Program Description

PERCUSSION POWER is a demonstration of all of the percussion instruments commonly used in the symphony orchestra. Over 30 instruments are shown and demonstrated by Robert Everson, the timpanist with several Chicago orchestras. Because percussion instruments are always in the back of the orchestra, they are often unseen. With Percussion Power the instruments are now up front where they can be seen, heard and demystified.

List of terms:

Percussion
Sticks
Brushes
Mallets
Melodic Percussion
Rhythmic Percussion
Sound Effects
Xylophone
Marimba
Resonators
Vibraphone
Glockenspiel
Timpani
Gong
Tam Tam
Roto toms

Musical excerpts

Bizet: Carmen
Kritzler: Tambourin Chinois
Corea: A Children’s Song
Mozart: The Magic Flute
Shinstein: Waltz

GUIDELINES FOR FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION

Q: What are the four families of instruments in a symphony orchestra?
A: Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion

Q: What does percussion mean?
A: Percussion means to strike

Q: Name four ways to strike a percussion instrument?
A: With a stick, brush, mallet or the hands

Q: Name two categories of percussion instruments
A: Rhythmic and melodic

Q: Give examples of rhythmic percussion instruments
A: Drums, cymbals

Q: Give examples of melodic percussion instruments
A: Xylophone, marimba, bells, vibraphone, timpani

Q: What is the difference between rhythmic percussion and melodic percussion?
A: Melodic percussion can play melodies, rhythmic percussion can play only rhythms

Q: What are the pipes that hang from the mallet instruments, and what do they do?
A: Resonators, and they amplify the sound

Q: Can one use more than two mallets at a time to play a mallet instrument?
A: Yes, one can use two mallets in each hand

Q: What makes the bars on an instrument higher or lower in pitch?
A: The size. The smaller the bars the higher the pitch

Q: What are sound effects?
A: Sounds made to imitate other common sounds

Q: True or false: Percussion instruments are always loud.
A: No, the player determines the loudness of the instruments.

Q: What is the difference between a tam tam and a gong?
A: A tam tam is a type of gong having no discernable pitch. A gong is tuned to a specific pitch

Q: Are timpani merely rhythmic or are they melodic too?
A: They are able to play a melody, so they are melodic.

Q: Are all percussion instruments old in origin?
A: No, roto-toms are an example of a recently invented percussion instrument.

GUIDELINES FOR STUDENT FEEDBACK
Encourage your students to write to us!

If I were a percussionist, I’d like to ……

Thinking of today’s performance, the percussion instrument of my choice is…. because….

This particular concert made me think of…..

If I were the performer, how would I grasp the audience’s attention…..

I enjoyed the concert today because I learned that…..

I’d like to be a musician one day because…..