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Percussion covers a wide and diverse family of instruments that create sound through being struck, shaken, or scraped. It includes everything from drum kits and hand drums to auxiliary instruments such as shakers, tambourines, cowbells, blocks, and mallet percussion. Percussion adds rhythm, texture, and colour to music across virtually every genre.
Hand percussion instruments like congas, bongos, djembes, and cajons are played using the hands or simple techniques, while auxiliary percussion is often added to drum kits to expand rhythmic and tonal options. Mallet percussion, such as xylophones and similar instruments, introduces melody as well as rhythm, broadening the musical role percussion can play.
Percussion is used in live performance, studio recording, education, and therapy, making it one of the most versatile areas of music making. Whether providing subtle rhythmic detail or driving the main groove, percussion instruments allow players to shape feel, dynamics, and expression in ways that support and enhance the music.
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