Popular percussion instruments are the:
The Suona is the Chinese Trumpet. The Suona is played exactly the same as the normal trumpet. It produces the loudest sounds in the whole orchestra! Because of that, it's often used in very loud and grand music. Sometimes, it is used during traditional Chinese funerals. Even though it's quite small, about 25 to 30 centimetres long, it still has a lot of stopholes. It has 6 to 10 of them! The timbre of the Suona is mellow and bright.
The Dizi is the Chinese Flute or Piccolo. The Dizi is played exactly the same way as a normal flute or piccolo. It has around 5 stopholes. It comes in a variety of sizes to alter the pitch of the music. It produces the HIGHEST sounds in the whole orchestra! Its range is usually in the Soprano range. One more fact: The music that it plays is soooooooo HIGH, that it can imitate the sounds of birds! The timbre is bright and lyrical.
The Guanzi is also like the Dizi, except that it has a lower pitch, usually Tenor, but some are Altos. It's also much shorter, around 10 centimetres. The timbre is mellow and bright.
The Sheng is the Chinese Mouth Organ. Although most ordinary mouth organs like the harmonica sound beautiful and have a very high pitch, the Sheng has quite a high pitch, somewhere between Alto and Mezzo-Soprano. It also sounds terrible! Because of its sound (yuck!), the Sheng is often used in scary music.
The player holds the Sheng with one hand while the other hand presses the buttons to control the pitch of the music. The Sheng has a small air chamber. Inside the air chamber, the air rushes out of usually two pipes. The player controls which pipe(s) the air goes through by using the buttons. The Sheng usually has 36 pipes! One more note: For Sheng players who like the sound, please don't email me.The timbre is rich and strong.
The Xiao is the Bamboo Flute. The Xiao is very long; usually 1 or 2 metres. But some are slightly longer than the Dizi. The player plays it like a clarinet, holding it and blowing into it. Because of its length, the Xiao has 20-30 stopholes (for the shorter ones, they have around 12 stopholes). The end of it usually touches the ground slightly. It produces one of the highest sounds in the orchestra. The timbre is mellow and lyrical.
The Xun is the Chinese clay ocarina. The Xun is shaped like an egg, with a hollow centre. It has about 7 stopholes. The player puts the slightly pointed end of the egg into his or her mouth a blows through the biggest hole. He/she also covers one or more of the stopholes to change note. The timbre is clear and bright.
The Drums. I'm sure they don't need anyexplanation. However, there is one tiny bit of information about the Drums: Some drums can be tuned to make a Western chromatic tone ranging from c1 to f4. The timbre of the Drums is rich, low and strong.
The Cymbals. No need to explain. The timbre is strong and loud.
The Gong. Also, everybody should know what a Gong is. The timbre of it is loud, rich and strong.