The Percussion Family Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bongos

Bongos are of Afro-Cuban origin, first appearing in the eastern region of Cuba in the 19th century. The hembra is the larger drum, which of course makes the macho the smaller drum. Traditionally played with the hands and with the larger (hembra) drum on the right... IF you are right handed.

Drums with skins (stretched membranes) are classified as membranophone percussion instruments. The sound is produced primarily by striking the skin (head) of the drum, either with the hand or a stick or mallet.

Answer: Djembe

The Bamana are a Malian tribe, and the name djembe comes from their phrase 'Anke djé, anke bé' which translates as 'everyone gather together in peace'. The key words in the phrase, 'djé' and 'bé', mean 'gather' and 'peace', respectively.

The true origins of the djembe are unclear, as there are no written records that relate the creation of the instrument, but it has come to be associated with the Mali Empire, which goes back as far as the year 1230 AD.

The djembe is another example of a membranophone percussion instrument.

Answer: Wadaiko

Collectively known as wadaiko, the various sizes of drums within the kumi-daiko are individually named as well. There are specific names depending on how the drums are made, and then there are names relating to the size of the drum.

The largest drums in the kumi-daiko are ō-daiko (large drum), and it provides the underlying pulse. Nagado-daiko are the most common (mid-size) drums in the ensemble, while chū-daiko (slightly smaller mid-size) and shime-daiko (smaller) drums are the main voice and rhythms.

Other instruments can also join taiko ensembles, including the atarigane (a small gong) and bamboo flutes known as shakuhachi and shinobue.

Taiko drums are (yet again) membranophones as well.

Answer: Vibraphone

The first instrument with the name 'vibraphone' was produced in 1921, but the basic design from then has changed to today's modern vibraphone. Other versions of the instrument have also carried the name 'vibraharp', and quite often, either version just carries the simple nickname 'vibes'.

Barred percussion instruments such as the four answer options are considered idiophones, meaning that their sound is produced by vibration. These, specifically, are struck idiophones, meaning that their sound is produced by hitting them with a stick or mallet.

A personal note: I love the mellow sound of the vibraphone so much that I had one play with a string quartet for my wedding.

Answer: Timpani

Traditionally, timpani are large copper bowls with a skin (or head) stretched across the top. A mechanism (commonly a foot pedal, although other systems exist) can adjust the tension on the timpani head to raise and lower the pitch of the drum when it is struck by a mallet. Timpani as we know them today evolved from military drums, and by the late 18th century had become a standard part of the orchestra, typically with four timpani of different ranges being used.

They have also become common in brass/reed bands (or wind ensembles).

Answer: Zils

The term 'zil' comes from the Turkish word for cymbals. Zils (or zills) are the tiny cymbals used in belly dancing. Thus, the word has come to be used for any small cymbals, not just those used in Turkish music and dancing.

Depending on whether or not the tambourine has the skin, it can be considered either a 'struck idiophone (no skin), or a struck membranophone (with skin). The sound of the jangling zils gives the tambourine a light, high-sounding timbre, which has an added lower depth when using a tambourine with a skin.

Answer: A propane tank

The steel-tongue drum was a combination of a couple of other similar types of drums already being developed in the early 20th century. One of them, called the 'hang', is like two metal bowls placed together (to look somewhat like a UFO) with portions of the top section tuned to different pitches. The other was an instrument crafted from a small metal freon canister, where the metal on the side was cut to leave flaps (or tongues) that each produced a different bell-like tone when struck.

In 2007, Dennis Havlena took these two drums and combined their properties using the base of a 20-lb propane tank, also cutting tongues, this time radially into the bottom of the larger tank. The style has since been commercially produced, no longer using propane tanks, but refining the instrument to the beautiful specimen you see in the photo.

Answer: Cabasas

Maracas (or shac-shacs or rumba shakers) are traditionally played in pairs, with one of the shakers pitched higher than the other. Originally used in the many forms of Latin music, the maracas have also come to be common in band and orchestra, as well as in elementary music classes.

A cabasa is traditionally a hollow gourd (on a stick, similar in shape to maracas) with a net of wooden beads on the outside that rattle when shaken or rubbed against the outer surface. Commercially made cabasas often use metal beads instead of wooden, and only simulate the shape of a gourd.

Answer: Both

The other questions in this quiz involve membranophones and idiophones as categories of percussion instruments, but the piano qualifies as a chordophone.

A chordophone is any instrument that has its sound made by a vibrating string, which includes all instruments commonly thought of as stringed instruments (guitar, violin, lute, etc.). In the case of the piano, however, the achievement of the string vibration is made by the striking of the taut strings by a hammer (levered when you push down on a key on the keyboard). The act of striking something to make it produce a sound qualifies it as a percussion instrument as well.

The piano (shortened form of the Italian name for the instrument, pianoforte) was first invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori circa 1700 AD. The oldest surviving pianos built by Cristofori date from the 1720s.

Answer: Temple blocks

A typical drum set consists of a snare drum, a bass drum (with pedal), a set of tom-toms (usually a minimum of four plus a floor tom), a hi-hat (pedal-operated cymbals), and a number of other cymbals of varying sizes (usually a minimum of two). Not always considered part of a drum kit, but usually among the first added to the ensemble are wood blocks and cowbells, to add some other sound possibilities.

Temple blocks are typically a separate set of percussion idiophones, a set of hollow wood blocks that produce a set of high to low sounds (usually between five to ten blocks).