打擊樂器 (Percussion Instruments)隨著人類的文化,已經存在了數千年之久,而世界各文化群中,以鑼鼓傳統音樂形式存在的打擊樂,雖然在傳統藝術中具有相當重要的地位,但整體來說,以往打擊樂的地位的確不如管樂、弦樂、聲樂以及鍵盤樂等樂種。今日我們所稱之「打擊樂 (percussion)」,是古典音樂種類之中,比較晚興起的一個樂種,至今尚未超過一個世紀。而台灣的打擊樂發展起步相對地更晚,比起西方國家慢了半個世紀之久,一直到了1980年代,台灣的打擊樂環境才因為一些人、事、物的巧妙組合,才在後來的三十個年頭當中,產生了質與量的重大進展。這其中的關鍵因素,有台灣社會環境的變遷、國外打擊樂的引進影響、特定人士的大力推廣、政府的重視與支持等,更重要的是台灣的文化根基孕育了打擊樂在台灣快速發展的生命力。研究結果顯示台灣的打擊樂發展從1980年之後,無論是學習與演奏人口的數量、演出的能見度與精緻度、學術與社會的地位、與全球平台的接軌、打擊樂作品的數量與質量、打擊樂器的製造工藝水準、一般民眾對打擊樂的觀感與評價等各方面,都因為前述的因素而大大地提昇到非常高的程度。未來台灣的打擊樂發展,應延續現有的基礎,持續不斷尋找文化上的養分,結合與時俱進的創意,加上前仆後繼的打擊樂工作者與作曲家,投入打擊樂的領域,繼續讓台灣成為世界打擊樂版圖中重要的地標。
Percussion instruments have long existed for over thousands of years following the progress in human culture. Although percussion music widely exists in the traditional music of drum form among the different cultures worldwide with considerable important status; nonetheless the status of percussion music in comparison with band, strings, vocal and keyboard music in general is not as outstanding. The percussion we know today is a late-rising music type of classical music which has not exceeded for more than one century. The startup for the development of percussion was relatively late for Taiwan and about half of a century slower than that of Western countries. It was only until the 1980s, the significant progress in quality and quantity was produced in the percussion environment of Taiwan in the following 30 years due to some ingenious combination of people, incidents and objects. The critical factors include changes in Taiwan’s social environment, influence of the introduction of foreign percussion, the promotion of particular figures, and the support and attention of the government. Most importantly, the cultural roots of Taiwan have nurtured the rapid developing vitality of percussion in Taiwan. The study results show that regardless of the number of people learning and playing, visibility and delicacy of performance, academic and social status, connection with the global platform, quality and quantity of percussion works, the level of manufacturing process, perception and evaluation on percussion from the general public, the percussion development of Taiwan has substantially high level due to the aforementioned factors since the 1980s. The future percussion development of Taiwan should extend the existing foundation and continue to search for cultural nurturing in addition to combining with advanced creativity and percussionists and composers one after the other committed in the field of percussion, in order to help Taiwan become the landmark of global percussion map.