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Percussion Instruments

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Some members of the percussion family may well be considered the oldest of all instruments. Rhythms beaten out on primitive surfaces or makeshift instruments have served to express sentiments and feelings throughout the ages. Generally, percussion instruments are objects that are activated by striking other objects or by shaking. The resulting sound can not only articulate the rhythm but also add color, tonal complexion, and dynamic impact to the vocal or instrumental music of which they are a part.
Drums consist essentially of skins and "shells". The drumskins are normally of calfskin or "vellums." The shell is a hollow cylinder or a bowl, more rarely a frame of some other shape, across which the skin is stretched.

Craige on Tabor (sample sound included)
Compiled and written by the Virtual Renaissance Team
References:
Hadley, Benjamin, ed. Britannica Book of Music. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1980.

Hindley, Geoffrey (ed.). The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music. Excalibur Books, New York, 1982.