#The drumline free skin#

Exceptions include the African slit drum, also known as a log drum as it is made from a hollowed-out tree trunk, and the Caribbean steel drum, made from a metal barrel. 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.

#The drumline free skin#

Single-headed drums typically consist of a skin stretched over an enclosed space, or over one of the ends of a hollow vessel. Other shapes include a frame design ( tar, Bodhrán), truncated cones ( bongo drums, Ashiko), goblet shaped ( djembe), and joined truncated cones ( talking drum).ĭrums with cylindrical shells can be open at one end (as is the case with timbales), or can have two drum heads, one head on each end. In the Western musical tradition, the most usual shape is a cylinder, although timpani, for example, use bowl-shaped shells. 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 popular music and jazz, 'drums' usually refers to a drum kit or a set of drums (with some cymbals, or in the case of harder rock music genres, many cymbals), and ' drummer' to the person who plays them.ĭrums acquired even divine status in places such as Burundi, where the karyenda was a symbol of the power of the king. Drums are often used in music therapy, especially hand drums, because of their tactile nature and easy use by a wide variety of people. In many traditional cultures, drums have a symbolic function and are used in religious ceremonies. In jazz, some drummers use brushes for a smoother, quieter sound. A wide variety of sticks are used, including wooden sticks and sticks with soft beaters of felt on the end. A number of different drums together with cymbals form the basic modern drum kit.ĭrums are usually played by striking with the hand, a beater attached to a pedal, or with one or two sticks with or without padding. Others are normally played in a set of two or more, all played by the one player, such as bongo drums and timpani. ĭrums may be played individually, with the player using a single drum, and some drums such as the djembe are almost always played in this way. Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years.

Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll. There is usually a resonant head on the underside of the drum.

Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a percussion mallet, to produce sound. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments.