MARCH TO THE BEAT OF YOUR OWN DRUM
By Stacey Kumagai
Drums have been used through history in all countries as a form of communication for meetings among groups of people, attack warnings in military, tribal ritual, religious ceremony, storytelling, honoring life and death, dance, as a musical entertainment art form and also as a form of health healing and therapy. They have been around as early as 6000 B.C.
There are all kinds of drums in drumming culture. Some of the earliest drums were created out of hollowed out tree logs.
African drums vary in size and shape. Djembe is an animal skin covered drum shaped like a goblet, meant to be played with both hands. The Kutirinding drum is used for rhythm while the Kutiriba is used for bass. The Bougarabou drum can be played with hands or stick and is shaped like an hourglass.
Latin American drums are mostly known visually as a side-by-side dual of drums. The Bongo drums are most prominent in Cuban music stylings like son and changui. These drums were originally used within the Abakua religion in Cuba. The Conga drums are long tapered cylindrical shaped drums and the Timbales drums are shorter flat drums shaped similarly to the snare drum.
Japanese drums are called taiko. The larger taiko is Odaiko. Tsuzumi drums are hourglass shaped and were introduced in the 7th Century and vary in size including the smaller of the bunch, called Kotsuzumi and the larger is the Otsuzumi. Both are used in Kabuki performances.
Native American drums include the drums from the Tarahumara Indian tribe which are hoop style drums. Tomtom drums are short cylindrical shaped drums with lacing, while Tohlakai native drums are short, wide drums used for powwows.
Middle Eastern drums are Doumbek drums which come in wood, metal and ceramic materials and are mushroom shaped and actually originated in Africa.
Medieval drums include the tabor drum, which is a double-headed drum. These kinds of drums were played in the middle ages and eventually grew in popularity in the 16th century as a military drum, what we now know as the snare drum, which is played with drumsticks.
Indian drums include the long tapered drum Bhangra Dhols, known as Ashikos and are a very popular folk drum of northern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Indian Tabla drums are basically African djembes and vary in shape and color.
Steel drums are usually 55 gallon oil drums, but now have changed in size and shape for different sounds and are mostly known for music in Trinidad, Jamaica, Rio and are used for celebrations like Junkanoos and Carnival.
Copyright ©2009 All Rights Reserved.