Instruments | Drums of the Far East | Percussion

Drums are widely used in traditional music in the Far East, along with a diverse range of cymbals, gongs, metallophones and untuned wooden idiophones. In much traditional music of this region, the drum is played by the director of the ensemble, who uses specific signals for the other performers.

Chinese Drums

Most Chinese drums (gu) are frame drums or barrel-shaped drums, and are played with sticks. They are often used in folk music and in the Chinese classical orchestra. The director of the Chinese opera orchestra plays the bangu, a frame drum with a pigskin head with a small hole in it. The player strikes the edge of the hole with bamboo sticks. The tanggu (20–100 cm/8–40 in diameter and 60–80 cm/24–32 in long) is a double-headed barrel drum with cow-, pig- or goatskin heads nailed to the body of the drum. The tanggu is used in many types of Chinese music. The drum can be suspended in a frame or worn from a harness in folk music and dancing. A large tanggu, or lion drum, is played for the traditional Chinese lion dance performed on the first days of the Chinese New Year.

Japanese Drums

Japanese daiko or taiko drums are a family of barrel-shaped, double-headed drums played with sticks. In feudal Japan, daiko were used for military music and to give signals in battles. Today they are used for temple services and for traditional dancing.

Within the family of daiko drums, there are drums with heads that are laced on (shime-daiko) and those with heads that are nailed on (byou-daiko). Shime-daiko have floating heads pulled taut by a lace of tension cords and can be tuned. They are slung from the neck and shoulders, allowing the performer to dance while playing. Kotsuzumi and tsuzumi are hourglass shime-daiko made from cherry wood and played in the orchestra of traditional Japanese theatre. They are played with the hands, and – as in the Chinese orchestra – the drummer directs the rest of the ensemble with drum beats, and calls to the other musicians.

Byou-daiko (tack drums) are carved from a single log. Their cowhide heads are nailed on and thus produce only one fixed tone. The nagado-daiko is most widely used in Japanese music. It can be played by two performers, one striking the head and one striking the barrel of the drum. Nagado-daiko range from small ko-daiko (30–45 cm/12–18 in diameter), to the giant o-daiko (240 cm/96 in diameter and 240 cm/96 in long), which are among the biggest drums in the world. Some o-daiko are so large that they are not often moved and are housed in a temple or shrine. These drums have become popular in the West through touring taiko ensembles (kumi-daiko) which combine ritualistic displays of martial-arts strength and stamina with drumming expertise.

Korean Drums

The changgo (30 cm/12 in diameter and 60 cm/24 in long) is a double-headed hourglass drum...

To read the full article please either login or register .

Source: The Illustrated Complete Musical Instruments Handbook, general editor Lucien Jenkins

AUTHORITATIVE

An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...

CURATED

Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.

Rock, A Life Story

Rock, A Life Story

The ultimate story of a life of rock music, from the 1950s to the present day.

David Bowie

David Bowie

Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers his life, music, art and movies, with a sweep of incredible photographs.