Percussions

Musicians
Suzie DESCHAMPS	Antoine ZIMMER
Philippe GRUMEL	Denise MAILLAND
Bill SUDECK	Mike BOLTON
Manu FRANQUEMAGNE	Christine HARMAGANIAN

Percussion refers to a broad family of instruments whose sound is produced by hitting, tapping or scratching a membrane or resonant material. These instruments can be used in all types of music: traditional, jazz, rock, classical, and symphony. They probably constituted the first musical instruments and were an integral part of most musical genres (salsa, samba, reggae and folk music of most countries).

In modern usage, the word "percussionist" often refers strictly to one who plays Latin accessory instruments such as congas, bongos, cowbell, etc. (as opposed to the full drum set).

However, the term is much broader in the classical or symphonic context, as the concert percussionist is often called upon to play a large variety of instruments: snare drum, bass drum, crash cymbals, drum set, timpani, small accessory instruments (such as claves, maracas, castanets, wood block, wind chimes, bell tree, triangle, tambourine, shaker, vibraslap, whip, whistle, finger cymbals, cabasa, guiro, etc.), as well as the various mallet instruments (bells, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, and chimes/tubular bells).