Drums and Percussion

Settlement student playing timpani
Settlement student playing timpani
There’s a lot going on in the back of the orchestra.

Xylophones, cymbals, marimbas, vibraphones, timpani, gongs, congas, triangles, tambourines, snare drums, castanets, chimes, drum sets – that’s not even close to a complete list, but percussionists learn how to play them all. If it has to be struck with a stick, mallet or even the player’s bare hand to make a sound, it’s a percussion instrument. Apart from singing, drumming is the oldest form of musical expression we know of, and the most ubiquitous – almost every musical style under the sun has some kind of percussive element. 

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Decade by decade, Gavin McCauley takes us through the history of the drumset and drumming styles in this episode of Settlement 101.

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Percussion
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Percussion faculty member William Kerrigan
William P. Kerrigan

Associate Staff Percussion Music