THE ROLE OF TURKISH PERCUSSION IN THE HISTORY AND ...

The ancient sistrum, a primitive type of Egyptian rattle, is considered a prototype of
the triangle. 14 The handle of the sistrum was attached to a horseshoe-shaped frame made of
bronze or copper. Thin wires holding multiple metal discs linked the sides of the frame.
Figure 4 illustrates the sistrum.
Figure 4. The sistrum. Reprinted from Joseph Adato and George Judy, The Percussionist’s
Dictionary: Translations, Descriptions and Photographs of Percussion Instruments from
Around the World (Melville: Belwin Mills Publishing Corp., 1984), 56
In its medieval form the triangle maintained the jingling discs of the sistrum; three or
more discs hung from the lower, horizontal bar. Ironically, the triangle was not always
triangular when it first appeared in the fifteenth century. Paintings of that era as seen in
Figure 5 depict a trapezoidal form resembling a medieval stirrup.
14 James Blades, Percussion Instruments and Their History (London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1984), 162.
16