To learn more about the different images, click the appropriate instrument on the image above.

The Percussion section of the orchestra is the most modern addition and is chiefly there to provide special effects.   Percussion instruments are defined as anything that is struck and thus instruments such as the piano and xylophone are included in this section.

The origins of percussion are when early man struck hollow tree trunks with sticks to produce a resonant sound, and most percussion instruments today work on this principle.  The three most frequently used are tuned percussion; the Timpani, Xylophone and Piano.

You can learn more about percussion by reading about the Piano, Xylophone and Timpani.