Percussion instrument dampening system

A percussion instrument dampening system for use with a percussion instrument, the system comprising:

• a dampening member having a surface adapted to selectively contact the striking surface of the percussion instrument to reduce vibration of the striking surface;
• a dampening member positioning mechanism adapted to move the dampening member between a dampening position and an undampening position;
• a strike detecting system adapted to detect a strike of the striking surface;
• and
• a controller adapted to receive a signal from the strike detecting system and to control the dampening member positioning mechanism in response to the signal,
• wherein when a strike is detected by the strike detecting system, the controller causes the dampening member positioning mechanism to move the dampening member from the dampening position to the undampening position.

A method of dampening a percussion instrument, the method comprising:

• providing a percussion instrument having a striking surface that can be struck to generate a sound;
• providing a dampening member in a dampening position where the dampening member contacts the striking surface to reduce vibration of the striking surface;
• detecting a strike of the striking surface;
• and
• in response to the detected strike, moving the dampening member to an undampening position.