Wikipedia:WikiProject Percussion/Category tree

Key categories

 * Category:Percussion instrument stubs

Trees
Note that these are each limited in the number of levels displayed but can be expanded by clicking on the relevant arrow

Percussion
This is the highest level with which this page is concerned.

Percussion instruments
Note particularly the four container or classification categories. Each instrument article should be in at least one subcategory of each of these container categories. However, this does not mean that they need to be in four categories, as the tree is not simple, and some categories classify by several criteria; Category:African drums for example is a member of both the sound production and tradition subtrees.

Percussion instruments by means of sound production
Many but not all of the categories in the Percussion instruments by means of sound production tree will have Hornbostel–Sachs designations. These categories should also all be in Category:Hornbostel–Sachs, and with a sortkey of the designation, so for example Category:Idiophones contains and Category:Concussion idiophones contains. This is an exception to the more normal case of diffusion, see WP:DUPCAT.

On the other hand, not all Hornbostel–Sachs designations should have categories. Friction idiophones, for example, contains a designation 131.21 Friction sticks without direct friction and we currently have no articles on any instrument with this designation. Where there are fewer than two examples to categorise, a category is pointless, even counterproductive; Where there are exactly two it is borderline, but remembering that all Hornbostel–Sachs designations do have at least one member even if Wikipedia has no article on it yet, a category with two members will probably have a third before too long. Category:Shaken idiophones or rattles has only two members at the time of writing but there are many notable instruments with this designation. Large and important designations should all have their own categories, and also articles.

Small and even empty designations may however belong in the article space. A redirect to a section in the lowest-level article on a Hornbostel–Sachs designation that includes the small or empty designation is helpful, for example friction stick redirects to Friction idiophones, but a category is not.

It is also important to note that not all of the subcategories of categories with Hornbostel–Sachs designations will themselves have Hornbostel–Sachs designations. Category:Membranophones corresponds to Hornbostel–Sachs designation 2, but its subcategories Category:Drums, Category:African drums and Category:Hand drums do not correspond to any Hornbostel–Sachs designation.

Other classifications
this section possibly needs expansion