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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The tenor drum is one of the many drums used by American marching bands. Although now most commonly found in parades and on football fields during halftime shows, this instrument has been used since the mid-19th century by a variety of composers. It is a lower-pitched variant of the snare drum, another marching band staple. On the field, the tenor drum is easily recognized, as it is carried in mounted sets of three to six drums. This setup allows the musician to pay multiple drums simultaneously, adding to the richness of the percussion.
Tenor drums are played with a wide variety of implements, all of them a form of mallet or drumstick. The heads of these beaters may be made of a variety of materials, including wood, plastic, nylon, felt, rubber or fleece. The drumheads of tenor drums are usually as taut as possible, creating a relatively high-pitched sound that is very effective in outdoor situations.
As mentioned, tenor drums are carried and played in sets. The name of a set usually refers to the number of drums it has; a “quad,” for example, is composed of four drums. Each drum in a set is of a different diameter and thus produces […]
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The modern life has become too fast and does not allow us to spare extra time required for the entertainment in the day-to-day activities. The various sources of the entertainment are outside the home and hence involve journeys to and fro, booking tickets in advance, adjustment of our schedule according to the timings etc. All this can be avoided if we can get the same entertainment at home with comforts and convenience.
This is possible now with the availability of all the means of entertainments, which can be installed at home. We know the many appliances through which we can have the entertainment like tele vision, music system, cd/dvd player etc. We generally have all these at home but these are not synchronized for the ultimate pleasure and satisfaction. Home theaters are the best way to get all the entertainment at home without all the hassles.
Let us see what is a home theater. Actually this means customizing your own equipment according to your needs and requisitions of entertainment. This involves a little planning and then executing this plan.
It is important to note this plan gives you complete freedom of selection of the equipment. Firstly you have to think what […]
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