Man has been beating drums and playing percussion instruments for as far back as history records have existed. Many books will tell you that it was back around 6000 BC that percussion instruments really made their mark. Hollowed out logs have been found along with other artifacts throughout the years, leading archaeologists and anthropologists to assume that they were used as communication devices during more primitive times. Drums have since taken on a much more prominent role, especially in tribal ceremonies and gatherings where they were utilized for celebration and ritualized dancing.

Music and musical instruments are an extremely part of our history. Rhythm and song have both been used for as long as we can tell in order to express feeling and meaning, as well as to accompany rituals and ceremonies. Music has been a part of human life and culture for as long as the history books can reach. Our earliest civilizations used music as a means of communication as well as to express feeling. The one instrument that has stood out beyond all others throughout the history of music is drums and other percussion instruments. Percussion instruments like drums have earned a place in every culture and history all around the globe. Different variations of drums and drum sets have been found occurring in every culture under the sun, even drums crafted from hollowed out logs, hollowed out gourds and other hollowed out instruments with skin stretched taut over the top. Different sized drums all create different beats and sounds, allowing different cultures to communicate with one another.

In most African cultures, drums and other acoustic percussion instruments were vital in the use of religious ceremonies and rituals. The people belonging to different African tribes would rely heavily on the use of drums as a means of expressing themselves. When the slave trade became popularized, the drums they created began to travel across oceans into other continents and countries as well. African drums provided a truly unique sound that heavily influenced Rock and Roll music in Western culture. Those same rhythms and beats can still be found in today's sounds, providing a strong influence in even today's music.

When it was eventually discovered that a single player could easily manage more than a single drum at a time, people began to put together groups of drums that a single musician could play, which is how the early drum set was born. These groups were generally compromised of a variety of different drums assimilated from different cultures and all over the globe. Cymbals and tom toms for example were brought in from China, sizes adjusted over time to allow for ease of play when playing with drumsticks. Musicians began to discover, especially in the 1930s and beyond that the proper drum placement could allow a single musician to handle an entire set of drums, meaning that only a single drummer was needed rather than an entire band of drummers. This is when the basic drum kit was created, and why it is still so popular today

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Originally posted 2008-10-15 05:09:59. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Acoustic Musical Instruments, Drums, Instrument History

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acoustic percussion, african cultures, african tribes, anthropologists, archaeologists, beating drums, communication devices, culture and history, dancing music, different cultures, drum sets, earliest civilizations, history of music, history of percussion instruments, history records, hollowed out logs, means of communication, primitive times, religious ceremonies, tribal ceremonies