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Percussion instruments, regardless of their level of development, are among the oldest instruments used by humanity since prehistory until today. Drums and other percussion instruments have been used in wars, celebrations, and ceremonies since humanity first began social and cultural development. The current form of today's percussion instruments, such as timpani, dates back to the Janissaries. Drums, which were used in wars and generally for a purpose, lost their functionality with the change in technology and methods; Nowadays, it has become used for art and performance.

 

The history of percussion instruments dates back to B.C. It dates back to the 5600s B.C. The first known drums are very similar to today's bendir type drums and were found in Çatalhöyük It is depicted on the walls of a tomb dating back to 5600 BC. B.C. The majority of the drummers in the first depictions of the drum between 3000 and 2000 B.C. were depicted as women. According to the Mesopotamian religion of the period, Goddess Inanna created the first drum and the first drummer was a priest named Lipushiau. At that time, drums were played in ceremonies held in the name of gods and goddesses and were mostly dedicated to women.

We can also find the first forms of today's modern percussion and drums in ancient Egypt. We can see that it is used not only for orchestral but also for military marches. The first drums in Egypt generally consisted of a long cylinder with upper and lower bases covered with parchment and were played with bare hands. They made a sound close to the sound made by trumpets played with drumsticks today.

The first examples of the instrument known as the "Triangle Cymbal" used today were seen in ancient Egypt. Its name in ancient Egypt is known as "Sistrum". When translated, the hieroglyphs describing sistrums mean "to shed light and shine". Sistrums were generally used in sessions where people opened their hearts to Hathor, the goddess of music.

Just like Mesopotamia, Egypt used drums mostly by women for religious ceremonies and purposes. But these drums were also used by men in wars.

It was believed that cymbals, a percussion instrument, were first produced by the Chinese. But thanks to research on drums and percussion, it was learned that they were first produced and used by the Turks in the 1st century.

Gongs were the most critical instruments that China had in the history of percussion. Gongs were generally used for religious rituals in pastoral areas far from settlements - they produce very loud sounds. The music that the Chinese played with gongs was called "luogu yue". According to its sources, there were at least 80 different types of drums used by the Chinese in the 3rd century B.C., and this number increased even more with the use of the silk road for trade purposes.

Like other ancient civilizations, bendir type percussion is one of the first percussion types to emerge in the Ancient Mediterranean civilizations. Although some researchers argue that drums were used only to enrich melodies in these civilizations, it can be deduced that drums were played solo, as bendir type drums became widespread before lyre and flute. Many artworks depicting the Greek god Dionysus (son of Zeus and Semele, god of wine) depict Dionysus holding many instruments, including bendir-type percussion.

In Rome, bendirs and tambourines were widely used in ceremonies held for the Goddess Cybele. The first appearance of tambourines was the placement of small cymbals around the bendirs, and their history dates back to the 1st and 2nd centuries.

Just like China, cymbals came to Ancient Greece and Rome from the Middle East and played a very important role in religious rituals in these civilizations. According to Greek Mythology, Demeter summoned Persephone from the underworld with a bender like percussion.

As in other civilizations, women played an important role in percussion in these civilizations. Delphi priestesses also used bendirs and gongs to motivate military and political leaders.

Apart from this, percussion instruments are instruments that have been used in different shapes and varieties since the first human being walked on the earth until today. It is almost impossible to list these shapes and types.

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As we mentioned above, the Turks, who have been skilled in metalworking since prehistory, invented and used types of cymbals. It is also known that the Turks, who used different types of drums, performed their pre-Islamic religious ceremonies accompanied by drums, cymbals and rattles.

During the Ottoman Empire, they founded the Mehter Band, the first permanent military band in the history of the world, and they used many other musical instruments, especially drums and cymbals, in this military band. One of the most used percussions in Türkiye today is; Drum, cymbal, darbuka, tambourine, bongo, nara, kudüm, arbane, and bendir.

Wooden spoons made of boxwood are also widely used as percussion instruments unique to the Turks, especially in the Central Anatolia, Aegean and Mediterranean regions.