Tuned percussion

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Tuned percussion is a term meant to differentiate certain percussion instruments that are meant to produce a definite pitch from the myriad others that are not. See Untuned percussion.

The following instruments are collectively known as tuned percussion or keyboard percussion, or sometimes, mallet percussion:

• marimba
• xylophone
• vibraphone
• glockenspiel
• tubular bells ("chimes" in the U.S.)
• crotales
• metallophone
• steel drums

Lesser known tuned percussion instruments include:

• marimbaphone
• xylorimba
• The Great Stalacpipe Organ
• The Musical Stones of Skiddaw

The name implies that these instruments have a definite pitch. They are rarely retuned, as they usually hold their pitch well over many years, and retuning is a difficult operation involving shaving off or adding material to the bars of the instrument.

The term tuned percussion is also used to refer to the wider class of all percussion instruments which produce a definite pitch. These include:

• timpani
• rototoms

These instruments are membranophones, and are also expected to produce a particular tone, or note, that is discernable by the human ear, hense the term, "tuned percussion."

Strictly speaking, the piano and the celesta are also tuned percussion instruments, because their sound is produced by percussive means. However, they are more commonly classified separately as keyboard instruments.