The
drum is a member of the
percussion group of music instruments,
technically classified as a
membranophone. 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.
Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such
as the "
Thumb roll". 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. A few such as
timpani are always tuned to a certain pitch.
Often, several drums are arranged together to create a
drum kit.
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. 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. 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.
Exceptions include the African slit drum, made from a hollowed-out
tree trunk, and the
Caribbean steel drum,
made from a metal barrel. 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.
On modern
band and
orchestral drums, the drumhead is placed over the
opening of the drum, which in turn is held onto the shell by a
"counterhoop" (or "rim), which is then held by means of a number of
tuning screws called "tension rods" which screw into lugs placed
evenly around the circumference. 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, counterhoop material, 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 system rarely used today,
although sometimes seen on regimental marching band snare
drums.
Sound of a drum
Several factors determine the sound a drum produces, including the
type, shape and construction of the drum shell, the type of
drum heads it has, and the tension of
these drumheads. Different drum sounds have different uses in
music. Take, for example, the modern
Tom-tom drum. 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. Since these
drummers want different sounds, their drums will be constructed a
little differently.
The drum head has the most effect on how a drum sounds. Each type
of drum head serves its own musical purpose and has its own unique
sound. Thicker drum heads are lower-pitched and can be very
loud. Drum heads with a white
plastic coating on them muffle the
overtones of the drum head slightly, producing a
less diverse
pitch. Drum heads with
central silver or black dots tend to muffle the overtones even
more. And drum heads with
perimeter sound
rings mostly eliminate overtones (Howie 2005). Some jazz drummers
avoid using thick drum heads, preferring single ply drum heads or
drum heads with no muffling. Rock drummers often prefer the thicker
or coated drum heads.
The second biggest factor affecting the sound produced by a drum is
the tension at which the drum head is held against the shell of the
drum. When the hoop is placed around the drum head and shell and
tightened down with tension rods, 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.
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. The larger the
diameter of the shell, the lower the pitch
wholesome sound while
mahogany raises the
frequency of low pitches and keeps higher frequencies at about the
same speed. 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 hand, 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.
Within the realm of
popular music and
jazz, "drums" usually refers to a
drum kit or a set of drums (with some
cymbals) and "
drummer" to the
actual band member or person who plays them.
History
Animal drumming
Macaque monkeys drum objects in a
rhythmic way to show
social
dominance and this has been shown to be processed in a similar
way in their brains to vocalizations suggesting an evolutionary
origin to drumming as part of social communication. Other
primates make drumming sounds by chest beating or
hand clapping, and
rodents such as
kangaroo rats also make similar sounds using
their paws on the ground.
Talking drums
In the past drums have been used not only for their musical
qualities, but also as a means of
communication, especially through
signals. The
talking drums of Africa
can imitate the inflections and pitch variations of a spoken
language and are used for
communicating over great distances. 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.
Military uses
Chinese troops used
tàigǔ drums to
motivate troops, to help set a marching pace, and to call out
orders or announcements .
Fife-and-drum corps of Swiss
mercenary
foot soldiers also used drums. 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). It is
to this instrument that the English word "drum" was first used.
Similarly, during the
English Civil
War rope-tension drums would be carried by junior officers as a
means to relay commands from senior officers over the noise of
battle. These were also hung over the shoulder of the drummer and
typically played with two drum sticks. Different
regiments and companies would have distinctive and
unique drum beats which only they would recognize.
Types of drum
See also
References
- Howie. 2005. Tuning. Retrieved on: April 22, 2005.
- Johnson. 1999. Drum Woods. Retrieved on: April 22, 2005.
External links
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