What Is a Tenor Drum?
Many people may be familiar with the kit drums, timpanis and other popular percussion instruments, but the tenor drum plays a very important role in modern music. The tenor drum functions in a wide variety of performance groups and can be found in several popular music styles well beyond a century ago.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
The tenor drum has been used in orchestras since the mid-19th century and became more popular in the works of 20th-century English composers.
Design
-
Tenor drums are cylindrical drums that are often arranged in groups of three to six drums, ranging in size from 8 to 13 inches. The drums can be mounted on a rack, or in the case of marching bands held by an over-the-shoulder strap.
-
Sticks
-
Tenor drums are most often played with classical-style mallets or traditional drumsticks. The player strikes the drum near the edge of the head in a similar fashion to the timpani.
Function
-
Tenor drums are found in the percussion sections of orchestras, in the drum lines of marching bands and in English pipe and drum bands.
Famous Composers
-
Composers including Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copeland and William Walton have all written pieces that feature the tenor drum.
-
Resources
- Photo Credit www.stockvault.net
