How the pellet drum makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the pellet drum belongs to the struck drums: a stretched membrane (drumhead) is struck with hands or beaters.
More broadly it is one of the membranophones (drums), where sound comes from a vibrating stretched membrane.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
Pellet drums, or rattle drums, are a class of membranophone, or drum, characterized by their construction and manner of playing. They have two heads (either a single double-headed drum or two hemispherical single-headed drums joined together with the heads facing outward), and two pellets, each connected by a cord to the drum. The damaru, which is used in Tibet, Mongolia, and India, is an hourglass drum that is grasped by its waist with the hand twisting back and forth, causing the pellets to strike the heads in a rhythmic fashion.photo In China, Korea, and Japan, pellet drums are affixed to or pierced by a vertical rod or pole, and, depending on the instrument's size, the rod or pole is rotated back and forth along its axis either with one or both hands or between the palms, causing the pellets to strike the heads in a similar manner.
Pellet drums may be either hourglass shaped or barrel shaped. In some cases, multiple drums are mounted on a single rod.photo
Other struck drums
Frequently asked questions
What does a pellet drum sound like?
As one of the struck drums, its sound comes from the way a stretched membrane (drumhead) is struck with hands or beaters.
What type of instrument is the pellet drum?
It is classified as struck drums (Hornbostel–Sachs 212).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q3514744 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Pellet drum – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by user:BambooBeast – GPL