Drum

Encyclopedia : D : DR : DRU : Drum

For other uses, see Drum (disambiguation)}}}.

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

Several American Indian-style drums for sale at the National Museum of the American Indian.

A drum is a musical instrument in the percussion family, technically classified as a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drumskin, 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. Drums are among the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years.

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), truncated cones (bongo drums), 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 or other membrane, called a head, 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 tubular shell often have a small hole halfway between the two drumheads; 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 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. 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 a manner in which it is struck.

Within 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. Drums are played by percussionists whose skills can be called for in all areas of music, from Classical to Heavy Rock, and all points in between. Many drummers are also adept at playing both the drum set and a set of hand drums for added musical variety.

In the past, drums were used not only for their musical qualities, but also as a means of communication. They are sometimes used for sending 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.- see drum (communication).

See also