Introducing “Percussion Around the World”
A little bit about me and my interest in percussion
Welcome to my blog entitled “Percussion Around the World.” My name is Hannah Lim and I am a student interested in the history and culture of percussion music from around the world.
Percussion refers to “any musical instrument that’s played by being struck or scraped” by beaters such as drum sticks, the musician’s hand, or even by other instruments.1
Well-known examples include the xylophone, the tambourine, and the cymbals respectively. Given this ample definition, there are many instruments that fall into this musical category. One way of differentiating between them, however, is by thinking about them as either pitched or unpitched instruments, whereby the former create sounds that have a distinguishable note or pitch, while the latter do not.2
Why Percussion?
Percussion is considered one of the oldest musical forms in human history alongside the human voice. The earliest known example of an idiophone, an instrument that creates sound through its own vibrations, is thought to date back to 70,000 BC.3 Moreover, the earliest surviving drums known to researchers, made out of alligator skins in prehistoric China, have been dated as far back as 4,000 BC.4 This ancient musical practice is sometimes overlooked in favour of more seemingly complex instruments; however, the aim of this blog is to give it greater attention.
Secondly, studying percussion music can allow us to open a window into various cultures from around the world, because these instruments are pervasive across countries and continents. Thus, percussion music is unifying, but it also gives us an opportunity to explore and understand the unique aspects of various cultures.
Moreover, percussion instruments are prevalent across genres, such as classical orchestral music, pop, rock, and jazz, to name only a few. The instruments are vital to these genres, because they keep the rhythm and supply additional excitement and colour through special sounds, such as the magical sensation created by wind chimes or the surprising crashing of the cymbals.5 Similarly, percussion extends across many musical periods, from Baroque, to Classical, and present-day Pop music.
Aims of the Blog
In addition to giving this instrumental category greater attention, a key aim of this blog is to explore an interest in music from around the world. By adopting a diverse approach to music through the lens of percussion, we can gain a wider perspective that considers in particular music from Africa and South America.
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Classic FM, “Percussion - Instruments - Discover Music,” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XyRspBf7Z3z-G_8XFpcdnfOu4QMsGhBIW964PSjUU60/edit, accessed on 31 July 2023.
Ibid.
Masterclass, “A Brief History of Drums: On the Origin of Percussion,” 8 June 2021, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/a-brief-history-of-drums, accessed 24 July 2023.
Bo Lawergren, “Neolithic Drums in China,” Orient-Archaologie Band 20, September 2017
https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/physics/faculty/lawergren/repository/files/articles/neolithic-drums-in-china-lawergren.pdf, accessed 24 July 2023.
Oregon Symphony, “The Percussion Family,” https://www.orsymphony.org/learning-community/instruments/percussion/#:~:text=Percussion%20instruments%20keep%20the%20rhythm,in%20one%20piece%20of%20music., Accessed 31 July 2023.