Hello friends!

We’re the Ostmo family, and we love learning about countries and people. Our oldest daughter, Melaya, has tons of friends all around the world and some of them love percussion instruments!

Percussion instruments are a family of musical instruments that produce sound by being struck or scraped by a beater. They can be made of wood, metal, or plastic and creates sound when you hit them—like the drum known as a Conga in Cuba.

In Alegria’s family band they play this percussion instrument

Alegria is a friend of Melaya who lives in Cuba and plays the Conga. We have never met her in person, but Melaya has talked with her many times. Alegria’s family has a band and they play at parties and festivals. They also perform for tourists who visit Cuba.

The Conga is a percussion instrument that originated in Cuba. It is used primarily in Latin American music, such as salsa, rumba, and mambo. The conga drum has also become a popular instrument in many other styles of music, including jazz and rock. An exceptional example of Cubans heritage.

Alegria explained to Melaya that when her parents refer to Conga as exceptional they want to mean that it is special, rare, and valuable. Melaya was surprised to hear this because she has never seen or heard one before.

The Cajon is a percussion instrument that sounds similar to the Conga

Another percussion instrument that sounds similar to this one is the Cajon from Peru where Milagros lives more than 6,000 miles away from Melaya.

Unlike Alegria, Milagros’ family doesn’t own a band but she has seen musicians in the streets playing the Cajon many times. The Cajon is a percussion instrument and it sounds similar to the Conga in Cuba. However, there are some differences between them. For example, the Cajon is a box made out of wood with two small round holes on each side where you place your hands to play it. You can also use a stick to hit it or other percussion instruments like the cowbell or claves.

Every time Milagros and her mom go for a walk she always wants to see the street performers playing the Cajon. She enjoys watching how they play and how other people are amazed by them.

Clap Stick is a musical instrument consisting of two wooden sticks

Did you know that you can make music with only sticks? That’s also considered a percussion instrument. What?! Yeah I know, sounds crazy. Actually, neither of us knew that before Bonnie explained that to us.

Bonnie is from Australia and she told Melaya that Australians sometimes play the Clap Sticks. Clap Stick is a percussion instrument that is played with two sticks. You hold them with your hands, one above the other, then you hit the bottom stick against something, like a table or another surface, and then you hit the top stick against that surface as well. The sound is amazing! Bonnie told us that when she was younger, she used to play Clap Stick with her friends a lot but.

You know it can seem so easy to play Clap Stick, but when you try it for the first time, you will see that it’s not so easy at all. Bonnie plays the Clap Stick progressively at her pace, and now she can play it for hours. With a lot of practice and patience, you can learn how to play any percussion instrument.

This is the main struggle with Paolo. Say hi to our Brazilian friend more than 5,000 miles from us. Paolo was talking with Melaya the other day and he told her how he is trying very hard to play the Alfaia.

The Alfaia is Paolo’s favorite instrument

The Alfaia is a Brazilian percussion instrument that has five different sounds, but only one side of the instrument has all the sounds. You can play it with your hands or hit it with a stick. Paolo is trying to learn how to play it, but he said that it’s hard because he has never played an instrument before so it’s a very complex instrument for him. He told Melaya that his father is helping him with this new hobby and they are spending hours every day practicing together. The best part is that Paolo wants to learn how to play the Alfaia so badly because it reminds him of his culture.

Abe’s dad taught him how to play the instrument so that he would remember their heritage

The same reason why Abe wants to purchase a bata drum. Abe is from Nigeria, where the bata drum is a national instrument. The Bata Drum is a West African percussion instrument that was traditionally played by the Hausa people of Nigeria and Ghana. It is made from wood or animal skin. The drum is played with bare hands, fingers, palms, and wrists. The bata drum has many different uses in Africa including being used as an alarm to warn people of danger and being played at celebrations like weddings and funerals.

Abe told Melaya that it was his father who taught him how to play the bata drum when he was only four years old. His father wanted him to learn how to play so he could pass on this tradition someday.

It’s amazing how can a single instrument express so many emotions for some people of their countries and cultures. It is a symbol of pride, heritage and culture.

What about you? Are there any national percussion instruments in your country? Tell us in the comments what your favorite instruments are! If you want to learn more about different percussion instruments, make sure to download the activity pack. We have flashcards, a learning guide, handwriting sheets, and drawings pages all dedicated to various percussion instruments!

Melaya loves chatting with kids from all over the world! If you want to teach Melaya about where you live or your favorite activities, please tell your mom or dad to use @learningtail on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to get in touch with us.