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Although it may seem that a drum is just a shell with a head on it that you hit and get a

sound from, it is actually so much more. The tone and pitch of a drum is determined not
only by the tensioning of the head but the shell itself. The shell diameter, the depth,
number of plies, thickness and the type of timber it is made from play an important part.
The first basic rule to understand is that each drum has its own resonant frequency.
This will determine the optimum tuning of each drum to get the best sound out of it.
Basically you need to tune the drum heads to get the best sound out of them. With any
given drum it has a set diameter, depth and thickness. The only things you can change
easily are the heads and the tension of the heads. A good well tuned head on a lower
quality drum can still achieve a good sound.
Drums resonate in various ways, creating different vibrational patterns. A mathematical
language has been developed to define the different resonant vibrational mode patterns
in a circular membrane. The scheme involves counting the number of directions (0
means it goes in all directions) and the number of nodal rings.
(0,1) Mode
The first or the fundamental mode of vibration of a circular membrane is the (0,1) mode.
This is the mode that is excited when the drum is struck in the center of the membrane.
It sounds like a deep "thump." The vibrations occur at the lowest frequency of all of the
drum vibrational modes.
When vibrating in the (0,1) mode, the drumhead is acting as a monopole vibrational
sound source and is efficient at transferring its vibrational energy to the surrounding air.
In fact, it is so efficient that the sound of this mode normally disappears within a fraction
of a second as the energy is radiated away. Therefore, this short duration of sound,
which has no easily discernable pitch, does not allow this vibrational mode to contribute
much of the musical quality of the drum.


(1,1) Mode
The second mode of vibration of a circular membrane is the (1,1) mode.
This is the most important vibrational mode in terms of the musical quality
of the drum. The (1,1) mode vibrates at a freqeuncy 1.593 times the
frequency of the (0,1) mode, and the nodal point runs the diameter of the
drum.
In this mode, the membrane is acting as a dipole vibrational sound source.
As a dipole, the air that is being pushed out by the drum can simply move
over and fill the space on the other side. Forcing the air back and forth
takes much less energy than the (0,1) mode and, therefore, the vibrations
decay much more slowly than with the (0,1) mode. This longer decay
means the drum will resonate and, therefore, create a sound that continues
for up to several seconds, giving the drum a musical quality.

(2,1) Mode
The third main mode of vibration of a circular membrane is the (2,1) mode. This is the
second most important vibrational mode in terms of the musical quality of the drum. The
(2,1) mode vibrates at a freqeuncy 2.135 times the frequency of the (0,1) mode. The
nodal point runs the diameter of the drum at right angles to each other, making a large
X.
The (2,1) mode acts as a four pole sound vibration source, which is less efficient at
radiating sound energy than the (1,1) dipole mode and very much less than the (0,1)
monopole mode. The lower efficiency explains why the (2,1) mode takes longer to
decay, making it an important component of the musical quality of the drum.


(0,2) Mode
The (0,2) mode has one nodal diameter, or node in the form of a circle where the
surface does not move. This mode vibrates at 2.295 times the frequency of the (0,1)
mode and decays faster than the (1,1) mode, so it does not contribute to the musical
quality of the drum, but to the thump.


(1,2) Mode
The (1,2) mode vibrates at 2.917 times the frequency of the (0,1) mode and does
not contribute to the musical quality of a drum, even though it takes a relatively long
time to decay.


(2,2) Mode
The (2,2) mode vibrates in a complex pattern that acts somewhat like two opposing 4
pole sound sources. It is the combination of one circular node intersecting two radial
nodes which form a large X.

(0,3) Mode
The (0,3) mode has two circular nodal points and vibrates at 3.598 times the frequency
of the (0,3) mode. The first nodal point is hard to see in this example but occurs near
the center. This mode adds to the sound of the thump when the drum is struck in the
middle, but not to the musical quality of the drum.

In a drum, the air sealed inside the drum vibrates and makes both the membranes of
the drum and any small holes drilled in the sides of the drum. The vibrations get
transferred to the air outside of the drum and then into your eardrums.
Placing loose power on top of a drum and tapping the head causes the loose particles
to clump together. The faster the tapping, the faster it clumps and the slower the
tapping, the slower it clumps. It clumps in the region where the vibrations came from.
The region of the vibration depends on which place the drum was struck.

The sounds of a drum beat can be a therapeutic remedy to get in touch with your inner
self. The pounding sound of a drum effect can help take notice of your own heartbeat.
Drumming by a steady beat can create calmness. Research has now verified the
holistic effects of ancient rhythm techniques. It boosts the immune system and can
release emotional trauma. The physical health benefits also promote healing and self-
expression. For thousands of years, Minianka healers of West Africa used shaman
drums to maintain mental and spiritual health. Various studies have demonstrated the
relaxation effect of this instrument on autistic children, recovering addicts, trauma
patients, and people suffering from Alzheimer's.
The human heartbeat is particularly attuned to sound and music. The heart rate
responds to musical variables such as frequency, tempo, and volume and tends to
speed up or slow down to match the rhythm of a sound. The faster the beat of the drum
, the faster the heart will beat; the slower the beat of the drum, the slower the heart
beats, all within a moderate range.

References:
(2013 ). Drum lessons for beginners. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://drumzone.com.au/index.html. [Last Accessed 21 September 2014].
(1996-2005). Vibrational Modes of Drums. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.sound-physics.com/Drum-Vibrational-Modes/Drum03Animated/. [Last
Accessed 21 September 2014].
How Music Affects the Body. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.superconsciousness.com/topics/art/how-music-affects-body. [Last
Accessed 21 September 2014].
Helen Harris (2014). Sound waves. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.reflexology-polarity.co.uk/15/Sound-Waves.html. [Last Accessed 21
September 2014].
(2014). Healing Effects of Drum Sounds. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://healing.answers.com/physical-health/healing-effects-of-drum-sounds. [Last
Accessed 21 September 2014].

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