Name | Image | Tradition | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Igba | Nigeria | The igba is a tom-tom that has a beating surface of the same approximate diameter as a bongo. An igba may be as small as 7 inches, or as tall as 3 feet. Traditionally, the deeper shelled igba are played with the hand, while the shorter drums are played with a curved stick. In an ensemble these drums often lead, and are used to "talk" by the talking drummers. By hammering on the tuning wedges which line the perimeter of the skin, the player tightens the drum's skin (usually made from antelope) to achieve the desired pitch and tone. | |
Itótele | Cuba | Itótele is an intermediate-sized batá goblet-shaped drum from Cuba. It is made of wood and covered with skin. Red wax-like substance called ida or fardela sometimes is used to produce a duller sound. | |
Iyá | Cuba | Iyá is the largest batá goblet-shaped drum from Cuba. It is made of wood and covered with goatskin. Red wax-like substance called ida or fardela is used to produce a duller sound. Iyá is wrapped with bells and belts. | |
Janggu | Korea | The janggu is the representative instrument for jangdan which refers to various rhythmic units among the Korean drum family. It is widely used as a principle rhythmic percussion instrument in not only Aak and jeong-ak, but also in sock-ak. It is also used in accompaniment of Korean dances. | |
Jembe | Senegal | A jembe (or djembe) is a skin covered hand drum, shaped like a large goblet, and meant to be played with bare hands. Jembe is a member of the membranophone family of musical instruments: a frame or shell covered by a membrane or drumhead made of one of many products, usually rawhide. The jembe also has metal rings, rope, and skin. The jembe is an integral part of the West Africa’s musical tradition and culture. It is now popular all over the world. | |
Jing Bangu | China | The jing bangu (Jing: Beijing; ban: flat board; gu: drum) leads the percussion section in the instrumental ensemble of the Peking opera. It is also commonly called danpi (single drumhead). The drum's frame is constructed of thick wedges of hard wood glued together in a circle, wrapped with a metal band. Its body is bell mouthed in shape, open at the bottom. Its top surface (C.25cm), covered with a piece of pig or cow-hide, has a small convex central circular opening (about 5 or 6 cm in diameter), which is called the Guxin (drum heart), the actual sounding position. The player strikes on this central area with a pair of bamboo sticks. | |
Kakko | Japan | The kakko (羯鼓) is a Japanese double-headed drum. Like the Shime-Daiko and tsuzumi, the skin of the heads are first stretched over metal hoops before they are placed on the body, tying them to each other and tightening them making them taut. Kakko drums are usually laid on their sides on stands so that it can be played with sticks called bachi on both heads. Kakko drums have been used in taiko ensembles and gagaku court music. | |
Kanjira | India | The kanjira or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. It consists of a circular frame made of the wood of the jackfruit tree, between 7 and 9 inches in diameter and 2 to 4 inches in depth. It is covered on one side with a drumhead made of monitor lizard skin, while the other side is left open. The frame has a single slit which contain three to four small metal discs - often old coins - that jingle when the kanjira is played. | |
Kebero | Ethiopia | A kebero (or kabaro) is a double-headed, conical hand drum used in the traditional music of Ethiopia and Eritrea. A piece of animal hide is stretched over each end, thus forming a membranophone. A large version of the instrument is used in Orthodox Christian liturgical music, while smaller versions are used in secular celebrations. | |
Kendang | Indonesia | Kendang is the primary drum used in the Gamelan ensembles of Java as well as various Kulintang ensembles in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the southern Philippines. They usually are placed on stands horizontally and hit with the hands on either side while seated on the floor. One side is generally larger than the other, with the larger, lower-pitched side usually placed to the right. The skin is typically made of goat or buffalo, stretched on y-shaped leather or rattan strings, which can be tightened to change the pitch of the heads. | |
Khol | India | The khol (or mrdanga) is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music (bhakti). One of the sides of the khol is much smaller than the other. Both sides are covered with cow or goat skin. The smaller head (the dayan) and the bigger bass head (the baya) are usually three-layered heads in addition to a special central region of rice paste, glue, and iron known as the syahi. The drum is played with palms and fingers of both hands. | |
Kös | Turkey | Kös is a large kettledrum used in a modern mehter marching band. It is a bass drum resembling the timpani. | |
Kpanlogo | Ghana | Kpanlogo is a barrel drum used in kpanlogo music. The drum originates from the Ga people of the Greater Accra Region in Ghana, West Africa. Kpanlogo drums are a part of the membranophone family of musical instruments; a shell covered by a drumhead made of one of many products, usually rawhide. The drum has a tapered body carved from a single piece of wood that is similar in shape to a conga. The drumhead is typically made from goat, antelope, or cow skin that is stretched over one end of the drum and is tightened through the use of six wooden pegs. The skin can be tightened by tapping the pegs into the drum. | |
Kudüm | Turkey | Kudüm is one of the most fundamental rhythm instruments in classical Turkish music. The person playing it is called kudümzen. It is among ney, rebap, and halile as one of the four main instruments in Mevlevi music. It consists of a pair of small, hemispherical drums. Traditionally kudüm was played in religious ceremonies; in a secular context, like in mehter music, its slightly bigger cousin nakkare is played. The kudüm is played with two wooden sticks made of soft wood known as zahme. | |
Kultrun | Chile | Kultrun is a Mapuche (the Indigenous inhabitants of Central and Southern Chile and Southern Argentina) ceremonial drum. | |
Lambeg Drum | Ireland | A Lambeg drum is a large Irish drum, beaten with curved malacca canes. It is used primarily in Northern Ireland by Unionists and the Orange Order traditionally in street parades held in the summer, particularly on and around 12 July ("The Twelfth"). The weight of the drum means that it had been replaced with smaller replicas for most parades, but the full-sized instrument has started to reappear in recent years - usually on floats. | |
Lion Drum | China | The size of a lion drum is very big, and is widely used for the Chinese lion dance during the New Year celebration. There are normally 2 types, the northern Lion drum and southern lion drum. It is a single-headed drum, and its large size helps to create a majestic, booming resonance upon striking of the drum head. The lion drum head is made of thick, durable goat skin, and its wooden body is normally decorated with intricate hand-drawn drawings. | |
Madal | Nepal | The madal is a hand drum which originates in Nepal. It is cylindrical in shape with a slight bulge in the middle. Its main frame is made of wood or clay, and leather in two of its heads is what vibrates and produces the sound. Both heads are played with hands, holding the Madal drum horizontally. This typical Nepalese percussion instrument is the backbone of most of the Nepalese folk music. | |
Madhalam | India | Madhalam is a barrel drum from Kerala, South India. It is made out of the wood of the jackfruit tree. It has two sides for playing, made out of leather, which give different beats. This is a heavy instrument which is tied around the waist of the person playing and the player stands all the while to perform. It is one of the three kinds of drum used in the Panchavadyam (a temple associated art form). | |
Marching Bass Drum | United States | The "bass line" is a unique musical ensemble consisting of graduated pitch marching bass drums commonly found in marching bands and drum and bugle corps. Each drum plays a different note, and this gives the bass line a unique task in a musical ensemble. | |
Mina | Venezuela | The Mina drum (Tambor Mina) is the largest of the drums that have origins in the Barlovento, Miranda region of Venezuela. They are used during the celebrations of St. John the Baptist and the Midsummer. It is a specialized form of the Cumaco drum. Its origins have been traced to the Mina civilization, which occupied what is now Benin in Africa. |
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