![]() ![]() In fact it was the development of the bass drum pedal 1909 by W F Ludwig.that allowed a drummer to play a selection of percussion instruments all at the same time. Important developments such as the birth of the cymbal in ancient Egypt and later perfected in Turkey and tunable marching drums in AD times were overshadowed by the very recent development of the ‘drum kit’. Even so, percussion’s evolution was not complete. It is perhaps beause percussion is so old and has such significant uses that it is ubiquitous. Other instruments came much later as technological development allowed. ![]() Loud drumming and the beating of sheilds was used to intimidate the enemy and excite the warriors before the attack.īecause of their simple construction and because they are easy to play, drums were certainly the first form of organised sound – i.e. Orders and the timing for the march were often communicated using drums – essential in the extensive and loud environment of the battlefeild. Soon more complicated messages were transferred using percussion to the extent that whole drum languages evolved and drums diversified from objects of entertainment and ritual to a tool for communication.Īs tribes grew and civilisation developed, conflict between groups lead to war involving larger and larger numbers of warriors. The human voice travels far but loses meaning over short distances because consonants are much softer sounding than vowels. Loud drum sounds would scare off predators and give the tribe courage, furthering their necessity in tribal culture.Ĭalling members for dinner or meetings was found to be more effective using drums because the sound travelled further and the meaning was not lost. No doubt drums were used in hunts to scare or corral game and, since the hunt was probably closely tied to the world of spirits, this may also have added religious significance to the drum. Drums were used by early religious leaders (shamans or witch-doctors) to heal or induce meditative states. In some tribes the songs and drums would become ritualised and eventually part of religion and ceremony. Experimentation with this principle design would lead to the great variety we have today. ![]() These lids would be struck and found to have a nice sound and thus was probably born the first skinned drums – a combination of the covered pot and the hollow log. Some pots may have been covered with tight leather lids to prevent the food inside spoiling or spilling. Soon they would find that logs with splits or hollowed centers made better and still louder sounds. Early humans would realise that larger objects made louder sounds and so logs would be tried. Perhaps early drums were nothing more than sticks, rocks, clay pots and bones … the kind of things you’d expect to find around a cooking fire. It’s not hard to imagine prehistoric tribes in caves more than 35 000 years ago, sitting around the fire telling stories of hunts or ancestors, and entertaining themselves through the long winter nights playing drums. Here is a little essay i put together for my work.ĭrums are certainly the world's oldest musical instruments. ![]()
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