Zendrum - Playing

Playing

Once the Zendrum is hooked up via MIDI to a sound module, and connected to an amplified loudspeaker or headphones, the player can tap or slap the pads. The pads on a Zendrum are velocity sensitive, which means that the volume of each note depends on how hard the corresponding pad is hit. The Zendrum is often used to play drum or percussion instrument parts, but it can also used to perform the sounds from tuned instruments, ranging from steel drums or vibraphone to piano, bass, guitar, or bells. Sustained sounds like organs or string orchestra "patches" can be played, but they are awkward and difficult to control. A sustain pedal can be plugged into a Zendrum, but it is tricky to coordinate tapping the pads and depressing and releasing the pedal. Musician Jonathan Coulton uses the Zendrum to perform live mashups and remixes of his song "Mr. Fancy Pants" by associating pads with samples from the song, sometimes rickrolling his audiences by throwing in samples of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up".

The playing styles and techniques that work best on the Zendrum are quite different from those of a traditional acoustic drum. Traditional drumming (especially for a drum kit) requires a certain amount of "limb independence," whereas the Zendrum requires more "finger independence." Also, traditional drumming is more than just triggering sounds; a drummer playing a physical kit gets important feedback in the way his or her sticks bounce and react from the drums and cymbals. This feedback is limited in MIDI drum kits, and missing completely from the Zendrum. The Zendrum is worn like a guitar, which allows the player to stand up and walk around, within the limits of the MIDI cable. Some Zendrummers even go as far as using wireless MIDI technology so that they can move about without cables.