15/11/2012
If you love the drums this is a must read for you.......
Facts about the drum sets.... A drum is a musical instrument which produces sound by the vibration of a stretched membrane. The membrane, which is known as the head, covers one or both ends of a hollow body known as the shell. Instruments that produce sound by means of a vibrating membrane are also known as membranophones. Drums are part of the larger category of musical devices known as percussion instruments. Percussion instruments other than membranophones are known as idiophones. Idiophones, such as bells and cymbals, produce sound by the vibration of the instrument itself rather than by an attached membrane.
Drums exist in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The two basic shapes for shells are bowls and tubes. The most familiar bowl shaped drums in Western music are kettledrums, also known as timpani. Tubular drums may be taller than they are wide, such as conga drums, or shorter than they are wide. Short drums, also known as shallow drums, are the most common tubular drums used in Western music. Shallow drums include snare drums, tenor drums, and bass drums. If a tubular drum is so shallow that the shell does not resonate, it is known as a frame drum. The most familiar type of frame drum is the tambourine.
Drums are usually played by being struck. Some drums, such as bongo drums, are designed to be played by striking them directly with the hand. In modern Western music, most drums are designed to be played by being struck with various devices known as beaters. The most familiar beaters are wooden sticks, generally used to play smaller drums such as snare drums, and padded wooden mallets, used to play larger drums such as bass drums. Sometimes drums are struck with wire brushes or other types of beaters to produce a different sound. Depending on the genre of music being played at that moment.