Drum, The

The drum is the musical instrument most commonly associated with Africa. Drums comprise the membranophone family of musical instruments. Membranophones produce their sound by the vibration of a stretched membrane or skin. Drums can be traced to ancient Egyptian civilization and were often depicted in Mdw Ntr (hieroglyphics). Traditional African drums are typically made of wood, rope, twine, and a variety of animal skins (i.e., goat, cow, calf, and antelope). The perishable nature of the materials used to construct drums during antiquity inhibited their survival. The various shapes of African drums reflect their perspective categories: These include cylindrical and conical drums, barrels, hourglasses, waisted drums, goblet and footed drums, long drums, frame drums, friction drums, and kettledrums.

Cylindrical drums are straight sided, and conical drums have ...