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Monday, August 24, 2009

The Ancient And Celebrated History Of The Drum

By Jim Samposzi

The history of the drum goes way back in time. People played them to generate sounds as far back in time as 6000 B.C. In these old cultures, like the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas, drums were a huge part of celebrations and gatherings of large ethnic groups. Drums were dug up in many mountains of these ancient burial areas by scientists and discoverers.

Many individuals figure that it is the stock of the drum that is responsible for making sound. But, it is not; it is the tightly held fabric over the top, sometimes referred to as the membrane, that makes the noise. The sound is triggered by impact from a stick or other object. When the drum is drummed on, the membrane vibrates and noise produced is sent through the hollow of the drum. The Indians actually used real wooden sticks to hit the drum with during rituals and special times.

In the 1900's, drums began to be further enhanced, and in time, the drum set was born. A drum set includes: a tom-tom, cymbals, snare drums, and bass drums (one of them has a foot pedal to beat the drum from. Other percussion 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 popular in the 30's up to the 50's, then drum kits similar to the types described above were a vital component of musical groups. You were left in the dust if you were without drums.

Like many other types of media and sensory objects, drums became digitized for more enhancement. Digital instruments, such as keyboards, synthesizers, and drum machines provide the ability for someone to make their own drum sounds. These sounds created from synthesizers were unique and could not be produced from a physical set of drums. Therefore, modern music employed these include these synthesizers in its repertoire of instruments.

Drums weren't just used for tunes. In fact, people of other continents used to play them to send communications. A series of drum tones would signal something that others in the tribe would understand. Drums furthermore remained as a symbol of religion for Native Americans and people around the world. Most referred to drums as a male and so gave them to male children when they became of age as a rite of passage.

The drum produces a sound like instruments of no other kinds. Drums have been played in different types of music, such as: rock and roll, jazz, blues, classical music, and other music groups. Next time you are attending a concert of music, look around the stage and you can view a drum or arrangement of drums of a number of different styles. These instruments are good for percussion and low tones; because of this, these instruments can be a perfect addition to a concert or band of any kind. - 18780

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