Tambourine in the context of "Tympanum (hand drum)"

An orchestra (/ˈɔːrkɪstrə/ ; OR-ki-strə) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:

• The string section, including the violin, viola, cello, and double bass
• The woodwind section, including the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and occasionally saxophone
• The brass section, including the French horn (commonly known as the "horn"), trumpet, trombone, cornet, and tuba, and sometimes euphonium
• The percussion section, including the timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, tam-tam and mallet percussion instruments

Other instruments such as the piano, harpsichord, pipe organ, and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone as soloist instruments, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments, and guitars.

A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excluding zoomusicological instruments and the human voice, the percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments. In spite of being a very common term to designate instruments, and to relate them to their players, the percussionists, percussion is not a systematic classificatory category of instruments, as described by the scientific field of organology. It is shown below that percussion instruments may belong to the organological classes of idiophone, membranophone, aerophone and chordophone.

The percussion section of an orchestra most commonly contains instruments such as the timpani, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, belonging to the membranophones, and cymbals and triangle, which are idiophones. However, the section can also contain aerophones, such as whistles and sirens, or a blown conch shell. Percussive techniques can even be applied to the human body itself, as in body percussion. On the other hand, keyboard instruments, such as the celesta, are not normally part of the percussion section, but keyboard percussion instruments such as the glockenspiel and xylophone (which do not have piano keyboards) are included.

A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform.

The simplest type of "one-man band" is a singer accompanying themselves on acoustic guitar and playing a harmonica mounted in a metal "harp rack" below the mouth. This approach is often taken by buskers and folk music singer-guitarists. More complicated setups may include wind instruments strapped around the neck, a large bass drum mounted on the musician's back with a beater which is connected to a foot pedal, cymbals strapped between the knees or triggered by a pedal mechanism, tambourines and maracas tied to the limbs, and a stringed instrument strapped over the shoulders (e.g., a banjo, ukulele or guitar).

Tarantella (Italian: [taranˈtɛlla]) is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Sicilia, and Apulia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in
₈ time (sometimes
₈ or
₄), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the most recognized forms of traditional southern Italian music. The specific dance-name varies with every region, for instance sonu a ballu in Calabria, tammurriata in Campania, and pizzica in Salento. Tarantella is popular in southern Italy, Greece, and Malta. The term may appear as tarantello in a linguistically masculine construction.

Bhajan is an Indian term for any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Dharmic religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means reverence and originates from the root word bhaj (Sanskrit: भज्), which means to revere, as in 'Bhaja Govindam' (Revere Govinda). The term bhajana also means sharing.

The term bhajan is also commonly used to refer to a group event, with one or more lead singers, accompanied with music, and sometimes dancing. Normally, bhajans are accompanied by percussion instruments such as tabla, dholak or a tambourine. Handheld small cymbals (kartals) are also commonly used to maintain the beat. A bhajan may be sung in a temple, in a home, under a tree in the open, near a river bank or a place of historic significance. A group of bhajan performers may be known as a maṇḍalī.

Orchestral percussion refers to the various percussion instruments used in an orchestral setting. It may also refer to the act of playing such instruments in an orchestral style. Many music schools and conservatories offer training for musicians interested in developing their skills as orchestral percussionists. Typically, an orchestral percussionist does not specialize in one particular instrument. Although there is no exhaustive list of all instruments that an orchestral percussionist must be able to play, there are particular instruments that are frequently used in the orchestral repertoire. This includes timpani, snare drum, bass drum, xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, cymbals, and tambourine.

A drum kit, acoustic drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a musical instrument consisting of a collection of percussion instruments arranged to be played by a single musician. It typically includes drums, cymbals, and sometimes other auxiliary percussion instruments, such as a tambourine or a cowbell. The drummer usually plays while seated on a drum throne, using drumsticks or special wire or nylon brushes to strike the drums and cymbals, as well as pedals to operate the bass drum and hi-hat, allowing them to adapt the sound to their desired effect.

The drum set is not standardized, but usually consists of:

The rhythm band is one of the primary methods of introducing children to playing music. Children are given maracas, tambourines, bells, rhythm sticks and other idiophones with which to beat out a simple rhythm while the teacher plays a song, usually on the piano. Alternatively, the teacher does not play a melody but also a rhythm instrument, so that only rhythms are played. Children can also make a rhythm band "just for fun" for themselves, without a teacher. Rhythm bands are typically found in nursery schools or kindergartens, but of course children also can make a rhythm band at home. Melodic instruments are introduced to the children in the first or second year of regular school. But in principle, a rhythm band can be made in every age, with more difficult rhythms if the participants are older.If the participants like very loud music, noisemakers like the pea whistle, the recorder head joint, the vuvuzela or the ratchet can be included into the rhythm band, as well as other loud rhythm instruments like the snare drum.

American composer J. Lilian Vandevere wrote many pieces for rhythm band and toy orchestra. She and American educators Gladys Marie Stein and Satella Waterstone also wrote articles and textbooks about their use in music education.

In percussion, a jingle is one of a cluster of small bells, shaken or tapped on the palm of the player's hand. The small metal discs arranged around the frame of a tambourine are also called "jingles". In the Hornbostel–Sachs instrument-classification system, they are described as "shaken idiophones". Jingles were often found in ancient times as harness ornaments suspended from the trappings of horses, mules, and camels (Blades and Holland 2001).

That term is referenced in Bob Dylan's hit song, "Mr. Tambourine Man". It is an onomatopoeic term, often used together with jangle. An example of that usage is found in the Frank Loesser song "Jingle Jangle Jingle".

Zills, zillia, zils, or sagat, also known as finger cymbals or fanglesnaps, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dancing and similar performances. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pairs can be set in a frame to make a tambourine.

Other names include nuqaisāt (after the naqus) and ṣunnūj ṣaghīra in Arabic, sanj angshati in Persian, zil in Turkish.

The headless tambourine differs from the standard tambourine by not having a drumhead. It is called "headless" because it lacks the drumhead, that is, the skin stretched over one side of the ring in a traditional tambourine. It produces a rhythmic jingling sound or a shake roll.

Jazz, pop and rock drummers sometimes mount a headless tambourine in the drum kit.

Italian folk music reflects a long and diverse history. National unification occurred relatively late on the Italian peninsula, allowing its many hundreds of regional cultures to retain distinct musical traditions. Italy’s geographic position—at the southern edge of Europe and central to the Mediterranean Sea—has contributed to a wide array of external influences. Celtic, Slavic, Arabic, Greek, Spanish and Byzantine musical elements are readily apparent in regional styles. Italy's mountainous geography and the historical dominance of small city-states further encouraged the persistence of localized traditions.

Contemporary classification of Italian folk music often follows the geographic typology proposed by Alan Lomax in 1956, which has been frequently reiterated in later studies. The group and open-voice choral styles of Northern Italy reflect Celtic and Slavic influences, while the strident monody of Southern Italy shows Greek, Byzantine, and Arabic roots. Central Italy exhibits a mixture of these traditions, alongside older indigenous forms such as narrative balladry. The music of Sardinia remains especially distinct, most notably for its polyphonic vocal tradition known as tenores.