The History of the Drums
Music has been around for as long as humans have ever lived. Music is around us everywhere. Commonly in music there is a rythmn. A rythymn can be played by a percussion instrument. That is how the first drums were created. They were first played by Africans near 3000 BC. Africans used drums as a part of rituals.
The Drum Set - The drum set was invented when people started to figure out that more than one drum can be played with 2 hands and 2 feet. They brought tom-toms and Cymbals from China, and the sizes were adjusted for easier play. In the 1930's they discovered that a full group is not needed anymore, so the basic drum kit evolved.
The early drum set only consisted of a snare, toms, a bass drum, a kick pedal, hi hat, and some hanging cymbals. As time went on, Rock'n'Roll drummers added more drums to their own unique set. Now, artists use electronic drums, such as neil peart, to add more unique sounds to their playing,
The Snare Drum - The earliest form of a snare drum was a medievil tabor. It was and is still used in European folk music. The tabor increased in size during the 15th century, and soon evolved as a military instrument. It was then made popular by the fife-and-drum corps of Swiss mercenary foot soldiers. It was carried on their right shoulder suspended by a strap. The drums were angled, and they could not play matched grip. This is when they started playing with a traditional grip. Laces were used to tighten and loosen the drums. Snare drums were used in the military until the 18th century when it was first used in the military. In the 19th century, it replaced the tenor drum in the military.
The Toms - The toms originates from Native American and Asian cultures. They are also a drum used to communicate. They first appeared in Africa to make music and warn tribes of danger. The first formal toms were made in china, and they did not have rims. Jazz drummers tuned them by putting alcohol on the heads. Later on, drum manufacturers made the toms tunable by adding tension heads. Later, Gene Krupa and others made a bigger tom drum now called the Floor Tom.
The Bass Drum - They were first played with sticks until William F. Ludwig made a new and improved version of a bass pedal. This free'd drummers hands. The bass drum was used in militarys to hit the downbeats. For instance, if the snare beat was one and two and three ee and a four and, the bass drum beat would be one two three four or hits only on two and four.
Cymbals - They were first made in china, but the first drum set drummers used turkish cymbals. They thought that hitting a metal object with a wooden stick would produce a bright sound. Cymbals evolved to crash, rides, hi hats, chinas, splash, etc. Now, drum manufacturers make various cymbals and can edit them by how deep, how big, and how they hammer the cymbals.
Ludwig Drums - The first drum manufacturer that helped popularize the drum set.
