Drums: Types and How They Work

• Percussion instruments and rhythm were used in new ways in both classical music and the emerging popular music in the 20th century.
• Drums are percussion instruments used worldwide since prehistoric times in all shapes and sizes.
• Membranophones produce sound when a stretched membrane is struck.

How Drums Work

• A drum makes a sound via a membrane stretched over the drum body.
• Striking the membrane causes vibrations that produce sound.
• Pegs can stretch or loosen the membrane, changing the sound.

Drum Kit

• Drum kits, such as those from the 1930s, include drums and cymbals.
• Drummers use beaters or brushes and operate pedals with their feet (for bass drum and hi-hat cymbals).

Types of Drums

• Tsuzumi (c.7th century, Japan): An hourglass-shaped drum tapped with hands, and pitch is altered by squeezing cords.
• Rattle Drum (prehistoric, North America): Contains dried seeds inside, is used by Indigenous peoples during ceremonies.
• Tabor (13th century, Europe): A two-headed drum tapped with drumsticks, popular in military bands.
• Timpani (13th century, Middle East): Orchestral percussion instruments, also called kettle drums, with a foot pedal system to adjust membrane tension and pitch.
• Darbuka (ancient, Middle East): A goblet-shaped drum played with hands, used in ceremonies, festivities, and celebrations.
• Bongos (19th century, Cuba): Two attached single-headed drums of different sizes, used in Latin American music like salsa.
• Pellet Drum (date unknown, Asia): Half drum, half rattle, used as a toy or by street vendors to attract attention.
• West Indian Steel Drum (1930s, Trinidad): A metal drum with different areas for different notes, can be used to play a tune.

Blues Music

• Blues music originated from the folk music of enslaved Black people in the southern states of the US.
• Blues songs are emotional and feature sad themes with simple tunes typically based on three chords.
• This genre influenced the development of jazz, rock, and R&B music.

Origin of the Blues

• Enslaved people used field hollers and work songs to communicate and keep time in the fields.
• African call-and-response form was used, where a lead singer sang a melody line and others responded.
• They expressed suffering and hope through spiritual songs, combining African rhythms/harmonies with Christian songs.
• Variations of melody lines were repeated through humming, clapping, and altering the pace.

The Evolution of Blues Music

• In 1895, the first Black American recording was made with George W. Johnson's "Laughing Song".
• It was promoted as race music during racial segregation.
• W.C. Handy wrote some of the first folk blues music after being influenced by a man playing slide guitar.
• In 1862, the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in the US, after which they traveled, spreading their music.
• Ma Rainey, traveling in a minstrel group, recorded classic blues music in the 1920s.
• Regional styles of blues developed as singers moved around the US, with electric guitars replacing acoustic guitars.

Country Blues Styles

• Delta Blues: Charley Patton played loudly on acoustic slide guitar, singing in a rough voice about hard times.
• Texas Blues: Blind Lemon Jefferson played with a relaxed, swing feel, using a high-pitched voice and guitar solos.
• New Orleans Blues: Professor Longhair played upbeat, cheerful Caribbean rhythms via piano or horn
• Louisiana Blues: Lightnin' Slim played a style of blues with laid-back, simple guitar and slow rhythms, making the music feel dark and foreboding.
• Piedmont Blues: Blind Boy Fuller performed finger-picking methods, having syncopated, ragtime rhythms.
• Chicago Blues: Muddy Waters amplified his guitar to play the Delta blues, accompanied by drums, bass, piano, and saxophone.
• Blues Rock: Howlin' Wolf combined three-chord blues with boogie rhythms and rock-and-roll style.
• Soul Blues: Ray Charles created soul music by combining R&B, gospel, and traditional blues elements.

Explore the world of drums, percussion instruments used globally since prehistoric times. Learn how drums produce sound through vibrating membranes and discover various types, including the Japanese tsuzumi, Native American rattle drum, and European tabor. Discover the components of a standard drum kit.