Keyboard Percussion Ensembles
A plethora of percussion ensemble music exists, but there is no standard instrumentation with a substantial body of literature written for it. However, one relatively homogeneous combination of percussion instruments with a growing repertoire of transcriptions and original compositions is the keyboard or melodic percussion ensemble. The instruments pictured below are drawn upon in varying numbers and combinations for the performance of this repertoire.
Keyboard percussion music is heard most often in the context of tertiary educational institutions (conservatories, schools of music, and music departments) and in public school music programs were it is drawn upon for solo and ensemble competitions. Some professional groups exist, either as offshoots of symphony orchestras or as independently organized ensembles, and a few of these attain international notoriety through recording releases and concertizing.
Bibliography:
Blades, James. 1970. Percussion Instruments and their History. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers.
(by Roger Vetter)
marimba
xylophone
vibraphone
