A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood (rosewood, oak, ash etc.) scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical tuning and on many the drumhead is stretched and tacked in place. It is the earliest skin drum known to have existed. Examples are found in many places and cultures. It has been suggested that they were also used to winnow grain.
Frame drums are one of the most ancient types of musical instruments. They have a simple structure with strong spiritual and entertaining effects. They are usually round, made of wood with animal skin and sometimes metal rings or plates incorporated into the drum to provide jingle. They have different sizes; the larger drums are played mainly by men in spiritual rituals and medium size drums are played mainly by women.
Frame drums originated in the ancient Middle East, India, and Rome, and reached medieval Europe through Islamic culture. The similarity of the names of frame drums in these regions shows the common history of these drums.
Read more about Frame Drum: Types of Frame Drums
Famous quotes containing the words frame and/or drum:
“With its frame of shaking curls all in disarray,
earrings swinging,
make-up smudged by beads of sweat,
eyes languid at the end of lovemaking,
may the face of the slim girl
who’s riding on top of you
protect you long.
What’s the use
of Vi.s».n»u, iva, Skanda,
and all those other gods?”
—Amaru (c. seventh century A.D.)
“It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it.... There are some things in every country that you must be born to endure; and another hundred years of general satisfaction with Americans and America could not reconcile this expatriate to cranberry sauce, peanut butter, and drum majorettes.”
—Alistair Cooke (b. 1908)