Orchestral percussion

Whenever someone has free time they usually find something fun to do. As for myself, I found that audio engineering; lighting and special effects design, playing and learning about percussion instruments, and anything electronic or technical related are great things to play around with. When I was a little kid, I always played with different toys of mine that either ran on batteries, or that plugged into an electrical socket and/or took my toys apart so see how they worked. So, from that moment on my mom knew I would try to become an engineer of some type hopefully. So from doing that I still want to learn as much as I can about anything with electrical current running through it. With the world we live in today everyone wants to be heard…

The marimba, a popular percussion instrument, has not only a rich sound, but a rich history. The instrument, which has a name that means “wood sounder” in African languages and “the goddess” in Guatemalan creates it’s sound with wooden bars and metal resonators. The first idea for marimbas came from Africa.“The xylophone was taken to Latin America by African slaves…”(“Marimba”, Encyclopedia Britannica) Calabashes, or a type of gourd, were replaced in Latin America by resonators made of metal.…

“Another Miracle - Music Therapy & End Stage Alzheimer's”. In this video a woman named Melissa Hirokawa, who is the owner of Living Spirit Therapy and a board-certified music therapist, sings to a woman who is in end stage Alzheimer’s. The woman with Alzheimer’s, named Dorothy, starts to react to the music almost immediately. Dorothy starts to smile, and even sing and dance with the music being sung to her. This is an example of stimulative music, because the upbeat tempo of the song encouraged…

The development of percussion throughout centuries has been a long evolution of varied instruments that have greatly affected the way people hear and understand music. Since time began, humans have used percussion instruments to accompany their music, dances, and rituals. In the West, percussion in the orchestra gradually evolved and grew over time into a powerful section of the group, with an imposing range of tools and roles at its disposal (Gagné). In recent times, non-Western percussion has…

The African Djembe was said to be created in the 12th century; it’s considered one of the most versatile and boundless drumming instruments on the earth (Drum Africa). A Guinean drum that is played throughout Africa that is known to resemble the figure of a woman with it’s round upper half, small waist, and large lower half is called the Djembe drum. This unique drum was created by Blacksmiths from the caste Manlike in Guinea; with its exclusive sound spectrum the djembe produces a strong…

As the school year progresses, Thomas Jefferson's extra curricular programs continue to display their hard work for the students enjoyment. During the boys’ basketball game on January 4th, against Westminster High School, TJ’s drumline did just that, bringing the audience musical enjoyment in an unconventional way: by using buckets. After months of continuous practice, the drumline, led by band teacher Robin Johnson, was ready to perform a few songs as a halftime show. In preparation for events…

The earliest form of music that came into our world was called the Drum-Based Percussion instrument (Hollis). These instruments of rocks and sticks were used in religious ceremonies that were known as representations of animals (Hollis). It is known that by 4000 BCE the Egyptians created the Harps and Flutes, and also by 3500 BCE instruments called Lyres and Doubled-Reeded Clarinets has been founded and created (Hollis). Almost all of the Indians and Africans had been using some of these…

I found myself humming it hours after I heard it. I always say that is the sign of a good song – if you can remember it hours after first hearing it. It was impossible not to tap along and be totally immersed in this piece. It was light, while at the same time powerful. It felt like it had a beginning, middle and end. Sort of like telling a story. The next piece took me by surprise somewhat because it is not a piece of music you would think of when you think of steel drum music. Bach’s Cantata…

It is hard to picture the Beatles without Ringo or Led Zeppelin without Bonham. These drummers many not be front and center, but they are the back bone to the band. And without the Drum set these drummers would have never been. Jazz or Rock n Roll or Pop music wouldn’t be the same without the invention and evolution of the drum set. The drum set took over a century to become what it is today. The drum set is an American instrument and through its development it has reflected the way America has…

orishas during the ceremony. These three drums are Iya (mother), dedicated to the Orisha Yemaya, Itotele (father) dedicated to Oshun, and Okonkolo (baby) dedicated to the orisha Chango. Iya is the largest drum, followed by Itotele and finally Okonkolo is the smallest. Each of these drums are made sacred by going through a specific consecration ceremony which may only be attended by males who have had their hands wash to play the drums as well as the Babalawo (male priests of Ifá). Although one…