There are a range of different metal percussion instruments that can be found in the modern western orchestra, even though many of them have origins that are not only ancient in nature, but also global as well.

The Triangle - The triangle is a two piece instrument that is comprised of a steel bar that is circular and bent into the shape of an equilateral triangle with one corner left open. The Triangle is played using a metal rod. The triangle is suspended using a loop of string. Originally, the triangle was a sistrum, which is one of the oldest known of all percussion instruments. The sistrum is a U shaped metal frame that has a number of different prongs and bars attached to it, holding metal discs, rings and jingles responsible for clattering together when the musical instrument is shaken about by its player.

The Sistrum instrument was first introduced during the archaeological records of ancient Sumeria, Egypt and also Babylonia around 2500 BC and they are also found in Melanesia and Malaysia. The triangle in the form that we know it for today originally appeared in Europe during the later half of the fourteenth century, and at that point in time it was a triangular shaped sistrum that had rings attached.

The triangle that is found in orchestral music is one that does not feature rings, and it was originally appearing during the 19th century. At this point in time it was being used in order to provide a bit of a sparkle to a number of different orchestrations including the Liszt Piano Concerto #1 as well as Anitra's Dance from Peer Gynt which was composed by Grieg. Classical composers have been including the triangle in their music in order to create unique Turkish musical effects, but this triangle may actually have had jingles attached to it, allowing it to be both shaken and struck to produce unique sounds.

Although the triangle is a simple instrument, it can be tricky to learn how to play it well and it produces a wide range of different tone colors as well. The purest type of sound that the triangle can produce is capable of being produced by striking the instrument as close to the topmost corner as is possible. What this means is that the player is going to be required to have very good aim because they are dealing with a very small playing area.

Playing more difficult or more complex musical rhythms is going to involve using two beaters, and the player has to take care to make sure that the twirling of the triangle is stopped in order for the instrument to be played properly. The triangle can be suspended from the finger of the player and then played open or damped/closed using the other fingers on the players hand as needed.

Photo Credits: karenwithak

Originally posted 2009-08-19 03:02:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Acoustic Musical Instruments, Instrument History, triangle

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ancient sumeria, archaeological records, classical composers, equilateral triangle, fourteenth century, Melanesia, metal frame, metal percussion, musical instrument, orchestral music, orchestrations, peer gynt, percussion instruments, piano concerto, point in time, prongs, sistrum, steel bar, tone colors, western orchestra