Perceptual Impression of a Percussion Ensemble in Concert - Essay Example

We waited for a few moments and then the curtain began to part from the middle. The last of the within-audience talking had disappeared with anticipation of the show that was about to begin. Without even an announcer’s introduction, the curtain drifted apart, revealing a stage full of percussion instruments: xylophones, snare drums, tom drums, bongos, gongs, top hats, and maracas along with surprising additions of pots, pans, and coffee containers turned upside down. No one stood on the stage as the lights shifted their direction toward the stage, highlighting the unattended instruments.

Suddenly, four men approached the stage—two from both the left and right. When they appeared, the audience began to clap. I joined the applause, seeing everyone around me still studying the diverse range of instruments resting on the stage before us. One woman, in particular, was clearly not paying attention to the instrumentalists themselves, but the instruments they were about to use to entertain us. The applause ceased after the men took a bow. As the others took their positions and tested the tunes of their instruments, one man introduced the Third Coast Percussion Ensemble, which the audience responded to with more applause.

The ensemble began performing once their colleague had a chance to take his position in front of his instrument and to test its tune. Suddenly, with a bang, the performance started with a deep and loud series of tom drum hits. I noticed a few of the people sitting around me were taken aback by the dramatic start of the performance, which soon slowed down to focus more on smaller instruments, such as maracas, piano, and some foreign instruments made out of reeds and seashells. The sounds being produced on the stage were reverberated very nicely along with the ceiling and walls of the concert hall, filling the room with a very complete and harmonious percussion sound, which was the surprising result of four men working together on a very broad assortment of instruments.