Pitched Percussion
Many percussion instruments are pitched similar to a piano, so students with piano experience excel very quickly at this. These include the glockenspiel, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, chimes and timpani. You strike these instruments with a rubber mallet or a mallet that is covered in yarn or cotton. The chimes are hit with a hammer.
Non-Pitched Percussion
These instruments are considered your more traditional percussion instruments: snare drum, bass drum, and cymbals. There are a number of toys that percussionist also get to play as the music call for them: triangle, tambourine, shaker, maracas, conga, bongos, claves, whip, brake drum, junk, and sometimes drum set.