percussion

Everyday

1. Percussion means musical instruments that you play by hitting, shaking or scraping them, such as drums, tambourines, triangles, cymbals and xylophones. tree →
2. The percussion is the part of an orchestra or band that plays these instruments. tree →
3. Percussion means the hitting of one thing against another, a sharp knock (formal). tree →

In the lessons

In music lessons, children play percussion instruments to keep the beat and learn rhythm; percussion is one of the orchestra's four families (strings, woodwind, brass, percussion). «Body percussion» is clapping, clicking and stamping to make music. Phrases: «percussion section», «percussion instruments», «body percussion», «tuned percussion».

Examples

• The drum is a percussion instrument. tree →
• In music we played percussion with shakers and drums. tree →
• The percussion section sits at the back of the orchestra. tree →
• A xylophone is tuned percussion, because it plays notes. tree →
• Clap and stamp for body percussion. tree →
• My brother has percussion lessons on Saturdays. tree →

Note

Uncountable: «She plays percussion», not «a percussion». Someone who plays it is a percussionist. Tuned percussion (xylophone, glockenspiel) plays notes; untuned percussion (drum, triangle) does not.