An introduction to percussion instruments.

Take a musical tour with students in grades 5 and up using Musical Instruments of the World! This 80-page text explains the history and evolution of musical instruments. It also includes information on the development of music on each continent; percussion, brass, string, and wind instruments; and a discussion on symphonies, chamber orchestras, and other ensembles. The book presents information through fun activities and interesting facts for maximum learning reinforcement. It covers music terminology extensively and includes a glossary and answer keys.

Percussion instruments may be our oldest musical instruments, but only recently have they become the subject of extensive scientific study. This book focuses on how percussion instruments vibrate and produce sound and how these sounds are perceived by listeners.

The Science of Sound is widely recognized as the leading textbook in the field. It provides an excellent introduction to acoustics for students without college physics or a strong background in mathematics. In the Third Edition, Richard Moore and Paul Wheeler join Tom Rossing in updating The Science of Sound to include a wide range of important technological developments in the field of acoustics. New exercises and review questions have been added to the end of each chapter to help students study the material.

The Encyclopedia of Percussion is an extensive guide to percussion instruments, organized for research as well as general knowledge. Focusing on idiophones and membranophones, it covers in detail both Western and non-Western percussive instruments. These include not only instruments whose usual sound is produced percussively (like snare drums and triangles), but those whose usual sound is produced concussively (like castanets and claves) or by friction (like the cuíca and the lion’s roar). The expertise of contributors have been used to produce a wide-ranging list of percussion topics. The volume includes: (1) an alphabetical listing of percussion instruments and terms from around the world; (2) an extensive section of illustrations of percussion instruments; (3) thirty-five articles covering topics from Basel drumming to the xylophone; (4) a list of percussion symbols; (5) a table of percussion instruments and terms in English, French, German, and Italian; and (6) an updated section of published writings on methods for percussion.