50 Fun Facts About Drums

In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification of instruments, what type of instrument is a drum?

Cymbals, by contrast, are idiophones - the oldest idiophones in music.

What is the stretched membrane that is struck on a drum called?

There is usually a resonant head on the underside as well.

On modern drums, the head is held on by a rim tightened by screws known as what?

They screw into lugs around the shell; most drums have six to ten of them.

Drums made with the skin of which animal have been found in Neolithic China, dating from 5500-2350 BC?

Literary records give early drums shamanistic and ritual roles.

The ornate bronze Dong Son drums were made by a Bronze Age culture in which modern country?

The Ngoc Lu drum is the most celebrated example.

What do the talking drums of Africa imitate in order to communicate over distance?

A talking drum's head is tightened by squeezing the ropes between its two heads.

In which country did the drum called the karyenda become a symbol of royal power?

Drums acquired near-divine status there.

Which primates have been shown to drum objects rhythmically to display social dominance?

Their brains process the drumming like vocalisations, hinting at an evolutionary root for drumming.

Which two effects does tightening a drumhead have on its sound?

Bigger diameters mean lower pitch; deeper and thicker shells mean more volume.

What was the drum kit initially called, a name that stuck to its players' job title into the 1930s?

'Trap' was short for the 'contraption' tray holding whistles, klaxons and cowbells.

In which city was the modern drum kit developed during the vaudeville era of the 1920s?

Drummers such as Baby Dodds, Zutty Singleton and Ray Bauduc fused marching rhythms with 'traps'.

Which brothers founded a company in 1909 and patented the first commercially successful bass drum pedal?

Foot-pedal experiments had begun in the 1840s but took 75 years to reach mass production.

Which early jazz drummer is credited with developing the ride cymbal technique and inspiring the hi-hat?

He asked William Ludwig to raise the new low-hat cymbal nine inches, creating the modern hi-hat.

Around which year did hi-hat stands become commercially available?

Before that, drummers tapped a foot-operated 'low-boy' to clash small cymbals.

What technological change around 1930 put thousands of theatre drummers out of work?

Drummers had provided the sound effects for silent films; some became Foley artists.

Which piece of the kit provides the backbeat, thanks to wires held under tension against its bottom head?

The top head is the batter head; the bottom is the snare head.

In a kit, the bass drum is commonly known by what other name?

The term arose once percussionists began playing it with their feet via a pedal.

Which drums, played without snares, are the most numerous in most kits and carry most fills and solos?

Floor toms are the widest and lowest; the number of toms defines a 'four-piece' or 'five-piece' kit.

What are the small, deep, narrow toms sometimes called 'rocket toms' or 'tube toms'?

They extend the tom range upwards in pitch.

What is the most common full-size drum kit configuration across pop, rock and jazz fusion?

Only the drums are counted; the cymbals come on top.

Which stick grip, with underhand left hand, came from side drums slung at an angle?

It remains more common among jazz drummers; matched grip dominates modern playing.

Which cymbal-making family firm has been in business since 1623?

Cymbals are mostly associated with Turkey and Turkish craftsmanship.

Which cymbal is used chiefly to keep a constant rhythm pattern, often 20-22 inches across?

Ringo Starr used a sizzle cymbal as a second ride during guitar solos in the 1960s.

What is a hi-hat?

Closing them with the pedal makes a 'chck' sound; they can also be struck open or closed.

What word does 'cymbal' ultimately come from?

Cymbals appear in reliefs from the Armenian Highlands, Babylon, Assyria and ancient Egypt.

Drumsticks are most commonly turned from which wood?

Maple is the next most common, and oak the third.

What did drummers begin using in 1912 as a quieter alternative to sticks?

Metal fly swatters were pressed into service later on.

What is a rimshot?

The cross-stick, by contrast, clicks the rim with a stick laid across the head.

The snare drum descends from which medieval drum, first used to accompany the flute?

The tabor had a single gut snare strung across the bottom.

What is another common name for timpani?

Their heads stretch over large bowls traditionally made of copper.

How are most modern timpani tuned quickly to precise pitches?

They became a staple of the classical orchestra by the last third of the 18th century.

In 1457 a Hungarian legation brought large timpani to the French court mounted on what?

Timpani and trumpets became the primary instruments of the cavalry.

The djembe is a rope-tuned goblet drum from which region?

Its head is untreated rawhide, most commonly goatskin.

According to the Bambara people of Mali, the name 'djembe' comes from a saying meaning what?

'Djé' is the verb to gather and 'bé' means peace.

Outside Japan, the word 'taiko' usually refers to what?

Inside Japan the word simply means any drum; ensemble taiko is called kumi-daiko.

Who developed kumi-daiko, ensemble taiko drumming, in 1951?

Ondekoza followed in 1961, and groups like Kodo copied the format.

The tabla has been the principal percussion instrument of which musical tradition since the 18th century?

The word likely comes from tabl, the Arabic for drum.

In a tabla pair, which drum produces the bass?

The smaller drum, played with the dominant hand, gives treble and tonal sounds.

What are the two drums of a pair of bongos called in Spanish?

They originated in eastern Cuba at the end of the 19th century and are held between the legs.

What is the continuous eight-stroke pattern played by a bongosero called?

It means 'hammer'.

Which is the highest-pitched, lead drum among the three types of Cuban conga?

Tres dos is the middle drum and tumba or salidor the lowest; congas are staved like barrels.

The bodhrán, the Irish frame drum, is traditionally headed with the skin of which animal?

One hand presses the inside of the head to control pitch; the drum may have evolved from the tambourine in the mid-19th century.

The steelpan is the national instrument of which country?

It grew out of Carnival percussion traditions such as Tamboo Bamboo in the 1930s and 40s.

From around 1947, steelpans were made from what?

TASPO, formed for the 1951 Festival of Britain, was the first band whose instruments were all made from oil drums.

Which date did the UN General Assembly declare World Steelpan Day in 2023?

Trinidad's parliament formally recognised the pan as the national instrument the following year.

What technique produces a sustained sound by dragging a digit across the head?

Most drums are struck with hands, a pedal beater, or one or two sticks.

What did Chinese armies use tàigǔ drums for, as at a battle between Qi and Lu in 684 BC?

Swiss mercenary fife-and-drum corps later used drums the same way.

Which cymbals are usually the kit's strongest accent markers, hit for climaxes and vocal entries?

The stroke is usually paired with a strong kick on the bass drum pedal, both for effect and to support the hit.

Which effects cymbal has holes cut into it for a darker, more resonant attack?

Many drummers also stack effects cymbals on top of one another for a short, sharp sound reminiscent of a hand clap.

Electronic drum pads rank where among MIDI performance controllers by usage?

Dedicated pads like the Roland Octapad and DrumKAT can be struck with sticks, unlike the small finger pads built into drum machines.