the gong is deep, thick and gloomy, reaching its full strength not immediately after the blow, but gradually.

Castanets are a popular instrument in Spain. Castanets have the form of shells facing one another with a concave (spherical) side and connected with a cord. They are made from hardwood and plastic. Double and single castanets are produced.

Maracas are balls made of wood or plastic, filled with a small amount of small pieces of metal (shot), maracas are colorfully decorated on the outside. For ease of holding during the game, they are equipped with a handle.

By shaking the maracas, various rhythmic patterns are reproduced.

Maracas are used in orchestras, but more often in pop ensembles.

Rattles are sets of small plates mounted on a wooden plate.

1.4 Drum set of pop ensemble

For a complete study of a group of percussion musical instruments, a specialist involved in their implementation needs to know the composition of drum kits (sets). The following composition of drum kits is most common: bass drum, snare drum, double cymbal "Charleston" (hey-hat), single large cymbal, single small cymbal, bongos, tom-tom bass, tom-tom tenor, tom-tom alto.

Directly in front of the performer, a large drum is installed on the floor, it has resistant legs for stability. On top of the drum, with the help of brackets, tom-tom tenor and tom-tom alto drums can be fixed; additionally, a stand for an orchestral plate is provided on the bass drum. The brackets that secure the tenor tom-tom and alto tom-tom to the bass drum adjust their height.

An integral part of the bass drum is a mechanical pedal, with which the performer extracts sound from the drum.

The composition of the drum set necessarily includes a small pop drum, which is mounted on a special stand with three clamps: two folding and one retractable. The stand is installed on the floor; it is a stand equipped with a locking device for fixing in a given position and adjusting the inclination of the snare drum.

The snare drum has a reset device, as well as a silencer, which are used to adjust the timbre of the sound.

A drum kit may include several tom-tom drums of different sizes, tom-tom altos and tom-tom tenors at the same time. The tom-tom bass is mounted on the right side of the performer and has feet with which you can adjust the height of the instrument.

The bong drums included in the drum kit are placed on a separate stand.

The drum kit also includes orchestral cymbals with a stand, a mechanical Charleston cymbal stand, and a chair.

Accompanying drum kit instruments are maracas, castanets, triangles, and other noise instruments.

Spare parts and accessories for percussion instruments

Spare parts and accessories for percussion instruments include: stands for snare drums, stands for orchestral cymbals, mechanical pedal stand for orchestral cymbals "Charleston", mechanical beater for bass drum, timpani sticks, sticks for snare drums, variety drum sticks, orchestral brushes, bass drum beaters, bass drum leather, straps, cases.

In percussion musical instruments, sound is produced by striking a device or individual parts of the instrument against each other.

Percussion instruments are divided into membrane, lamellar, self-sounding.

Membrane instruments include instruments in which the sound source is a stretched membrane (timpani, drums), the sound is extracted by hitting the membrane with some device (for example, a mallet). In lamellar instruments (xylophones, etc.), wooden or metal plates, bars are used as a sounding body.

In self-sounding instruments (cymbals, castanets, etc.), the sound source is the instrument itself or its body.

Percussion musical instruments are instruments whose sounding bodies are excited by blows or shaking.

According to the sound source, percussion instruments are divided into:

* lamellar - in them, the sound source is wooden and metal plates, bars or tubes, on which the musician strikes with sticks (xylophone, metallophone, bells);

* membranous - a stretched membrane sounds in them - a membrane (timpani, drum, tambourine, etc.). The timpani is a set of several metal cauldrons of various sizes, covered with a skin membrane on top. The tension of the membrane can be changed by a special device, while the height of the sounds extracted by the mallet changes;

* self-sounding - in these instruments, the sound source is the body itself (cymbals, triangles, castanets, maracas)

2. THE ROLE OF PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS IN THE MODERN ORCHESTRA

The fourth association of the modern symphony orchestra is percussion instruments. They bear no resemblance to the human voice and do not speak to his inner sense in a language he understands. Their measured and more or less defined sounds, their tinkling and crackling, have rather a "rhythmic" meaning.

Their melodic duties are extremely limited, and their whole being is deeply rooted in the nature of dance in the broadest sense of this concept. It is as such that some of the percussion instruments were used in ancient times and were widely used not only by the peoples of the Mediterranean and Asian East, but also acted, apparently, among all the so-called "primitive peoples" in general.

Some tinkling and ringing percussion instruments were used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome as instruments accompanying dances and dances, but not a single percussion instrument from the drum family was allowed by them into the field of military music. These tools had a particularly wide application in the life of the ancient Jews and Arabs, where they performed not only civil duties, but also military ones.

On the contrary, among the peoples of modern Europe, various types of percussion instruments have been adopted in military music, where they are of great importance. However, the melodic poverty of percussion instruments did not prevent them, however, from penetrating into the opera, ballet and symphony orchestras, where they occupy far from the last place.

However, there was a time in the art music of European peoples when access to these instruments was almost closed to the orchestra and, with the exception of the timpani, they made their way into symphonic music through the orchestra of opera and ballet, or, as they would say now, through the orchestra of "dramatic music ".

In the history of the "cultural life" of mankind, percussion instruments arose before all other musical instruments in general. Nevertheless, this did not prevent percussion instruments from being pushed into the background of the orchestra at the time of its inception and the first steps of its development. And this is all the more surprising since it is still impossible to deny the enormous “aesthetic” significance of percussion instruments in art music.

The history of percussion instruments is not very exciting. All those "tools for the production of measured noise", which were used by all primitive peoples to accompany their warlike and religious dances, at the beginning did not go beyond simple planks and wretched drums. And only much later, many tribes of Central Africa and some peoples of the Far East acquired such instruments that served as worthy models for creating more modern European percussion instruments that are already accepted everywhere.

With regard to musical qualities, all percussion instruments are very simply and naturally divided into two kinds or kinds. Some emit a sound of a certain pitch and therefore quite naturally enter into the harmonic and melodic basis of the work, while others, capable of producing a more or less pleasant or characteristic noise, perform purely rhythmic and embellishing duties in the broadest sense of the word. In addition, various materials are involved in the device of percussion instruments and, in accordance with this feature, they can be divided into instruments “with skin” or “webbed”, and “self-sounding”, in the device of which various types and grades of metal, wood are involved. and lately - glass. Kurt Sachs, assigning them a definition that is not very successful and extremely ugly to the ear - idiophones, obviously loses sight of what it is. the concept in the meaning of "peculiar-sounding" can be, in essence, on equal grounds: applied to any musical instrument or their kind.

In an orchestral score, the commonwealth of percussion instruments is usually placed in the very middle of it, between brass and bowed ones. With the participation of the harp, piano, celesta and all other stringed-plucked or keyboard instruments, the percussion always retain their place and are then located immediately after the brass ones, giving way after themselves to all the "decorating" or "accidental" voices of the orchestra.

The absurd way of writing percussion instruments below the bowed quintet must be strongly condemned as very inconvenient, unjustified and extremely ugly. It originally arose in ancient scores, then acquired a more isolated position in the bowels of the brass band and, having an insignificant justification, now, however, violated and completely overcome, was perceived by some composers who wished to attract attention to themselves with at least something and in whatever way. no matter what.

But the worst thing is that this strange innovation turned out to be all the more durable and dangerous because some publishing houses went towards such composers and printed their scores according to the “new model”. Fortunately, there were not so many such "publishing pearls" and they, like works that were predominantly weak in their artistic merits, were drowned in an abundance of truly excellent examples of the diverse creative heritage of all peoples.

The only place where the indicated method of presenting percussion instruments now reigns - at the very bottom of the score - is a variety ensemble. But there, in general, it is customary to arrange all the instruments differently, guided only by the altitude sign of the participating instruments. In those distant times, when only one timpani still acted in the orchestra, it was customary to place them above all other instruments, obviously believing such a presentation to be more convenient. But in those years, the score was generally composed somewhat unusually, which now there is no need to recall. We must agree that the modern method of presentation-score is sufficiently simple and convenient, and therefore there is no point in engaging in all sorts of fabrications, which have just been mentioned in detail.

As already mentioned, all percussion instruments are divided into instruments with a certain pitch and instruments without a certain pitch. At present, such a distinction is sometimes disputed, although all the proposals made in this direction come down rather to confusing and deliberately emphasizing the essence of this extremely clear and simple proposition, in which there is not even a direct need to remember the self-evident concept of pitch every time.

In the orchestra, instruments “with a certain sound” mean, first of all, a five-line stave or staff, and instruments “with an indefinite sound” - a conditional method of musical notation - “hook” or “thread”, that is, one single line on which note heads represent only the required rhythmic pattern. Such a transformation, done very opportunely, was intended to gain a place, and, with a significant number of percussion instruments, to simplify their presentation.

However, not so long ago, for all percussion instruments “without a definite sound”, ordinary staves with the keys of Sol and Fa were adopted, and with a conditional placement of note heads between spaces. The inconvenience of such a notation was not long in affecting as soon as the number of percussive-noise instruments increased to "astronomical limits", and the composers themselves, who used this method of presentation, were lost in the insufficiently developed order of their outline.

But what brought to life the combination of keys and threads is very difficult to say. Most likely, the matter began with a misprint, which then attracted some composers who began to set the treble clef on a string, Intended for relatively high percussion instruments, and the Fa key for relatively low ones.

Is it necessary to speak here of the absurdity and complete inconsistency of such a presentation? As far as we know, for the first time the keys on the thread were found in the scores of Anton Rubinstein, printed in Germany, and representing undoubted typos, and much later revived in the scores of the Flemish composer Arthur Meulemans (1884-?), who made it a rule to supply the middle thread with the key Sol, and the most low - key Fa. Such a presentation looks especially wild in those cases when, between two threads not marked with keys, one appears with the key Fa. In this sense, the Belgian composer Francis de Bourguignon (1890-?) turned out to be more consistent, supplying the key to each thread participating in the score.

French publishing houses adopted a special "key" for percussion instruments in the form of two vertical bold bars resembling the Latin letter "H" and crossing out the thread at the chord itself. There is nothing to object to such an event, as long as it ultimately leads to some external completeness of the orchestral score in general.

However, it would be quite fair to recognize all these eccentricities as equal to zero in the face of the "unsettledness" that still exists - * to this day in the presentation of percussion instruments. Rimsky-Korsakov also suggested that all self-sounding instruments, or, as he calls them, “percussion and ringing without a definite sound,” can be considered as high ones - a triangle, castanets, bells, medium ones - a tambourine, rods, a snare drum, cymbals, and as low-bass drum and tam-tam, "meaning by this their ability to be combined with the corresponding areas of the orchestral scale in instruments with sounds of a certain pitch." Leaving aside some details, due to which “rods” should be excluded from the list of percussion instruments, as an “accessory of percussion instruments”, but not a percussion instrument in its own right, Rimsky-Korsakov’s observation remains to this day in full force.

Based on this assumption, and supplementing it with all the latest percussion instruments, it would be most reasonable to arrange all percussion instruments in the order of their pitch and write "high" above "medium" and "medium" above "low". However, there is no unanimity among composers and the presentation of percussion instruments is carried out more than arbitrarily.

This situation can be explained to a lesser extent only by the accidental participation of percussion instruments, and to a greater extent by a complete disregard for the composers themselves and their bad habits or erroneous assumptions. The only justification for such an “instrumental hodgepodge” can be the desire to present the entire composition of the percussion instruments operating in this case, in the order of parties, when strictly defined instruments are assigned to each performer. Finding fault with words, such an exposition makes more sense in the parts of the drummers themselves, and in the score it is useful only when it is sustained with "pedantic precision".

Returning to the issue of presentation of percussion instruments, the desire of many composers, including quite prominent ones, to place cymbals and a bass drum immediately after the timpani, and the triangle, bells and xylophone - below these latter, must be recognized as unconditionally unsuccessful. There are, of course, no sufficient grounds for such a solution to the problem, and all this can be attributed to an unjustified desire to be “original”. The most simple and natural, and in the light of the exorbitant number of percussion instruments operating in a modern orchestra, the most reasonable can be considered the placement of all percussion instruments using a staff, higher than those using a thread.

In each individual association it would, of course, be desirable to adhere to the views of Rimsky-Korsakov and place the votes in accordance with their relative pitch. For these reasons, after the timpani, which retain their primacy according to the "original tradition", one could place bells, vibraphone and tubaphone above the xylophone and marimba. In instruments without a specific sound, such a distribution will be somewhat more difficult due to the large number of participants, but even in this case, nothing will prevent the composer from adhering to the well-known rules, which have already been said a lot about above.

One must think that the determination of the relative pitch of a self-sounding instrument, in the main, does not cause rumors, and if this is so, then it does not cause any; difficulties for its implementation. Only bells are usually placed below all percussion instruments, since their party is most often content with the conventional outline of notes and their rhythmic duration, and not with a full “ring”, as is usually done in the corresponding recordings. Part of the "Italian" or "Japanese" bells, which look like long metal pipes, requires the usual five-line staff, placed below all other instruments "with a certain sound." Consequently, the bells here also serve as a frame for the staves, united by one common feature of "definiteness" and "uncertainty", sound. Otherwise, there are no peculiarities in the recording of percussion instruments, and if for some reason they appear, they will be mentioned in the proper place.

In a modern symphony orchestra, percussion instruments serve only two purposes - rhythmic, to maintain clarity and sharpness of movement, and decorating in the broadest sense, when the author, through the use of percussion instruments, contributes to the creation of enchanting sound pictures or “moods”, full of excitement, ardor or impetuosity.

From what has been said, of course, it is clear that percussion instruments have to be used with great care, taste and moderation. The varied sonority of percussion instruments can quickly tire the attention of listeners, and therefore the author must always remember what his percussion instruments are doing. Only the timpani enjoy certain advantages, but even these can be nullified by excessive excesses.

The classics paid a lot of attention to percussion instruments, but they never raised them to the level of the only members of the orchestra. If something like this happened, then the performance of the drums was most often limited to only a few beats of a bar or was content with an extremely insignificant duration of the entire construction.

Of the Russian musicians, Rimsky-Korsakov used one of the percussion instruments as an introduction to very rich and expressive music in the Spanish Capriccio, but most often solo percussion instruments are found in “dramatic music” or in ballet, when the author wants to create a particularly sharp, extraordinary or “ an incredible feeling."

This is exactly what Sergei Prokofiev did in the musical performance Egyptian Nights. Here, the sonority of percussion instruments accompanies the scene of commotion in the house of Cleopatra's father, to which the author prefixes the title "Alarm". Did not refuse the services of percussion instruments and Victor Oransky (1899-1953). He had the opportunity to use this amazing sonority in the ballet Three Fat Men, where he entrusted one percussion accompaniment to the sharp rhythmic canvas of the "eccentric dance".

Finally, quite recently, the services of some percussion instruments used in an intricate sequence of "dynamic<оттенков», воспользовался также и Глиер в одном небольшом отрывке новой постановки балета Красный мак. Но как уже ясно из всего сказанного такое толкование ударных явилось уже в полном смысле слова достоянием современности, когда композиторы, руководимые какими-нибудь «особыми» соображениями, заставляли оркестр умолкнуть, чтобы дать полный простор «ударному царству».

The French, laughing at such an “artistic revelation”, rather venomously ask if the new French word bruisme originated from here, as a derivative of brui- “noise”. There is no equivalent concept in the Russian language, but the Orchestrators themselves have already taken care of a new name for such music, which they quite evilly dubbed the definition of “percussive thresher”. In one of his early symphonic works, Alexander Cherepnin devoted a whole part to such an "ensemble". There was already a chance to talk a little about this work about the connection with the use of the bow quintet as percussion instruments, and therefore there is no urgent need to return to it again. Shostakovich also paid tribute to the unfortunate "shock" delusion in those days when his creative worldview was not yet sufficiently stable and mature.

The “onomatopoeic” side of the matter stands completely aside, when the author, with the smallest number of percussion instruments actually used, has a desire or, more precisely, an artistic need to create only a “percussive feeling” of all music intended mainly for string and woodwind instruments.

One such example, extremely witty, amusing and excellent-sounding “in an orchestra,” if the composition of the instruments participating in it can be defined precisely by this concept, is found in Oransky’s ballet Three Fat Men and is called Patrol.

But the most outrageous example of musical formalism remains the work written by Edgard Varèse (1885-?). It is designed for thirteen performers, is intended for two combinations of percussion instruments and is called by the author lonisation, which means "Saturation". This "work" involves only sharp-sounding percussion instruments with piano.

However, this latter is also used as a “percussion instrument” and the performer acts on it according to the latest “American method” of Henry Cauel (1897-?), who, as you know, suggested playing with only one elbow, outstretched across the entire width of the keyboard.

According to the reviews of the then press - and this happened in the thirties of the current century - the Parisian listeners, brought by this work to a state of wild frenzy, urgently demanded its repetition, which was immediately carried out. Without saying a bad word, the history of the modern orchestra does not yet know the second such out of the line "case".

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Classification of musical instruments.

Due to the fact that musical instruments have very different origins and nature, they are classified according to the principles of sound formation according to the classification adopted in 1914 by Kurt Sachs and Erich Moritz von Horibostel (Systematik der Musikinstrumente: ein Versuch Zeitschrift f űr Ethnologie) which has become a classic.

Percussion instruments.

Following the system proposed by the named musicologists, the so-called idiophones and membranophones stand out among the percussion instruments. Idiophones (from the Greek Idios - one's own, and "background" - sound) - a family of instruments that reproduce sound due to vibration and radiation after impact, as in the case of bells, cymbals or cymbals, bells, castanets, rattles or the like.This is muses. instruments whose source of sound is a material that can sound without additional tension (as required by the strings of a violin, guitar or piano, the membrane of a tambourine, drum or timpani). Idiophones usually consist entirely of sounding material - metal, wood, glass, stone; sometimes only a game detail is made from it. According to the method of extracting sound, idiophones are divided into plucked - jew's harps, sans; frictional - nail harmonica and glass harmonica; percussion - xylophone, metallophone, gong, cymbals, bells, triangle, castanets, rattles, etc.

Castanets

bells

Ratchets

Xylophone

Triangle

Percussion instruments also include membranophones, which require a membrane stretched over a reservoir to produce sound, acting like a resonant box. The membrane is struck with hammers or wooden sticks, as in the case of a drum or timpani, or rubbed with a stick across the drum skin. This is what happens with the sambomba (a kind of drum), which is the "descendant" of the Flanders rommelpot, used there during carnival festivities already in the XIV V. Rommelpot is a musical instrument, something like a primitive bagpipe: a pot covered with a bull bladder with a reed stuck in it. Rommelpot is a simple friction drum, formerly popular in many European countries. It was usually made by tying an animal's bladder to a household pot; on it, piercing the bubble with a stick, children most often played on Martin's Day and at Christmas.

European friction drums. Drums made from clay pots from Bohemia (1) and Naples (2). From the Russian friction drum (3) the sound is extracted with the help of horsehair. A Norwegian thimble drum (4), an English mustard can drum (5), and a French cockerel drum (6) were made as toys.

There are two ways to produce sound on friction drums: pulling the stick up and down (a) or rotating it between the palms (b).

Percussion instruments, especially idiophones, are the most ancient and constitute the legacy of all cultures. Due to the simplicity of the principle of sound production, they were the very first musical instruments: blows with sticks, bone scrapers, stones, etc., always associated with certain rhythmic alternations, formed the first instrumental composition. So, in Egypt they used a kind of boards, which were played with one hand during the worship of the ancient Egyptian goddess of music Hathor. In Greece, the crotalon, or rattle, was familiar, the predecessor of the castanets, which spread throughout the Mediterranean and in the Latin world, calledcrotalum or crusmaassociated with dances and Bacchic festivities. But the Egyptian sistrum, which is a metal frame in the shape of a horseshoe, partitioned off by a row of slippery knitting needles with bends along the edges, was intended for funeral rites and accompanying prayers against disasters and the scourge of locusts that ruined the crop.

Various kinds of rattles were also widely used. They are now very common, especially in Africa and Latin America, to accompany various folk dances. Many idiophones, primarily metallic ones, such as bells, cymbals, cymbals, and small bells, have found their way sinceXVII century thanks to the fashion for music "a la Turk". They were introduced to the orchestra by French maestros, among them Jean Baptiste Lully (1632 - 1687) and Jean Feri Rebel (1666 - 1747). Some ideophones, of relatively recent invention, such as trumpet bells, have been introduced into modern orchestras.

Membrane drums spread from the ancient Mesopotamian civilization to the West and East five thousand years ago. Since ancient times, they have been used in military music and for signaling.

The Greeks used a drum like a tambourine called a tympanum.

A tympanum is a percussion musical instrument resembling a small flat drum with a wide rim. The skin on the tympanum, as well as on the drum, was stretched from two sides (for the tambourine, which was common at that time, the skin was stretched from one side). The tympanum was usually played by women during bacchanalia, striking it with their right hand.

While in Rome the most popular was a membranophone, similar to modern timpani, called a symphony. Especially magnificent were the festivities in honor of the goddess Cybele - the mistress of mountains, forests and animals, regulating inexhaustible fertility. The cult of Cybele in Rome was introduced in 204 BC. e.

The festivities were accompanied by music, in which the drums played the main role. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, percussion (especially the drum) was used to accompany knightly tournaments and dances.

The importance of drums in folk music is also great.

Gradually, drums began to be part of professional orchestras starting in the 17th century. One of the first composers to include drums in his Berenice vendicativa (1680) was Giovanni Domenico Freschi (c. 1630 - 1710). Later composers such as Christoph Willibald Gluck (in Le cadidupl, 1761) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (in The Abduction from the Seraglio, 1782) played an important role in the drums. This tradition was continued by composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Gustav Mahler and Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky. John Cage (1912-1992) and Morton Feldman (1926-1987) even wrote entire scores exclusively for drums.

M. Ravel - M. Bejart.1977 Bolshoi Theatre. Maya Plisetskaya.

In Ravel's Bolero, the solo snare drum sounds incessantly, clearly beating the rhythm. There is also something militant about it. Drums are always anxiety, it's a kind of threat. Drums are the heralds of war. Our outstanding poet Nikolai Zabolotsky in 1957, almost thirty years after the creation of Bolero, wrote in a poem dedicated to the Ravel masterpiece: “Turn, History, cast millstones, be a miller in the terrible hour of the surf! Oh, "Bolero", the sacred dance of battle!"The menacing tone of Ravel's "Bolero" makes an incredibly strong impression - disturbing and uplifting. I believe that the episode "Invasion" in the first part of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was its echo not only in some formal sense - this "sacred battle dance" in Shostakovich's symphony is fascinating. And it will also remain forever a sign of the spiritual tension of the human creator.The gigantic energy of Ravel's work, this growing tension, this unthinkable crescendo - raises, purifies, sheds light around itself, which is never allowed to fade.

Unlike the drum, timpani have a hemispherical body and are able to produce sounds of various pitches due to the fact that their membrane was stretched with the help of several knobs, which are currently driven by a pedal. This essential quality contributed to the rapid growth of the use of timpani in instrumental ensembles. The timpani is currently the most important percussion instrument in the orchestra. Modern timpani outwardly resemble large copper cauldrons on a stand, covered with leather. The skin is pulled tight over the cauldron with several screws. They hit the skin with two sticks with soft round tips made of felt.

Unlike other percussion instruments with leather, timpani produce a sound of a certain pitch. Each timpani is tuned to a certain tone, therefore, in order to get two sounds, a pair of timpani began to be used in the orchestra from the 17th century. Timpani can be rebuilt: for this, the performer must tighten or loosen the skin with screws: the greater the tension, the higher the tone. However, this operation is time consuming and risky during execution. Therefore, in the 19th century, craftsmen invented mechanical timpani, quickly tuned using levers or pedals.

March of 8 pieces for timpani. (Spanish: Elliot Carter)

The role of the timpani in the orchestra is quite diverse. Their beats emphasize the rhythm of other instruments, forming either simple or intricate rhythmic figures. Rapidly alternating strikes of both sticks (tremolo) produce an effective build-up or thunder reproduction. Haydn also depicted thunderous peals with the help of timpani in The Four Seasons.

Beginning of the Piano Concerto by E. Grieg. D conductor - Yuri Temirkanov. WITHOlist - Nikolai Lugansky.Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, November 10, 2010

Haydn also depicted with the help of timpani thunder peals in the oratorio "The Four Seasons".

Shostakovich in the Ninth Symphony makes the timpani imitate the cannonade. Sometimes timpani are assigned small melodic solos, as, for example, in the first movement of Shostakovich's Eleventh Symphony.

Conducted by Gergiev,
Performed by PMF Orchestra 2004.

Already in 1650, Nikolaus Hasse (c. 1617 - 1672) used timpani in Aufzuge f ür 2 Clarinde und Heerpauken, and Lully in Theseus (1675). Timpani were used by Henry Purcell in The Faerie Queene (1692), Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel, and Francesco Barzanti (1690-1772) introduced timpani in Cocerto Grosso (1743). Fixed in the classical orchestra by F.J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart, L. van Beethoven, the timpani acquired a decisive role in the group of percussion instruments during the era of romanticism (Hector Berlioz included eight pairs of timpani in his monumental Requiem, 1837). To this day, timpani are a fundamental part of this group in the orchestra and even take the lead role in some musical fragments, such as glissandi in the Adagio from Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1936) by the Hungarian composer Bé ly Bartok.