Who invented the percussion family

War, public communications, weddings, funerals, religious rituals, and even dances — all take place to the beating of the drum. Even in ancient myths, a magical rhythm rules the world — it was rhythm that forged our world order from chaos, creating the familiar structure of reality. That is why in many ancient cultures , the rituals marking the new year are set to a drum rhythm that is often beat by the whole tribe, helping revitalize the world order and start anew.

The beating of the drum plunges us into a trance-like state. This was used by shamans on their journeys to the so-called upper and lower worlds. This very same rhythm transforms a dance into a magical ritual, carrying us into the realm of gods and ancestors where we all dance together. The beating of the drum serves as a universal mediator — a means of public communication, where the drum transmits signals over long distances.

It also can function as a conductor between the world of people and an otherworldly reality, as in many ancient sacred rituals. The first ionic instruments were probably hollow tree trunks , because they are natural sound conductors and there is no need to alter them to produce a rhythm. Later on, people started stretching animal skins over hollow frames and beating on them with their hands or sticks.

These days we use metal casings and tension rods, which can be adjusted to alter tone. The oldest drums found by archaeologists were discovered in Mesopotamia , which is not surprising, because that is where, in BCE, the oldest urban civilization emerged — Sumer , from which we all descended.

Surprisingly, these drums are some two thousand years older than the Sumeria n civilization itself, dating back to around BCE. This suggests that drums predate the civilizations known to us, and that their roots lie in the cultures of the Stone Age. Another ancient drum found in Moravia dates back to BCE. It points to the long, centuries-old tradition of crafting percussion instruments that preceded it. In Ancient Egypt, another great civilization that rivals Sumer as the first civilization on Earth, drums appeared in BCE, even earlier than hieroglyphic script and the Pyramids.

Metal, cup-shaped drums dating to around BCE were found in territories currently occupied by Germany. They ranged from 14 to 50 cm in size. A thousand years before our era, Mesoamericans made drums out of pumpkins or hollowed out of wood, which they used in religious ceremonies and rituals, and also in military campaigns to energize their warriors.

How did drums make their way to Europe? This question is debated to this day. Some say that drums came to Europe from the Middle East at the dawn of the Greek civilization , which has its roots in the cultures of Asia Minor. Others say drums came to Europe from Africa, transported by the ancient Greeks who were impressed by the powerful, strong sounds of African tom-toms. Although the curious instruments imported by the Greeks were not used often, they most certainly impacted the percussion tools subsequently developed by the Greeks.

A new wave of drums that took over Europe is associated with the period when the Roman Empire began competing with the Phoenician state of Carthage for new lands in Africa. In the third century BCE, the Romans invaded Africa, where they encountered the highly-developed practice of playing percussion instruments.

Surprised at the effect produced, the practical Romans applied these instruments first and foremost to military affairs: to transmit military signals, intimidate the enemy and raise troop morale. But, although they used African drums, Europeans did not use African rhythms, preferring their own musical traditions. The next stage of Europe's adoption of drums began with the discovery of America. Drums are found in nearly every culture in the world and have existed since before B.

They've had ceremonial, sacred, and symbolic associations. The first type of percussion instrument was simply anything hit together to produce sound. Drums evolved from this and are known to have existed from around BC. They were used by all major civilizations throughout the world.

Percussion instruments have strong ceremonial, sacred, or symbolic associations almost everywhere. Certain drums symbolise and protect tribal royalty in much of Africa. They were also used to transmit messages over long distances. They also played a major role in medieval and Renaissance Europe. The snare drum and its relatives were used in the infantry to send coded instructions to the soldiers. Drumming is something everyone can do, and requires no musical training.

You don't need any specialist or expensive instrument either - anything goes. Our collection of instruments includes: Ocean drum, bongos, djembes, gong, pandeiros tambourines , kalimbas thumb pianos , dholak, pancake and monkey drums, vibratone, afouche cabasa, glockenspiel, buffalo drum, tambour, bodhran, cymbals, maracas, rainsticks, cowbell, woodblocks, agogo, castanets, tulip woodblock, triangle, bells, claves, finger cymbals, rhythm thang, shakers, dustbin and lid, hammer handles, broom handles etc - all those can be used for percussive groups.

Anything and everything goes for a hand drum - it's possible to improvise with virtually anything. Percussion Instruments are defined as those that are sounded by striking, shaking, plucking, or scraping. All instruments such as drums and bells fall into this category. Percussion instruments may be further divided into those instruments that produce a definite pitch and those that do not. Some whistles aerophones are also included in this category of instruments because they tend to be considered sound effects rather than serious instruments.

Untuned percussion instruments include the bass drum, side drum, anvils, triangles and jingles. The bass drum makes a massive sound. If you've ever listened to a full orchestra playing above it, you can still feel its power.