All drums consist of a thin sheet of material – the drumhead – stretched over a cylinder or strong frame – the shell – and tightened up with some kind of tensioner.

The drumskin – the membrane – can be a thin sheet of skin, fabric, plastic or metal – anything that can be struck with hands or sticks. Many historians think that drums were the first musical instruments ever made, and they are known about well back into the Stone Age. It is easy to see why. Everyone knows that tapping something makes a sound. When you tap different things, each makes its own sound.

It is easy to think of people tapping a hollow log or a bamboo. It is easy to think of someone tapping the bottom of a clay pot or a wooden bowl. There are so many possibilities. In their simplest form, drums can beat a single, repeating note. They were invented all over the world thousands of years ago.

They have been used in military marching bands (with pipes) to keep soldiers in step, marching at a regular speed. A large drum – called a bass drum – can be heard for a long distance, so soldiers at the back of a marching column can hear the beat of the drum even if they cannot see it.

In most modern music, it is the drum that keeps the tune in time. It is absolutely vital. Drums contain such a complicated sound that they cannot be tuned like many other instruments. Although the drum is tuned by the player, this tuning does not relate to the pitches of other instruments.