Drums History

The history of drums can be traced far back into ancient times. Drums have been used for many different purposes in many different cultures. The designs and materials of the drums have changed over the years. The instruments that make up the percussion family have also changed over the years.
During the earliest recorded years, drums were used mainly in rituals and ceremonies. These drum heads were made out an animal hide that had been scraped and tanned. Then they were stretched tightly over a hollow tree trunk or over a gourd. The drum would be struck with either a wooden stick, a bone, or even played with a hand. One of the earliest civilizations to use the drum was the Chinese. Some civilizations would use the drums as a form of communication.
Through trade with these cultures, European counties first received the drum. They would not be used as much as other instruments until after the European Renaissance. The drums would then be added to the music of the time. This instrument would be played by itself or added with other instruments of the time. In North America, the Native Americans also built and used drums as part of their culture. They too used animal hides to create their drum head. The tanned hides were stretched over wooden and clay to form their drums. Sinew was used to attach the drum head to the drum. The Native Americans would use the drums as part of their spiritual and social gatherings. Added to the drum were vocals to past the tribe’s oral history on to the next generation. Some tribes would use things such as a buffalo’s tail or a bone as their mallet. Some tribes will still use drums today as part of their culture. The cymbals are also a very old instrument. They can be traced back to China to the Ottoman Empire. They were then used as part of ceremonies and for daily life. Cymbals were also used in Egyptian culture even being found in a tomb with a mummy. Tukey was another country that used and developed the cymbals. The materials used to make cymbals were usually copper and tin. Sometimes, silver could be added to the mixture. The size of cymbals varied from dinner plates to coin