For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation).
Drum carried by John Unger, Company B, 40th Regiment New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Mozart Regiment, December 20, 1863
A drum is a percussion musical instrument, consisting of a membrane called a drumhead that is usually stretched taut over a cylindrical tube that is open at the other end. The membrane is struck, either with the hand or some other object like a drumstick, and the tube forms a resonating chamber for the resulting sound. A drummer is a person who plays the drums.
In most popular music and jazz, drums usually refers to a drum kit or set of drums, and drummer to the band member or person who plays them.
In the past, drums were used as a means of communication - see drum (communication).
Examples of drums:
In the Sachs-Hornbostel scheme of musical instrument classification, drums belong to the membranophone class.
See also
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Last updated: 10-14-2005 05:34:38