The Long And Superlative History Of The Drum
August 24th, 2009 by Jim Samposzi, under Music. No Comments
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The concept of the drum goes as far back as our earliest history. People used drums to produce sounds as far as 6000 B.C. In these old cultures, like the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas, the drum was a big part of society and was played during festivals and other events and gatherings. Drums were discovered in many caves and caverns in these ancient areas by researchers in later times.
Many people think that it is the main body of the drum that produces the sound. But, this is not the case – it is the pulled out fabric covering the top, called, the membrane, that produces the sound. The sound is produced when the top of the drum is whacked with a stick of some sort. When the drum is hit, the membrane vibrates and noise produced is sent through the hollow of the drum. The Indians actually made sticks to pound onto the instrument during rituals and festivities.
In the 1900’s, drums began to be further developed, and shortly thereafter, the drum set was born. A drum set consists of: a tom-tom, cymbals, snare drums, and bass drums (one of which has a foot pedal to produce the sound. Other procession instruments like bells, chimes, and wood blocks were incorporated with this collection to produce even more sounds to add to the overall melody of a song. These collections were introduced in the 1930’s and by the 1960,s, when rock took form, drum kits similar to the types described above were a vital component of musical groups. You were not taken seriously if you and your band did not have drums as apart of your arsenal of instruments.
Like other string-type instrument pieces, drums became digitized for further manipulation. Digital instruments, such as keyboards, synthesizers, and drum machines allow for the individual to fabricate their own beats. These sounds created from synthesizers were unique and were not emulated from set of drums. Therefore, modern music employed these machines to do the work for them.
Drums were not always used for melodies. In fact, people of other continents used to use them to communicate with each other. A series of hits would signal a certain sentence or command that others in the tribe can decipher. Drums furthermore remained as a symbol of the spirits for American Indian folks and people all over the world. Most believed this instrument to be a male and present them as an adolescent grows up.
The drum beats bass like no other. Drums have been beat in many classes of music, for instance: rock and roll, funk, blues, classical music, and many more genres. Next time you go to a concert of any kind, look in the band and you will notice a drum or set of drums of any type. These instruments are great for percussion and bass; because of this, these instruments can be a perfect addition to a concert or band of any kind.
