Pitched percussion instrument
A pitched percussion instrument is a percussion instrument used to produce musical notes of one or more pitches, as opposed to an unpitched [percussion instrument] which is used to produce sounds of indefinite pitch.
Pitching of percussion instruments is achieved through a variety of means.
- Membranophones are tuned by altering the surface tension of the face that is struck.
- Idiophones gain their pitch through the physical characteristics of each respective bar.
- Many untuned percussion instruments are tuned by the player, but this tuning does not relate to a particular pitch.Untuned percussion instruments can and frequently do make sounds that could be used as pitched notes in an appropriate context.
- Some percussion instruments are almost always used as pitched percussion.
- Some percussion instruments are sometimes used as pitched percussion and, at other times, as unpitched percussion.
- Some percussion instruments are almost always used as unpitched percussion.
- Keyboard percussion instruments which are arranged in a keyboard layout.