Bass Drum - History

History

The earliest known predecessor to the bass drum was the Turkish davul, a cylindrical drum that featured two thin heads. The heads were stretched over hoops and then attached to a narrow shell. To play this instrument, a person would strike the right side of the davul with a large wooden stick, while the left side would be struck a rod. When struck, the davul produced a sound much deeper than that of the other drums in existence. Because of this unique tone, davuls were used extensively in war and combat, where a deep and percussive sound was needed to ensure that the forces were marching in proper step with one another. The military bands of the Ottoman Janissaries in the 18th century were one of the first groups to utilize davuls in their music; Ottoman marching songs often had a heavy emphasis on percussion, and their military bands were primarily made up of davul, cymbal and kettle drum players.

Davuls were ideal for use as military instruments because of the unique way in which they could be carried. The Ottoman janissaries, for example, hung their davuls at their breasts with thick straps. This made it easier for the soldiers to carry their instruments from battle to battle. This practice does not seem to be limited to just the Ottoman empire, however; in Egypt, drums very similar to davuls were braced with cords, which allowed the Egyptian soldiers to carry them during military movements.

The davul, however, was also used extensively in non-military music. For example, davuls were a major aspect of Turkish folk dances. In Ottoman society, davul and shawm players would perform together in groups called davul-zurnas, or drum and shawm circles.

• Long Drum

At its peak, the Ottoman Empire stretched from the Caucuses down to northern Africa and parts of the middle east. This long reach meant that many aspects of Ottoman culture, including the davul and other janissary instruments, were likely introduced to other parts of the world. In Africa, the indigenous population took the basic idea of the davul – that is, a two-headed cylindrical drum that produces a deep sound when struck – and both increased the size of the drum and changed the material from which it was made, leading to the development of the long drum. The long drum can be made a variety of different ways, but is most typically constructed from a hollowed out tree trunks. This is vastly different to the davul, which is made from a thick shell. Long drums were typically 2 meters in length and 50 centimeters in diameter, much larger than the Turkish drums on which they were based. The indigenous population also believed that the tree from which the long drum was made had to be in perfect shape. Once an appropriate tree was selected and the basic frame for the long drum was constructed, the Africans took cow hides and soaked them in boiling hot water, in order to stretch them out. Although the long drum was an improvement on the davul, both drums were nevertheless played in a similar fashion. Two distinct sticks were used on the two distinct sides of the drum itself. A notable difference between the two is that long drums, unlike davuls, were used primarily for religious purposes.

• Gong Drums

As the use of the long drum began to spread across Europe, many composers and musicians started looking for even deeper tones that could be used in compositions. As a result of this demand, a narrow-shelled, single-headed drum called the gong drum was introduced in Britain during the 19th century. This drum, which was 70-100 centimeters in diameter and deep-shelled, was similar to the long drum in both size and construction. When struck, the gong drum produced a deep sound with a rich resonance. However, their immense size of the drum, coupled with the fact that there was not a second head to help balance the sound, meant that gong drums tended to produce a sound with a definite pitch. As a result, they fell out of favor with many composers, as it became nearly impossible to incorporate them in an orchestra in any meaningful way.

• Orchestral Bass Drums and Drum Kits

Because they were unable to be used by orchestras, music makers began to build smaller gong drums that would not carry a definite pitch. This smaller version of the gong drum is today called orchestral bass drum, and it is the prototype with which people are most familiar today. The modern bass drum is used primarily in orchestras. The drum, similar to the davul and long drum, is double-headed, rod tensioned, and measures roughly 40 inches in diameter and 20 inches in width. Most orchestral bass drums are situated within a frame, which allows them to be positioned at any angle.

Bass drums are also highly visible in modern drum kits. In 1909, William Ludwig created a workable bass drum pedal, which would strike a two-headed bass drum in much the same way as a drumstick. During the 1960s, many rock ‘n’ roll drummers began incorporating more than one bass drum in their drum kit, including The Who’s Keith Moon and Cream’s Ginger Baker.

In a drum kit, the bass drum is much smaller than in the traditional orchestral use, most commonly 20 or 22 inches (51 or 56 cm) in diameter. Sizes range from 16 to 28 inches (41 to 71 cm) in diameter while depths range for 14 to 22 inches (36 to 56 cm), with 16 or 18 in (41 or 46 cm) being normal. The standard bass drum size of past years was 20 in × 14 in (51 cm × 36 cm), with 22 in × 18 in (56 cm × 46 cm) being the current standard. Many manufacturers are now popularizing the 'power drum' concept as with tom-toms, with an 18 in (46 cm) depth (22×18 in) to further lower the drum's fundamental note. This is a misconception however, since the frequency of vibration and hence the fundamental note of a drum is determined by the diameter of the drum and not by the depth. A wider drum with a larger head would be capable of a lower tuning.

Sometimes the front head of a kit bass drum has a hole in it to allow air to escape when the drum is struck for shorter sustain. Muffling can be installed through the hole without taking off the front head. The hole also allows microphones to be placed into the bass drum for recording and amplification. In addition to microphones, sometimes trigger pads are used to amplify the sound and provide a uniform tone, especially when fast playing without decrease of volume is desired. Professional drummers often choose to have a customized bass drum front head, with the logo or name of their band on the front.

The kit bass drum may be more heavily muffled than the classical bass drum, and it is popular for drummers to use a pillow, blanket, or professional mufflers inside the drum, resting against the batter head, to dampen the blow from the pedal, and produce a shorter "thud".

Different beaters have different effects, and felt, wood and plastic ones are all popular. Bass drums sometimes have a tom-tom mount on the top, to save having to use (and pay for) a separate stand or rack. Fastening the mount involves cutting a hole in the top of the bass drum to fix it, and 'virgin' bass drums do not have this hole cut in them, and so are professionally prized.