Bass drum made from wood, rope, and cowskin

The drum is a member of the percussion group, technically classified as a membranophone. A membranophone is any Musical instrument which produces Sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of implement such as a drumstick, to produce sound. The skin is the outer covering of living tissue of an animal (or plant A drumhead is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a Drum. Sound' is Vibration transmitted through a Solid, Liquid, or Gas; particularly sound means those vibrations composed of Frequencies Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years. Most drums are considered "untuned instruments", however many modern musicians are beginning to tune drums to songs; Terry Bozzio has constructed a kit using diatonic and chromatically tuned drums. Terry John Bozzio ( December 27, 1950) is an American Drummer best known for his work with the late Frank Zappa. A few such as timpani are always tuned to a certain pitch. Timpani (also known colloquially as kettledrums or kettle drums) are Musical instruments in the percussion family Often, several drums are arranged together to create a drum set that can be played by one musician with all four limbs. A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells

Construction

The shell almost invariably has a circular opening over which the drumhead is stretched, but the shape of the remainder of the shell varies widely. In the western musical tradition, the most usual shape is a cylinder, although timpani, for example, use bowl-shaped shells. A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes the Surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given Straight line, the axis Timpani (also known colloquially as kettledrums or kettle drums) are Musical instruments in the percussion family Other shapes include a frame design (tar, Bodhrán), truncated cones (bongo drums, Ashiko), goblet shaped (djembe), and joined truncated cones (talking drum),

Drums with cylindrical shells can be open at one end (as is the case with timbales), or can have two drum heads. A tar ( Arabic: طار) is a single-headed Frame drum. The tar comes from North Africa and the Middle East. The bodhrán (ˈbɔːrɑːn or /ˈbaʊrɑːn/ plural bodhráns or bodhráin) is an Irish Frame drum ranging from 25 to 65cm (10" An ashiko is a kind of Drum shaped like a truncated cone and meant to be played with bare hands The goblet drum (also chalice drum) is a goblet shaped Hand drum used mostly in Arabic, Assyrian, Persian, Balkan, A djembe (ˈdʒɛmbeɪ JEM-bay) also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe, or sanbanyi in Susu is a skin covered The talking drum is a West African Drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that it is said the drum " talks " Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow single-headed Drums shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned Single-headed drums normally consist of a skin which is stretched over an enclosed space, or over one of the ends of a hollow vessel. Drums with two heads covering both ends of a cylindrical shell often have a small hole somewhat halfway between the two heads; the shell forms a resonating chamber for the resulting sound. In Physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to Oscillate at maximum Amplitude at certain frequencies, known as the system's Exceptions include the African slit drum, made from a hollowed-out tree trunk, and the Caribbean steel drum, made from a metal barrel. Steelpans (also known as steeldrums or pans, and sometimes collectively with Musicians as a steelband) is a Musical instrument and Drums with two heads can also have a set of wires, called snares, held across the bottom head, top head, or both heads, hence the name snare drum. The snare drum is a Drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire metal cable plastic cable or gut cords stretched across the a drumhead typically

On modern band and orchestral drums, the drumhead is affixed to a hoop (also called a "rim"), which in turn is held onto the shell by a "counterhoop", which is then held by means of a number of tuning screws called "tension rods" (also known as lugs) placed regularly around the circumference. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well Look up SpecialSearch/{{lcscrew}}}}}|{{{2|{{{1|screw}}}}}} The head's tension can be adjusted by loosening or tightening the rods. Many such drums have six to ten tension rods. The sound of a drum depends on several variables, including shape, size and thickness of its shell, materials from which the shell was made, type of drumhead used and tension applied to it, position of the drum, location, and the velocity and angle in which it is struck.

Prior to the invention of tension rods drum skins were attached and tuned by rope systems such as that used on the Djembe or pegs and ropes such as that used on Ewe Drums. A djembe (ˈdʒɛmbeɪ JEM-bay) also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe, or sanbanyi in Susu is a skin covered Ewe music is the Music of the Ewe people of West Africa. Instrumentation is primarily percussive and rhythmically the music

Drum carried by John Unger, Company B, 40th Regiment New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Mozart Regiment, December 20, 1863

Sound of a drum

Several factors determine the sound a drum produces, including the type of shell the drum has, the type of drumheads it has, and the tension of the drumheads. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 1863 ( MDCCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A drumhead is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a Drum. Different drum sounds have different uses in music. For example, a jazz drummer may want drums that sound crisp, clean, and a little on the soft side, whereas a rock and roll drummer may prefer drums that sound loud and deep. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African Because these drummers want different sounds, their drums will be constructed differently.

The drumhead has the most effect on how a drum sounds. Each type of drumhead serves its own musical purpose and has its own unique sound. Thicker drumheads are lower-pitched and can be very loud. LOUD (LCSEE Optimized Ubuntu Distribution is a modified version of the Ubuntu Linux Distribution used within West Virginia University 's Computer Science department Drumheads with a white plastic coating on them muffle the overtones of the drumhead slightly, producing a less diverse pitch. Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products An overtone is a natural resonance or vibration frequency of a system Pitch represents the perceived Fundamental frequency of a sound Drumheads with central silver or black dots tend to muffle the overtones even more. And drumheads with perimeter sound rings mostly eliminate overtones (Howie 2005). The perimeter is the distance around a given two-dimensional object Some jazz drummers avoid using thick drumheads, preferring double ply drumheads or drumheads with perimeter sound rings. Rock drummers often prefer the thicker or coated drumheads.

The second biggest factor affecting the sound produced by a drum is the tension at which the drumhead is held against the shell of the drum. When the hoop is placed around the drumhead and shell and tightened down with bolts, the tension of the head can be adjusted. When the tension is increased, the amplitude of the sound is reduced and the frequency is increased, making the pitch higher and the volume lower. Amplitude is the magnitude of change in the oscillating variable with each Oscillation, within an oscillating system Frequency is a measure of the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit Time.

The type of shell also affects the sound of a drum. Because the vibrations resonate in the shell of the drum, the shell can be used to increase the volume and to manipulate the type of sound produced. In Physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to Oscillate at maximum Amplitude at certain frequencies, known as the system's The larger the diameter of the shell, the lower the pitch of the drum will be. Geometry, a diameter of a Circle is any straight Line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose Endpoints are on the The type of wood is important as well. Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Birch generates a bright, crisp, and clean sound, maple reproduces the frequency of the drumhead as it resonates and has a warm, wholesome sound while mahogany raises the frequency of low pitches and keeps higher frequencies at about the same speed. Birch is the name of any Tree of the genus Betula ( Bé-tu-la) in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the Acer ( maple) is a Genus of Trees or Shrubs They are variously classified in a family of their own the Aceraceae, or The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored wood originally the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West When choosing a set of shells, a jazz drummer may want smaller maple shells, while a rock drummer may want larger birch shells. For more information about tuning drums or the physics of a drum, visit the external links listed below.

Uses

Drums are usually played by the hands, or by one or two sticks. In many traditional cultures drums have a symbolic function and are often used in religious ceremonies. Drums are often used in music therapy, especially hand drums, because of their tactile nature and easy use by a wide variety of people. Music therapy is an interpersonal process in which the therapist uses music and all of its facets&mdashphysical emotional mental social aesthetic and spiritual&mdashto help clients to improve ^[1]

Within the realm of popular music and jazz, "drums" usually refers to a drum kit or a set of drums, and "drummer" to the actual band member or person who plays them. Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells A drummer is a Musician who plays a Drum or drums particularly a Drum kit ("drum set" or "trap set" Marching percussion

History

Handscroll detail of a Chinese percussionist playing a drum for a dancing woman, from a 12th century remake of Gu Hongzhong's 10th century original, Song Dynasty. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Gu Hongzhong ( Chinese: 顾闳中 Pinyin: Gù Hóngzhōng 937-975 was a Chinese painter during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of Chinese history The Song Dynasty ( Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao was a ruling dynasty in China between 960&ndash1279 CE it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

The earliest known drum-like instrument is from Mezhirich, near Kiev, Ukraine, and dates back to approximately 15,000 years ago. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. The instrument was found at the site of the oldest known house, constructed of mammoth bones. They were found in 1965 by a farmer digging a new basement six feet below the ground. The drum-like instrument is a hollow mammoth skull with signs of wear from being hit by mammoth bones decorated with red paint. ^[2]

In the past drums have been used not only for their musical qualities, but also as a means of communication, especially through signals. Developed and used by Cultures living in Forested areas drums served as an early form of long distance Communication, and were used during ceremonial The talking drums of Africa can imitate the inflections and pitch variations of a spoken language and are used for communicating over great distances. The talking drum is a West African Drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that it is said the drum " talks " Communication is the process of conveying information from a sender to a receiver with the use of a medium in which the communicated information is understood the same way Throughout Sri Lankan history drums have been used for communication between the state and the community, and Sri Lankan drums have a history stretching back over 2500 years. Traditionally the recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries Japanese troops used Taiko drums to motivate troops, to help set a marching pace, and to call out orders or announcements. means " Drum " in Japanese (etymologically "great" or "wide drum" Fife-and-drum corps of Swiss mercenary foot soldiers also used drums. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation They used an early version of the snare drum carried over the player's right shoulder, suspended by a strap (typically played with one hand using traditional grip). The snare drum is a Drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire metal cable plastic cable or gut cords stretched across the a drumhead typically Traditional grip (also known as Orthodox grip) is a technique used to hold Drum sticks while playing Percussion instruments Unlike Matched grip It is to this instrument that English word "drum" was first used.

Notes

• Howie. 2005. Tuning. Available from: <http://www.drummingweb.com/tuning.htm#Heads> via the worldwide web. Accessed 2005 Apr 22.
• Johnson. 1999. Drum Woods. Available from: <http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/id14.html> via the worldwide web. Accessed 2005 Apr 22.

See also

Several American Indian-style drums for sale at the National Museum of the American Indian. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is a museum dedicated to the life languages literature history and arts of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere

• Blast beat
• Double drumming
• Drum beat
• Drum circle
• Drum kit
• Drumline
• Drum machine
• Drum replacement
• Drummer
• Hearing the shape of a drum
• Gallop
• List of drummers
• Musical instrument
• Practice pad
• Percussive Arts Society
• Drumsticks
• electric drums

Types of drum

External links

• Drums My Life—the largest drum forum. A blast beat is a drum beat often associated with Grindcore, although its usage predates the genre and has spread to many other forms of Extreme metal. Double drumming (or double drums as it is sometimes referred to is a musical technique used mostly in Rock music, where two drummers play two Drum kits Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός - rhythmos, "any measured flow or movement symmetry" is the variation of the length and accentuation of A drum circle is any group of people playing (usually hand-drums and percussion in a Circle. A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells A drumline or drum line is a section of Percussion instruments usually played as part of a musical marching ensemble For the early "drum machine" computers that used a rotating cylinder as their main memory see Drum memory A drum machine is an Drum replacement is the practice in modern music production of an engineer or producer recording a live drummer and replacing (or adding to the sound of a particular drum with a pre-recorded A drummer is a Musician who plays a Drum or drums particularly a Drum kit ("drum set" or "trap set" Marching percussion To hear the shape of a drum is to infer information about the shape of the Drumhead from the sound it makes i A gallop is a drum beat typically used in Metal songs mostly using a double kick pedal (but can also be played with a single pedal This is a list of notable Drummers, mostly in the fields of metal, rock, and Jazz. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. A practice pad is a type of percussion pad used by drummers for rehearsal and training An electronic drum is a Percussion instrument in which the sound is generated by an electronic waveform generator or sampler instead of by acoustic vibration Aburukuwa is an open Drum from Ghana that is also found in the Ugandan Akan community An ashiko is a kind of Drum shaped like a truncated cone and meant to be played with bare hands A bass drum is a large Drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The bodhrán (ˈbɔːrɑːn or /ˈbaʊrɑːn/ plural bodhráns or bodhráin) is an Irish Frame drum ranging from 25 to 65cm (10" A Bougarabou (alternative spelling “Boucarabou” is a set of Drums commonly used in West Africa. A cajón (ka'xɔn (plural Cajones not cajons (Spanish for 'crate' 'drawer' or 'box' is a kind of box Drum played by slapping the front face (generally thin plywood with "Chene" redirects here This is also a peculiar cactus Species, Polaskia chende. The conga is tall narrow single-headed Cuban Drum of African origin probably derived from the Congolese Makuta drums or Sikulu Names A large double-headed Drum with many names depending on the country and region some of which include davul (davul daul The dhol (ਢੋਲ ڈھول; ढोल ڈھول) dohol ( دهل) is a Drum (a percussion Musical instrument A djembe (ˈdʒɛmbeɪ JEM-bay) also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe, or sanbanyi in Susu is a skin covered Dong Son drums (also called Heger Type I drums) are Bronze Drums fabricated by the Dong Son culture, in the Red River Delta of northern This article is about the Mande bass drum For the West African talking drum see Dundun. Ewe music is the Music of the Ewe people of West Africa. Instrumentation is primarily percussive and rhythmically the music The goblet drum (also chalice drum) is a goblet shaped Hand drum used mostly in Arabic, Assyrian, Persian, Balkan, A hand drum is any type of Drum that is typically played with the bare Hand rather than a Stick, Mallet, Hammer, or other type of Kpanlogo is a type of Drum that is associated with Kpanlogo music A log drum is a type of unpitched Percussion instrument that creates its resonance with two tongues that are carved into a hollow box The mridangam (மிருதங்கம் is a Percussion instrument from India, especially South India. The snare drum is a Drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire metal cable plastic cable or gut cords stretched across the a drumhead typically A slit drum is a hollow Percussion instrument, usually of Bamboo or wood which is made more Resonant through one or more slits in it The snare drum is a Drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire metal cable plastic cable or gut cords stretched across the a drumhead typically Steelpans (also known as steeldrums or pans, and sometimes collectively with Musicians as a steelband) is a Musical instrument and Tabor, or tabret, refers to a portable Snare drum played with one hand The tambourine or Marine is a Musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame often of wood or plastic with pairs of small metal jingles means " Drum " in Japanese (etymologically "great" or "wide drum" This article is about the Indian drum For the drum with the same name in Arabic, see Goblet drum. The talking drum is a West African Drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that it is said the drum " talks " Names A large double-headed Drum with many names depending on the country and region some of which include davul (davul daul A tar ( Arabic: طار) is a single-headed Frame drum. The tar comes from North Africa and the Middle East. A tenor drum is a cylindrical drum which is higher pitched than a Bass drum. Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow single-headed Drums shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned Timpani (also known colloquially as kettledrums or kettle drums) are Musical instruments in the percussion family A tom-tom (not to be confused with a Tamtam) is a cylindrical Drum with no snare.
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