I love drums! I love them big. I love them small. I love them all! Along with being the backbone of all musical genre's by setting the beat, drums play a huge role in how we interact with the universe in cultures around the world. The idea that playing and dancing to drum beats can put the listeners in a trance like state that allows them to communicate with otherworldly forces is a shared one. Nearly every ancient and/or indigenous people I've researched over the years has at least one kind of drum specifically for this purpose. To say they are a passion of mine is an understatement and if you have any knowledge of drums you would like to share or a personal favorite, I'd love to hear it!
Below is a poster of sorts I did in Junior Illustration II as part of a cross-cultural project. The big drum is Kunda, native to New Guinea though the style of drum can be seen throughout the Melanesian Islands, and the smaller one is a Bodhrán, an Irish frame drum with Celtic roots. The border contains patterning elements from both regions.
Below are some totally epic drums that I am fortunate enough to have in my possession. The first two are Lakota hand drums, though this particular style of hand drum can be found throughout North America. The top one is made with elk skin and the bottom with buffalo (It's actually a gift for a friend I haven't had a chance to deliver yet). As a result, the sounds the two produce are strikingly different.
The drum itself is made to mirror the Medicine Wheel, a popular and powerful symbol in American Indian culture.
It represents harmony, healing, and the interconnection of all living things. White represents the North, Yellow the East, Red the South, and Black the West.
Next, my first ever drum yet the one I am worst at playing, the Bodhrán! I know, it looks the same as the ones you just saw, but I assure you it's made and played differently. The Bodhrán is, as stated above with the poster, an Irish frame drum with Celtic roots, so actually it's played in several other areas with Celtic origins. The striking tool for this drum is the Tipper, which takes a lot of practice to master as there is much wrist movement involved.
The crossbar on the back is actually removable and some Bodhrán's don't have them at all. The way that you would change the pitch while playing this drum is by pressing into the back of the skin with your hand. Again, takes a lot of practice to do this right, especially in combination with using the tipper. There's several different methods for playing a Bodhrán but whichever is used, it's an epic drum with an epic history!
And while we're on the subject of epic history, lets take a look at the DunDun, or the Yoruba Talking Drum. Native specifically to the Yoruba people in Nigeria, this drum was used historically as a communication device. Both the top and bottom are striking surfaces and the bands that travel up and down between them function as vocal cords so when they are squeezed, they change the pitch of the sound in a way that mimics Yoruba speech patterns.
Because of this, the drum beats themselves are the lyrics as the pitches created can be used in combination to sound like words from the Yoruba language. They could be used in general song and dance or to make announcements to neighboring villages, such as a war, celebration, or a death or marriage in the tribe. They were even used to warn others of incoming slave ships back in Colonial times.
And with that I take my leave. But if I may make one last statement for the evening: Watch this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpiFmZLICgM
