triangle
A steel rod bent into a triangular shape, struck with a metal beater, producing a bright, shimmering tone used as an orchestral percussion instrument.
In Depth
The triangle is deceptively simple in appearance but remarkably difficult to play well in an orchestral context. It consists of a steel bar bent into an open triangle shape, suspended by a gut or nylon string, and struck with a metal beater. Depending on where and how it is struck, it can produce anything from a barely audible shimmer to a penetrating, cutting tone that slices through a full orchestra.
Despite its apparent simplicity, orchestral triangle parts require exquisite control of dynamics, rhythm, and damping. Liszt gave the triangle a famous solo in his Piano Concerto No. 1, which critics mockingly dubbed "the Triangle Concerto." Brahms used it to transformative effect in his Fourth Symphony. In Turkish military bands (mehter), the triangle (along with cymbals and bass drum) was part of the "Turkish" percussion that influenced Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.
Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 was sarcastically nicknamed "the Triangle Concerto" by critics because of its prominent triangle solo — Liszt was furious at the mockery.