The percussion family is the largest in the orchestra.

A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater (including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles), or struck, scraped or rubbed by hand, or struck against another similar instrument. The percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments, following the human voice.

Timpani look like big polished bowls or upside-down teakettles, which is why they're also called kettledrums. They are big copper pots with drumheads made of calfskin or plastic stretched over their tops. Timpani are tuned instruments, which means they can play different notes.

The modern xylophone has wooden bars or keys arranged like the keys of the piano, which the player hits with a mallet. You can change the quality of the pitch by using different kinds of mallets (hard or soft), and by hitting the wooden bars in different ways.

Castanets are made of two pieces of wood tied together. To play them, you hold them with your fingers and click the two pieces of wood together. In the orchestra, castanets are sometimes mounted on a piece of wood, and the percussionist plays them by hitting them with his/her hands.

Cymbals are the biggest noisemakers of the orchestra. They are two large metal discs, usually made of spun bronze. Cymbals, which are untuned, come in a range of sizes, from quite small to very large. Cymbals can be used for drama and excitement, to accent the rhythm or create delicate sound effects.

The bass drum, like the double bass, is the biggest member of the percussion family and therefore makes the lowest sounds. The bass drum is built like a very large snare drum, although without the snare; it is also an untuned instrument. You play the bass drum by hitting either drumhead with sticks that have large soft heads, often covered with sheepskin or felt.

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