The triangle is an idiophone instrument played with a drumstick.
An idiophone is a musical instrument whose sound is generated through the vibration of its primary material . This means that idiophones sound when your body vibrates, without the need for membranes or strings to vibrate.
Elastic body
For an idiophone to emit sound, its body must have the necessary elasticity so that the vibration is maintained. This requires that its structure, whether made of stone, metal or wood, have certain physical characteristics.
Generally, percussion instruments that lack membranes are idiophones. According to how they are made to vibrate, one can differentiate between bowed, plucked, percussed instruments, etc.
Examples of idiophones
The triangle is an example of an idiophone. In this case, it is a metallic object of triangular shape with an open vertex. The musician must hold the triangle by a string that is tied at the upper vertex and hit the idiophone with a drumstick, generating the vibration and, therefore, the sound.
A bell is also an idiophone. Shaped like an inverted cup , this hollow object vibrates when hit.
A popular instrument in Caribbean and African rhythms that is part of the set of idiophones is the maraca . This instrument consists of a hollow sphere crossed by a handle that allows it to be held. Inside the sphere there are seeds or small stones. Thus, the player has to take the maraca by the handle and shake it so that the seeds or stones hit against the wall of the sphere, producing the sound.
Guys
As we mentioned above, idiophone instruments can be classified into several types. Let's start with the shock ones, which are also known as those that strike each other. These are those that generate vibration , and therefore sound, when we make two of its parts collide with each other. Although these are usually the same, this is not a requirement. Three of the best-known examples are cymbals, claves, and castanets.
On the other hand we have those struck with a mallet or drumstick . This is where the triangle comes in, which we talked about in a previous paragraph, since to produce the sound we must hit it with another element, which is not part of the main body of the instrument. The bell, however, is linked to the part with which it is struck, but they are easily divisible. The xylophone also falls into this category. Lesser known ones are the plucked ones, which have one or more blades that we must vibrate to make them sound. To do this, we press it with our finger and release it quickly. The thumb piano and the mouth harp are two examples.
To make the sound, the two equal parts of the castanets must collide with each other.
There are idiophone instruments that do not require another artificial element to produce vibrations, but rather the hand of the musician. It is also possible to use your fingers, and the main difference in sound compared to the previous types is that it is softer. In this group we can name the tongue drum, the handpan and the flamenco cajon. Shakes , on the other hand, are those that require a shaking movement to generate the sound. The maracas, the ganzá and the rattlesnake are the best known.
We come to the last category of this list of idiophone instruments, which is scrapes or scrapes . To make them sound, a mallet, stick or similar item is used to rub the body of the instrument. Three of the most popular are the Tibetan singing bowl, the güira and the anise bottle. It should be added that musicians often combine rubbing with percussion of these idiophones.