ABSTRACT
This last group of instruments in the orchestra is perhaps the most varied of the lot. They come in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes, making an equally bewildering array of noises. Bangs, thuds, cracks, chimes, rings, rattles, jingles, tinkles, crashes-all of which are purely transient sounds. They build up quickly and immediately start to die away. At no stage do they constitute a sustained vibration. And this is not just because most of these instruments make their sound by being struck (whence the name ‘percussion’); it is inherent in the very way they vibrate.
