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  A percussion instrument is any instrument that makes a noise from being hit, shaken, scraped or rubbed. The family of percussion instruments is huge. A percussionist, or one who plays percussion, may play many different percussion instruments in a band. The most common percussion instruments are drums, while the least common is an item that is scraped or rubbed, such as the sandpaper block.
  
  

Snare Drum

• The snare drum is the most popular drum in the percussion section. The drum has two heads and is named from the strings, or curled metal wires, that are stretched across the lower head of the drum. The snare drum is often considered one of the most important drums in the drum set because of the bright sound that it emits.
  
  

Bass Drum

• The bass drum is the largest drum of an orchestra and can come in many different sizes and pitches. Four to five bass drums are usually placed in the back of the orchestra and tuned to a specific pitch. This drum is often called a kick drum. The kick drum is played using a pedal that is pressed with the foot. This type of bass drum is used in drum sets. It has a low sound that is produced by striking it with a large, soft-headed mallet.
  
  

Chimes

• The chimes are tubular bells that are hung from a frame. There are typically 23 or less tubular bells on each frame. Each one of the tubes is tuned to a specific pitch and produces a sound by being struck with a special mallet called a hammer. The chimes are usually tuned in the key of C and are arranged on the frame from smallest to largest. The chimes are tuned to either half or whole steps on the scale.
  
  

Xylophone

• The xylophone is a percussion instrument that resembles a large piano. It has wooden notes that are tuned chromatically. These wooden bars are supported by a frame and are suspended over resonator tubes that produce the music. Xylophones come in three to five octaves and the played notes are tuned one octave higher than normal.
  
  

Sandpaper Blocks

• Sandpaper blocks are two wooden blocks that can be gripped on one side and have a fine grit sandpaper on the other side. The two blocks make music by rubbing the blocks together, the result of which is a brushing sound.