Instrument
percussion sheet music
8,949 titles in the index · page 1 of 187
Percussion is not one instrument, and the single most common mis-purchase is buying music for a different member of the family. A snare étude, a marimba solo and a drum kit chart share a catalogue heading and almost nothing else.
The listing below covers snare and rudimental material, mallet instruments, timpani, drum kit and percussion ensemble.
Gašper Jereb - Christmas cantata
- Piano
- Organ
- Choir
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
- percussion
- Voice High
- Low Voice
Track 1: Complete version with SATB Chorus
- Piano
- Organ
- Flute
Track 2: Accompaniment only
- Piano
- Organ
- Flute
Away In A Manger
- Cello
- Flute
- violin
The First Noel
- Flute
- percussion
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
- Flute
- violin
- percussion
Jingle Bells
- Cello
- Flute
- violin
Up on the Housetop
- Flute
- percussion
What Child Is This?
- Cello
- Flute
- violin
2. Good King Wenceslas (Trad.)
- violin
- percussion
5. Jolly Old Saint Nicholas (Trad.)
- percussion
6. While Shepherds Watched (Trad.)
- percussion
2. We Three Kings
- percussion
3. O Tannenbaum (Trad.)
- percussion
1. Faith of Our Fathers
- percussion
2. Eternal Father Strong to Save
- percussion
3. For the Beauty of the Earth
- percussion
4. Beautiful Savior! (Trad.)
- percussion
5. O Worship the King (Haydn/Gardiner)
- percussion
6. Our God, Our Help in Ages Past - St. Anne
- percussion
1. God of Our Fathers
- percussion
2. Holy, Holy, Holy!
- percussion
3. Abide With Me
- percussion
4. Sun of My Soul (Trad.)
- percussion
5. Now Thank We All Our God (Cruger/Mendelssohn)
- percussion
6. Now the Day Is Over
- percussion
1. Waltzing Matilda (Australia)
- percussion
2. Austrian National Anthem
- percussion
3. Deutschland ueber Alles (Germany)
- percussion
1. La Marseillaise (France)
- percussion
2. Hatikvah (Israel)
- percussion
3. O Canada
- percussion
1. Fantasia (Orlando Gibbons)
- percussion
2. Lachrymae Pavan (John Dowland)
- percussion
3. The King's Hunt (John Bull)
- percussion
4. Quodling's Delight (Giles Farnaby)
- percussion
5. Sellinger's Round (William Byrd)
- percussion
1. America (G)
- percussion
2. America the Beautiful
- percussion
3. The Battle Hymn of the Republic (Bb)
- percussion
3. O God, Our Help in Ages Past St. Anne
- percussion
4. All People That on Earth Do Dwell
- Piano
- percussion
5. Rock of Ages
- percussion
6. Nearer, My God, to Thee
- percussion
8. Onward, Christian Soldiers
- percussion
[11 others]
- percussion
Captain Jinks
- Guitar
- Recorder
- percussion
Buying guide
What to know before you buy
Pitched and unpitched are different worlds
Mallet instruments — marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel — are pitched and read like any melodic instrument, usually on a treble or grand staff. Snare, timpani and kit are unpitched or semi-pitched and use conventions that vary by publisher, with a legend at the front defining which line means which drum.
Timpani sit between the two: they are tuned, parts specify tunings at the top, and older editions frequently write them without key signatures. A part that looks wrong is often a tuning change you missed.
Ensemble scores and what you get
Percussion ensemble music is sold as a score plus a set of parts, and the instrument list matters more than the difficulty grade — a piece requiring five players and a vibraphone is unplayable if you have four and no vibraphone. Publishers state the requirement on the listing; it is worth reading before the grade.
Common questions
- What is the difference between mallet and battery percussion?
- Mallet (or keyboard) percussion is pitched — marimba, vibraphone, xylophone — and reads like melodic music. Battery percussion is unpitched: snare, bass drum, cymbals. They use different notation conventions and the music is not interchangeable.
- Why does drum notation differ between publishers?
- There is no fully standard mapping of kit pieces to staff positions. Most editions print a legend at the front defining theirs, and it is worth checking rather than assuming.