Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · section 13 of 100

Percussion instruments producing indefinite sounds

Instruments in this group, such as triangle, castanets, little bells, tambourine, switch or rod (Rute. Ger.), side or military drum, cymbals, bass drum, and Chinese gong do not take any harmonic or melodic part in the orchestra, and can only be considered as ornamental instruments pure and simple. They have no intrinsic musical meaning, and are just mentioned by the way. The first three may be considered as high, the four following as medium, and the last two as deep instruments. This may serve as a guide to their use with percussion instruments of determinate sounds, playing in corresponding registers.