The slit drum must be one of the most ancient musical instruments of human invention. It is also known to have been used as a means of long-distance communication in the ancient cultures of Africa, Asia and the Americas. It has a number of different names, including the log drum, the slit gong and the wood block, but all of the terms refer to essentially the same instrument.
A slit drum is a hollow percussion instrument, usually of bamboo or wood, depending on the materials available. It has one or more slits cut into the surface, which increase the instrument’s resonance. Most slit drums have three slits that form an “H” shape. In most cases, the two U-shaped tongues created by the “H” are of different lengths or thicknesses. This means that they produce two different pitches when struck. The closed ends of the slit drum create a resonating chamber, which increases the instrument’s volume. A mallet is usually used to strike a slit drum.

Ancient Aztec culture used a type of slit drum called the “teponaztli.” It was made of a hardwood log, often one that had been fire-hardened, and it had the usual slits creating an H-shape. These instruments were […]

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