Percussion Terms
African Percussion
Latin American Percussion
Marching Percussion
100

Instruments that are hit, struck, or shaken. 

What are percussion instruments?

100

The three main percussion instruments of Africa.

What are drums, shakers, and bells?

100

Main reason why Latin American percussion is similar to African percussion. 

What is African slave trade in the Americas? 

100

Three main instruments of a drumline.

What are snare drum, bass drum, and tenor drum (quads/quints)? 

200

Produce sound by a vibrating membrane.

What are membranophones?

200

In Africa, there is one word for both music and ____________. 

What is dancing?

200

Instruments used in Latin American percussion grooves. (Name 3)

What are congas, bongos, timbales, claves, woodblock, maracas (shaker), cabasa, cowbell, agogo bells, guiro, cajon, and tambourine?

200

Origin of marching percussion.

What was used to keep soldiers in step together and march armies from place to place?

300

Produces sound by vibrating itself.

What is an idiophone?

300

A goblet-type drum of West Africa. 

What is the djembe?

300

A syncopated rhythmic pattern found in salsa music and sometimes other Latin American music too. 

What is the 2-3 clave pattern?

300

Important musical elements that a drummer in a drumline must master. 

What are drum technique and rhythmic accuracy? 

400
Two broad percussion categories that divide instruments by whether they produce a definite note or not.

What are pitched and non-pitched? 

400

Multiple rhythms happening at the same time.

What is polyrhythm?

400

A Brazilian style that is the combination of jazz and salsa. 

What is Bossa Nova?

400

Four main sections of a modern-day drum corps. 

Battery (S.D., B.D., Tenor drums), Brass, frontline/pit percussion, color guard (flags)

500

Supporting instruments that add color or effects to the music.

What is auxiliary percussion?

500

A West African drum that is shaped like an hour-glass and plays two pitches. It was used to communicate over long distances. 

What is the talking drum? 

500

The bass drum pattern of samba.

Dotted quarter, eighth note, dotted quarter, eighth note, 1 (+ 2) + 3 (+ 4) +

500

A rhythmic pattern played in the percussion section that is used to keep the band in step. 

What is a cadence?