Percussion Instrument

There are many members in the family of percussion instruments, all of which possess distinguished features. Though their tone colors are simple, some of them cannot even be regarded as musical sounds. They play a vital role in enhancing the atmosphere of the music. The percussion instruments produce sounds through striking, rubbing, or shaking. Some of them can be used as melody instruments.

There is a great variety of percussion instruments in China, with playing skills that are rich and have distinctive ethnical styles. With their ways of producing sounds, they can be divided into several sub-categories: 1)brass group, such as the dalo, xiaolo, yunlo, small and big cymbals, etc.; 2)wood group, such as the ban, bagzi, and muyu, etc.; 3)leather group, such as the dagu, xiaogu, bangu, and paigu, etc.

Chinese percussion instruments are not simply rhythmic instruments that each set can be played independently and they play an important role in setting off the musical contents and opera plots and enhancing the musical expressiveness. In China, these national percussion instruments are often incorporated in western orchestras.