If you have ever felt the pulsating beat of the timbales, those electrifying steel drums native to Puerto Rico, or the reverberating sound of the djembe, the wooden hand drum born in Africa, then you know the power of percussive instruments. One shake of a rain stick or a few scratches on a washboard has the ability to turn an ordinary song into something far more profound. The intent of this volume is to guide researchers, students, and those with a general curiosity about percussion instruments in their efforts to expand their understanding of this dynamic and wide-ranging group of instrumen