Drum
The drum is a member of the
Drums may be played individually, with the player using a single drum, and some drums such as the
Uses
Drums are usually played by striking with the hand, a beater attached to a pedal, or with one or two sticks with or without padding. A wide variety of sticks are used, including wooden sticks and sticks with soft beaters of felt on the end. In jazz, some drummers use brushes for a smoother, quieter sound. In many traditional cultures, drums have a symbolic function and are 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.[2] In the 2000s, drums have also been used as a way to engage in aerobic exercise and is called cardio drumming.[3][4]
In
Drums acquired even divine status in places such as Burundi, where the karyenda was a symbol of the power of the king.
Construction
The shell almost always 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
A drum contains cylindrical shells can be open at one end (as is the case with
On modern
Prior to the invention of tension rods, drum skins were attached and tuned by rope systems—as on the Djembe—or pegs and ropes such as on Ewe drums. These methods are rarely used today, though sometimes appear on regimental marching band snare drums.[1] The head of a talking drum, for example, can be temporarily tightened by squeezing the ropes that connect the top and bottom heads. Similarly, the tabla is tuned by hammering a disc held in place around the drum by ropes stretching from the top to bottom head. Orchestral timpani can be quickly tuned to precise pitches by using a foot pedal.
Sounds
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. For example, the modern
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. Double-ply drumheads dampen high frequency harmonics because they are heavier and they are suited to heavy playing.[5] Drum heads with a white, textured 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, while drum heads with perimeter sound rings mostly eliminate overtones. 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 that affects drum sound is head tension against the shell. 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. The larger the depth of the drum, the louder the volume. Shell thickness also determines the volume of drums. Thicker shells produce louder drums. 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.
History
The bronze Dong Son drum was fabricated by the Bronze Age Dong Son culture of northern Vietnam. They include the ornate Ngoc Lu drum.
Animal drumming
Talking drums
Drums are used not only for their musical qualities, but also as a means of communication over great distances. The talking drums of Africa are used to imitate the tone patterns of spoken language. 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.
Drums in art
Drumming may be a purposeful expression of emotion for entertainment, spiritualism and communication. Many cultures practice drumming as a spiritual or religious passage and interpret drummed rhythm similarly to spoken language or prayer. Drumming has developed over millennia to be a powerful art form. Drumming is commonly viewed as the root of music and is sometimes performed as a kinesthetic dance. As a discipline, drumming concentrates on training the body to punctuate, convey and interpret musical rhythmic intention to an audience and to the performer.
Military uses
Chinese troops used
During pre-Columbian warfare, Aztec nations were known to have used drums to send signals to the battling warriors. The Nahuatl word for drum is roughly translated as huehuetl.[12]
The
Types
- Aburukuwa
- Ashiko
- Atumpan
- Bara
- Bass drum
- Batá
- Bedug
- Bodhrán
- Bongo drums
- Bougarabou
- Buk
- Cajón
- Candombe drums
- Chalice drum
- Chenda
- Cocktail drum
- Conga
- Crowdy-crawn
- Darbuka
- Damphu
- Davul
- Dayereh
- Dhak
- Dhimay
- Dhol
- Dholak
- Djembe
- Dong Son drum
- Doumbek
- Dunun
- Ewe drums
- Fontomfrom
- Frame drum
- Goblet drum
- Hand drum
- Idakka
- Ilimba drum
- Karyenda
- Kendang
- Kpanlogo
- Lambeg drum
- Log drum
- Madal
- Mridangam
- Pahu
- Pakhavaj
- Repinique
- Side drum (marching snare drum)
- Slit drum
- Snare drum
- Surdo
- Tabor
- Tamborim
- Tambourine
- Taiko
- Tabla
- Talking drum
- Tassa (Tasha drum)
- Tapan
- Tar
- Tavil
- Tenor drum
- Timbales
- Timpani
- Tombak
- Tom-tom drum
- Tongue drum
- Zabumba
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.
- ^ Weiss, Rick (July 5, 1994). "Music Therapy". The Washington Post. No. Jul 5, 1994. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Loncaric, Denis (2022-02-22). "What is Cardio Drumming?". DRUM! Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ "Cardio Drumming: Lose Weight While Playing Drums?". Drumming Review. 2019-04-27. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ Drum Lessons - Drumbook.org
- ISBN 0-521-01064-0, p. 123
- PMID 19805199.
- S2CID 8141024.
- S2CID 24427744.
- S2CID 198156546.
- ^ Chatto, Allan (1996). "Brief History of Drumming". cadre-online.ca. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010.
- ^ Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. (2006). [Handbook to Life In the Aztec World]
- ISBN 978-0-933224-61-2. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-6669-0089-7. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
External links
- Learn to Play Drums at Wikibooks
- Quotations related to Drum at Wikiquote
- Media related to Drums at Wikimedia Commons
- The dictionary definition of drum at Wiktionary
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). 1911. .
- Drums (Polish folk musical instruments)
- Drum resources at Curlie