Percussion instrument, any musical instrument belonging to

either of two groups, idiophones or

membranophones. Idiophones are instruments whose own
substance vibrates to produce sound (as opposed to the strings of
a guitar or the air column of a flute); examples include bells,
clappers, and rattles. Membranophones emit sound by
the vibration of a stretched membrane; the prime examples
are drums. The termpercussion instrument refers to the fact that
most idiophones and membranophones are sounded by being
struck, although other playing methods include rubbing, shaking,
plucking, and scraping.