Let me preface all this by saying, this is an opinion, not official. As a lot of musicians argue this both ways, I felt the need to write about my opinion, reasoning, and some commentary. All my research was done in a very casual setting and is only meant to support my opinion.
The Wrong Side
A percussion instrument is defined as an instrument that is struck to create sound (Percussion Family of Instruments: What Instruments Are in the Percussion Family?, 2022). A piano, as many of us know, uses hammers to strike strings and create that beautiful sound that is so familiar to us all. So, in a sense this is the perfect dictionary definition of a percussion instrument, right? Well, we can discuss that in the next section. If you need a spoiler though; it is not a percussion instrument.
The Right Side
My biggest reasoning behind not believing the piano is a percussion instrument is due to the fact that it has more strings than any other instrument in the modern orchestra (Percussion Family of Instruments: What Instruments Are in the Percussion Family?, 2022). If we call it a percussion instrument, then we would need to call it a string instrument, and if that is the case, then we have a cat-dog situation in my eyes. Do we lean towards which one it is closest to? If that’s the case, there are twice as many strings as hammers in a piano making it a stringed instrument.
Another argument is from a player’s perspective. I have a degree in percussion performance, which means, I am highly trained in anything percussion-wise, and I generally agree with that. If you give me something that is truly a percussive instrument, I can play it at a pretty high level. However, if you put me on a piano and ask me to play it, I am going to make it sound like the most hideous disgusting thing in the world. My college piano proficiency is up to a fourth semester, or two-year ability, which was a requirement for me to graduate. If I wanted to become a pianist, I would have gone to school for a piano performance degree.
Think about the main interface of a piano, which is the black and white keys (Miller Piano Specialists, 2020). If this is the primary interaction for performers, then we need to include things such as synths, electric keyboards, and organs (Miller Piano Specialists, 2020). This opens up an entire argument that usually has no end.
Classification
So how do we classify this instrument if it is not a percussion instrument? That seems to be the argument and question from both ends. For me, why can it not just be the piano or keyboard family? There are plenty of different instruments in the world that share the same interface but function just a little differently. I can agree it needs to belong somewhere, so let’s put it in its own family along with these other keyboard-style instruments.
Conclusion
Again, this is all an opinion and nothing I say should change what the piano is to you. As a lifetime percussionist, I disagree with every argument that has been made stating piano is a percussion instrument. While this argument will never end, I think it is important to appreciate what this instrument is capable of as well as how important it is to the music world today.
References
Miller Piano Specialists. (2020, February 15). Is a piano a string or a percussion instrument? Miller Piano Specialists. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://millerps.com/piano-string-percussion-instrument/
Percussion Family of Instruments: What instruments are in the percussion family? (2022). Oregon Symphony. Retrieved August 20, 2022, from https://www.orsymphony.org/learning-community/instruments/percussion/
created for a long time. I never thought I would appreciate this music in my life, I was all about tonal music. I loved Listening to harmonies, leading tones and cadences. I sounded like the typical freshman music student, but it all changed. As I began preparing for a recital, I was introduced to a piece by Karlheinz Stockhausen called “Vibra-Elufa.” This is a Vibraphone solo and it is HARD! This is an A-Tonal solo that uses different 
what you might hear in the piece. The number one rule to listening to this music is to not have expectations. Expectations tend to lead you back to tonal music. This piece, in my mind, sounds fast with a lot of large intervals. Maybe the smallest interval is a major 3rd. If the interval is not bigger than a major 3rd I could see it being a chromatic run-up and down the instrument.
playing skills up to an intermediate level. The reason for this book is to help guide young musicians and educators in learning the details of snare drumming. Now, I know a lot of people are saying, “but you’re just a kid what makes this book different than others?” This book incorporates everything great from the staple snare drum books. It has everything!
is easy to make music on a marimba, xylophone, etc., but it is difficult to make music on the snare drum. Keyboard instruments make music when you strike a key, a snare drum just makes a “thud” sound. Learning the snare drum teaches you;
early stages of my career I relied solely on YouTube videos, Drum Forums, and a lot of method books. When I got my first full-time teaching job at a high school in south Tucson, I noticed 2 things that were not working right and affected their education. Their band director, who is truly a great musician and teacher, probably one of the best in the world, did not know how to play percussion. When I first came up with this idea it was with that program in mind. The one thing I wanted to do was help programs like that who have incredible directors, and all they need is the right tool.
more pages before I am completed so that means I have 10 pages to write.
these pieces is by studying the 
early stages of my career I relied solely on YouTube videos, Drum Forums, and a lot of method books. When I got my first full-time teaching job at a high school in south Tucson, I noticed 2 things that were not working right and affected their education. Their band director, who is truly a great musician and teacher, probably one of the best in the world, did not know how to play percussion. When I first came up with this idea it was with that program in mind. The one thing I wanted to do was help programs like that who have incredible directors, and all they need is the right tool.
them knew how to approach this technique. Most of them didn’t even know it had a name associated with it. So, my consensus was that maybe the reason high school percussionist do not know how to do this is that band directors do not know it exists! I even wrote out the different ways you can approach the three stroke ruff that way there is no confusion. Check it out for yourself!
represented themselves as well as their university in the best way. I did not get to talk to them much, but the few encounters I had with their members was just incredible.
stages of my career I relied solely on YouTube videos, Drum Forums, and a lot of method books. When I got my first full-time teaching job at a high school in south Tucson, I noticed 2 things that were not working right and affected their education. Their band director, who is truly a great musician and teacher, probably one of the best in the world, did not know how to play percussion. When I first came up with this idea it was with that program in mind. The one thing I wanted to do was help programs like that who have incredible directors, and all they need is the right tool.
see etudes as a way of learning, they can also be used as a piece of music. All the best percussionist learned through music, so why not create music while learning here? That was my approach to this etude. The first 5 etudes where to solidify technique, now its time to start playing music. This Etude goes between 9/8 and common time to help with transitions. It also uses very expressive dynamics. A lot of softs and louds. In the interpretation section, I wrote about playing zones on the drum. That can be a very weird topic for young players. Most players are taught to play just off center on the head and now we are talking about using the edge of the drum for expression. Any young player would be confused. The goal for this Etude is to be that bridge from beginner to intermediate drumming. This piece has hard rhythms in it, and that’s good! It also has easy rhythms, just adding ornaments such as grace notes, and accents. A lot is happening in this etude and that’s good! I wanted this to be a harder etude to learn.
handwritten notes. It is exciting because I wrote etude five in a 3/8 time signature, which is very fun and exciting! This etude reminds me a lot of a Delecluse etude, but for beginners. The reason I say that is because of how detailed I am making the interpretations. I made them so precise to the point of the exact start of a hairpin, and how long a dynamic should be maintained. It is extremely detailed. To put it into simpler terms.
divisions are chosen by pure talent level. The best units, within A class, would be in A National, A Local would follow, and then A Regional would be the beginning drumlines. Sahuarita is in their very first year in competition, so by default, they are listed into A Regional. Sabino is competing this season in A Local which is right above them.
Tyler J. Haley 