The History of the Drum

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It seems musical instruments have found their place among the children of today's society. You can purchase child size pianos, harps, guitars and drums. The instruments have also won a place in the video game genre with games such as guitar hero being one of the all-time top sellers. While a child's piano or a kid's drum set may be popular today the original drum was not intended as an entertaining instrument.

The very first drum actually originated as long ago as 6000 BC. In some excavations in the region of Mesopotamia small cylinder shaped barrels were found believing to have dated back as far as 3000 BC. The original purpose of the item was to accompany ritual chanting in ceremonies that the ancients would perform. They were often kept as sacred ceremonial tools rather than as the entertaining devices we know today.

As people and cultures evolved the instrument evolved with them and began appearing in several different styles. The African version is an elongated drum which is played by the tapping of one's fingers upon the skin. Related to this type is the Brazilian or South American model known as the conga. Usually the conga is created in sets of two and is a small shaped piece that is also played by tapping the finger's against the skin.

A drum kit is the actual setup we've come to associate with the modern instrument. It generally consists of the bass drum, the snare, the tom and cymbals or high hats. While the kit actually existed before the 1960's the advent of rock and roll on the music scene really brought the instrument to new heights of popularity. It was no longer viewed as just an accompanying piece to the other instruments, but was now a sound in its own right. It became a very popular way of creating and expressing music and songs were created that now included drum solos.

With emerging technology the drum also became a synthesized instrument. Today you can purchase a synthesized set that incorporates all the sounds you can create with the traditional drum in a digitized format. You can even purchase musical synthesizer software to create the sound of drums on your home computer.

If you have a child who is interested in learning to play percussion you can purchase a kid's drum set that is age appropriate for them to use. In years to come the set can be added to as the child grows in ability as well as age. With so many options available with today's modern drum there's no telling how far your child's imagination will take him or her. Less than 50 years ago electronically created music was virtually unheard of so who knows what lies ahead for our children's musical talents.