drums-msg
– 12/3/11
Medieval
drums and percussion instruments. Replacing bohdran drumheads.
Painting drumheads. Dumbek merchants.
NOTE:
See also the files: instruments-msg, harps-msg, p-songs-msg,
music-bib, bagpipes-msg, flutes-msg, lea-tanning-msg, trumpets-msg.
************************************************************************
NOTICE
-
This
file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I
have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some
messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This
file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium.
These files are available on the Internet at:
http://www.florilegium.org
I
have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with
separate topics were sometimes split into different files and
sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the
message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The
comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I
make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the
individual authors.
Please
respect the time and efforts of those who have written these
messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this
time. If information is published from these messages, please give
credit to the originator(s).
Thank
you,
Mark
S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan
at florilegium.org
************************************************************************
From:
legowik at cme.nist.gov (Steven Legowik)
Date:
14 May 91 15:16:40 GMT
Organization:
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Aoghann,
I'm
not really a very musically inclined person, but I was doing a
little
research on the history of the flute and stumbled across some
history
on drums as well. My lady is much more interested in them
than
I was.
The
general gist seems to be that drums were not used much in Europe
until
very late period. The drum was basically a middle eastern
instrument
and was considered an oddity in Europe. (which also seemed
to
be the case with flutes and fifes) The first drums were the naker
and
tabor. I don't remember the dates but I think it was after 1300.
They
were originally pretty much confined to military music. (ie.
marching
music) The tabor was a pretty generic looking drum (like
you'd
see in a colonial fife and drum picture) and nakers were sort of
bowl
shaped drums.
Drums
got into the regular musical scene in the renaissance. The
notes
I have listed three drums as components of a renaissance band:
the
long drum, the kettledrum, and the side drum. (from Musical
Instruments
of the World) They appear to be pretty generic drums.
The
side drum is drawn as having a square cross section.
The
other book I was reading was "The History of Musical
Instruments"
by
Curt Sachs. I hope I remembered the essential details correctly.
You
might want to try and find the book in the library.
Hope
this helps a little bit.
Stephen
the Devious Steven Legowik
Shire
of Highland Foorde Frederick, MD
Atlantia
legowik at cme.nist.gov
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Doumbek Rythym Guide
From:
Eric.Smith-1 at kmail.ksc.nasa.gov (Eric C. Smith)
Date:
Fri, 08 Dec 1995 13:24:50 -0500
Organization:
NASA/KSC, DL-ICD-C
Unto
all good folk of the Rialto does their humble servant, Maredudd ap
Cynan,
send greetings.
It
has been my honor and priviledge to create and have installed upon a
friends
web server, a web page containing information which might be of
interest
to those who play the doumbek. The page contains, among other
things,
a sheet of rythym notations. The page is geared towards the
beginning
drummer.
http://greyhawkes.com/fun/drumming.html
[NOTE
– This link has changed. The new link is:
http://www.blackroot.org/drumming/drumming.html -Stefan 8/20/06]
The
original version of this sheet was developed by myself as a handout
for
a couple of classes I tought at a few Trimarian events, the subject
of
the
class being the Basics of Doumbek Playing. I encourage all doumbek
players,
of all skill levels, to visit the page and send me your comments.
Diolch
Maredudd
--
Eric
C. Smith Maredudd Cymysglyd ap Cynan
NASA/DL-ICD-C
Kingdom of Trimaris
KSC,
FL 32899 Shire Starhaven
Eric.Smith-1
at ksc.nasa.gov maredudd at blackroot.org
From:
boris at magick.net (Samuel C. Crowell)
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Bohdran skin replacement
Date:
Wed, 16 Oct 1996 01:44:14 GMT
Could
any good gentles out there be able and willing to assist an
aspiring
musician?
I
was given a Coopersmith (non-tunable) bohdran with a split/cracked
drumhead.
I was able to get a goatskin drumhead. Removing the old
one
was not too difficult, but I would like some advice about
preparing/stretching/affixing
this new skin so that it will not be
ruined,
and hopefully will be somewhere close to the proper tone.
Any
help greatly appreciated!
Master
Darien Tevarson
From:
cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Bohdran skin replacement
Date:
16 Oct 1996 14:59:12 GMT
Organization:
Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Master
Darien Tevarson asks about bodhran skin replacement:
This
is something that is fairly tricky to get right. I
once
did this for a friend (I make parchment/vellum for
callig/illum/bookbinding/etc.,
but the skins can also be used
for
drumheads/banjos/etc.) whose bodhran head had split.
I
asked a number of people with more experience for advice,
and
I mostly got a lot of vague handwaving, and concluded
that
it is one of those things that one develops a nack for
by
trial and error.
You
pretty much have to put the skin on wet. Assuming you
have
a prepared/dried skin on hand, you want to soak it
(don't
use hot water) until it is limp and stretchy. You
then
have to tack it to the rim with enough slack that when
the
hide contracts on drying, it has the right tension. As
you
might guess, this is the 'art' part of it. Too loose,
and
you'll have ripples in the skin. Too tight, and the tone
will
be too high. Unfortunately, I have a very strong suspicion
that
how much a particular skin contracts on drying will have
alot
to do with how it was originally prepared by the parchmenter.
This
would mean that your technique might have to change somewhat
depending
on the source of the skin.
Things
to remember:
Parchment/skin
can generate a remarkable amount of tension when
drying.
You want to make sure the heads of your nails are snug
down
on the skin. If only the shafts are holding the skin in
place,
the skin could tear as it pulls out from under the nails.
Reinforcing
the edge may not be a bad idea.
Clenching
the nails is probably a good idea. I've seen a skin
pull
nails out of the rim. Glueing the skin over the frame in
addition
to nailing may not be a bad idea.
I
suspect that allowing the skin to dry slowly is a good idea
(keeping
in mind that the skin *IS* rawhide, and *will* rot if
kept
damp for a prolonged period of time).
All
this should be taken with a grain of salt, as my experience is
more
in making the skins than in putting them on drums. I put a
skin
on one drum, and had to take it off and put it back on several
times
(over the course of a year or so) before I got it more or
less
right.
I
had a more experienced luthier claim that anointing the skin with
neatsfoot
oil makes it less sensitive to humidity variations. YMMV
Hope
this helps,
Cheers,
Rick/Balderik
From:
mittle at panix.com (Arval d'Espas Nord)
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Bohdran skin replacement
Date:
16 Oct 1996 12:02:44 -0400
Organization:
PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC
>
I was given a Coopersmith (non-tunable) bohdran with a
split/cracked
>
drumhead. I was able to get a goatskin drumhead. Removing the old
>
one was not too difficult, but I would like some advice about
>
preparing/stretching/affixing this new skin so that it will not be
>
ruined, and hopefully will be somewhere close to the proper tone.
You
can find some information on the Bodhran Page
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/bodhran
including
articles on making bodhrans which should give you what you need.
===========================================================================
Arval
d'Espas Nord mittle at
panix.com
Date:
Tue, 8 Jul 1997 13:20:05 -0400 (EDT)
From:
Carol at Small Churl Books <scbooks at neca.com>
To:
sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject:
Re: Painting on hide drums
At
09:13 AM 7/8/97 -0700, you wrote:
>If
I use an acrylic paint, will it flake off?
There
is a laurel in the East who painted bohrans (sp?) as part of her
husband's
business. She uses acylics, sometimes slightly thinned with water.
Following
her advice, I painted a figure based on the Book of Kells on one.
(Took
the warrior, put a woman's head and skirt on from another figure, and
made
the shield and spear into a bohran and wooden thumper.)
A
friend let me practice on an old bongo. After painting, I scraped
the
paint
with my fingernail and it seemed pretty firm.
Lady
Carllein
Date:
Wed, 9 Jul 1997 10:25:19 -0400 (EDT)
From:
Varju at aol.com
To:
sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject:
Re: Painting on hide drums
<<I
have been asked to help a friend of mine paint some designs on a hide
drum
that he just received.>>
If
you mean rawhide, when you say hide drum there are several items you
can
use.
Acrylic paint works well, so do leather dyes, but the color of the
rawhide
will affect the color of the dye. (The darker the rawhide the darker
the
final color will be.) You can also use sharpie markers.
Noemi
Subject:
Re: ANST - Drums
Date:
Fri, 12 Dec 97 17:40:54 MST
From:
jurgens at ghg.net (Frank D. Jurgens)
>Could
someone please tell me how to keep a drum that you are carving from
>drying
out and cracking before you finish carving?
>
>*George*
>House
Crane Minister of Food-[have YOU eaten?]
If
you are carving this from a peice of uncured lumber, try putting it
in a
sealed
bag with a damp towel. This should keep the moisture content up
until
you are done. Make sure that the bag is big enough so that when set
aside,
the towel and the drum do not touch. Basically, keeping it in any
sealed
container with a source of moisture will work.
If
you are using uncured (green) wood, you will have a problem with it
cracking
as it dries out after you are finished. Depending on the
orientation
of the grain, it may also deform out of shape.
Leofric
Ealdricson
(Frank
Jurgens
jurgens
at ghg.net)
Subject:
Re: ANST - Drums
Date:
Fri, 12 Dec 97 18:46:11 MST
From:
sucram3 at juno.com (marc d mckeeman)
To:
ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG
On
Fri, 12 Dec 1997 16:25:42 -0600 lliatwork <lliatwork at
MCIONE.com> writes:
>Could
someone please tell me how to keep a drum that you are carving
>from
drying out and cracking before you finish carving?
First
offf what kind of wood are you using?
I
have found using linseed oil while the carving is being done, helps
keep
the wood from drying and spliting.
again
it depends on the wood.
apprentice
to Master Edward D'Orleans. (peace be unto his name)
mu'sad
translater
to the light of the land
Omar
ciam
Subject:
RE: ANST - Drums
Date:
Mon, 15 Dec 97 11:25:14 MST
From:
John Ruble <ulf at urocor.com>
To:
"'ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG'" <ansteorra at
Ansteorra.ORG>
>Could
someone please tell me how to keep a drum that you are carving from
>drying
out and cracking before you finish carving?
Linseed
oil helps, but will alter the characteristics of the wood when
you
go to carve it. It penetrates the wood at different depths
depending
upon how long you left the oil on before wiping off the
excess,
as well as how "open" the wood is. As it cures, it
hardens. So
after
a day or two, you will discover the wood is slightly harder to
carve
near the surface, but still soft underneath. Be careful with your
knife
pressure. Remember also that treating the wood with anything will
alter
its ability to take stain.
The
best bet is always to start with sound, well-cured wood. At the
very
least, try to keep the piece in a controlled environment so it
doesn't
swell and shrink repeatedly with humidity changes.
Ulf
Gunnarsson
Subject:
Re: ANST - mustering at gulf wars
Date:
Wed, 18 Feb 98 01:52:36 MST
From:
Charlene Charette <charlene at flash.net>
To:
ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG
Keith
Hood wrote:
>
Speaking of the sound of an army, for real moral effect in a march to
the
>
battlefield we could use a serious war song. Anyone out there with a
>
good knowledge of period music have suggestions?
Don't
know about war songs, but Arbeau (the French dance manual) is almost
half
military drumming instruction.
--Perronnelle
From:
Arval d'Espas Nord <mittle at panix2.panix.com>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Drums
Date:
18 Mar 1998 22:58:42 GMT
Organization:
PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC
James
Ackerson <jamesa at uwyo.edu> wrote:
>
I want to get my wife a bodran, bodrahn...however you spell it. I
was
>
just wondering if anyone out there would have some advice on where to
>
look, what to look for, and how to avoid not so good instruments.
Visit
my Bodhran Page, http://celtic.stanford.edu/instruments/bodhran/
Arval
From:
armorbug at aol.com (ARMORBUG)
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Drums
Date:
19 Mar 1998 04:30:53 GMT
>I
want to get my wife a bodran, bodrahn...however you spell it. I was
>just
wondering if anyone out there would have some advice on where to
>look,
what to look for, and how to avoid not so good instruments.
>
>Roderick
Lark
in the Morning, a company that specializes in hard to find
instruments,
has
a webpage at http://www.larkinam.com. They have several models to
choose
from,
starting at $25.00 and going up to $400.00.
From:
Arval d'Espas Nord <mittle at panix2.panix.com>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Drums
Date:
19 Mar 1998 16:38:56 GMT
Organization:
PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC
>
Lark in the Morning, a company that specializes in hard to find
instruments,
>
has a webpage at http://www.larkinam.com. They have several models
to choose
>
from, starting at $25.00 and going up to $400.00.
If
you want to order a drum by mail, Lark in the Morning is not a bad
company
to use. And if you are a new bodhranist who needs a drum to learn
on,
this isn't a bad way to go. MidEast Manufacturing is another good
choice.
At
any higher level, you really want to examine and play any drum before
you
buy
it, and you want to deal directly with the drum-maker.
Arval
From:
Dwight Hall <dwihall at ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Drums
Date:
Thu, 19 Mar 1998 16:45:11 -0700
>I
want to get my wife a bodran, bodrahn...however you spell it. I was
>just
wondering if anyone out there would have some advice on where to
>look,
what to look for, and how to avoid not so good instruments.
try
ftp://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/instruments/Bodhran.making
Since
this is one of the easiest of all drum designs to build yourself,
why
not get right into the "authenticity mode" with a great
do-it-yourself
project. Hardwood should cost about 8 bucks and you can
get
a full goatskin at Tandy Leather for $24 or so.
From:
David Korup <drumfest at bellsouth.net>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
To:
Shawn Johnson <shawnjoh at uoguelph.ca>
Subject:
Re: Natural Drum Heads Needed
Shawn
Johnson wrote:
>
I'm looking to purchase some natural drum heads (goatskin, calfskin)
for
>
a product I'm developing. I need the cheapest wholesale price I can
>
find, so that I can keep the price of the product down. The prepared
>
skins need not be of the best quality.
>
>
-Robyn Whystler
Shalom
Alechem, Greetings from Sir Daveed Shmuel ben Rachon:
I
would suggest that you contact Mid-East Manufacturing for prices on
goatskin
drum heads. They can accommodate drums heads ranging in size
from
standard 12" to 14" on up to perhaps 22". Here is
their basic
contact
info.
Mid-East
Manufacturing, 7694 Progress Circle, West Melbourne, Fl 32904;
407-724-1477,
fax: 407-952-1080; web site: www.mid-east.com;
email:
stevek at mid-east.com
Should
you need larger sizes, you can contact Mr. Polanski at United
Rawhide
in Chicago, 773-276-1177. He can provide goat, kip, calf, as
well
as other types of animal rawhide.
I
hope that this is helpful for you. Are you making dumbeks? Please
contact
me via my email: drumfest at bellsouth.net or by phone at
704-544-2212.
I am always interested in hearing about new drum makers
and
their drums.
Until
later...Alechem Shalom...Daveed
From:
druid at princeton.crosswinds.net (The Well of Latis)
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Natural Drum Heads Needed
Date:
Sun, 10 May 1998 23:32:55 GMT
<sunshinegirl
at steward-net.com> wrote:
>Tandy
Leather used to sell me rawhide at a good discount. Of course, I had
>to
cut out the drum heads myself. They had split hides that were fairly
>nice,
regular hides, and goatskin.
>Melandra
of the Woods
>
>Shawn
Johnson <shawnjoh at uoguelph.ca> wrote
>>
>>
I'm looking to purchase some natural drum heads (goatskin, calfskin)
for
>>
a product I'm developing. I need the cheapest wholesale price I can
>>
find, so that I can keep the price of the product down. The prepared
>>
skins need not be of the best quality.
>>
>>
-Robyn Whystler
I
have used large rawhide bones from the local pet shop a few times.
They
work fairly well if you soak them in hot water for a few hours
and
unroll them.
Sparrow
(Alex)
Date:
Mon, 25 May 1998 11:18:25 EDT
From:
freyja1 at juno.com (Timothy A Whitcomb)
To:
sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject:
Re: Doumbek making
>Does
anyone know of a resource for making doumbek's.I can figure out by
>looking
at them how to throw one but I wonder if the sound changes from
>clay
body to clay body.
[I
would certainly think so. Since the density of clay can vary from
type
to
tpe, that would have an effect; much like the diffrence between metal
and
wood drum bodies. Maturing range of the clays would have a difference
too.]
I
usually throw with stoneware.
>More
importantly how does one attach the head?
[The
nicest ceramic drum I have ever seen had clay lugs (very sturdy!!)
around
the body and the head was lashed down. The worst was glued on.]
>I
have seen them made with the inside glazed and not glazed. Does it
>make
a difference?
[Again,
I would think so, but experiment. I am sure you would want to
make
more than one anyway, just to attain mastery of the form.]
>Tegan
Hroar
From:
Larry Johnson <ljohnsn1 at idt.net>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Rope Tension Drums
Date:
Mon, 22 Feb 1999 23:56:14 -0800
stevega
at earthlink.net wrote:
>
Does anyone have any advice, or url links, on stretching the skin
(drum head)
>
on a medieval or Renaissance marching drum. I am trying to make my
first
>
"period" drum. I enjoyed the fighting at Estrella, but I
think we needed
>
more drums!
I
went to a search engine, http://www.excite.com and entered
"making+rope+
tensioned+drum
and found this URL http://www.bongocentral.com/rope.htm
I
know the drums represented on the site are not period, but rope
tension is
rope
tension, you can adapt the method for your own drum.
Yours
aye,
Labhran
MacIain
From:
"Steve Gurzler" <macsen at worldnet.att.net>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Rope Tension Drums
Date:
25 Feb 1999 02:42:47 GMT
Organization:
Compaq
Greetings
Tristan,
You
might try looking at the Dover pubication "Orchesography"
in which
Arbeau
has a chapter on drums and construction. There are also I believe
drum
kits available through the Early music shop in England. They have a
web
site but I don't have it here. Good luck.
You
should play it for dancing too! :)
Cheers,
Deonna
From:
"Jason L. Parish" <jlparish at montana.com>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: bodhran question
Date:
Fri, 24 Mar 2000 12:16:51 -0700
Lee
Ann Schemel wrote:
>
i am curious about the Bodhran, is it hard to play, I am not very
>
musical, but I like drums, I was thinking about buying a kiddie one
from
>
Lark in the Morning and starting to practice on my own. Any
suggestios
>
would be appereciated, you may e-mail me too.
>
>
Eibhlin
Lord
Morgan Glynndwr, humble denizen of the Kingdom of Artemesia:
Greetings!
I have played the Bodhran for a few years now and I think
you
will find it to be quite easy to learn the basics. Even without a
musical
backround you will find that the drum itself will help you
learn...they
are just too addictive to put down!
I
would suggest, however, that instead of purchasing the kiddie models
you
should spend the extra cash and buy a high-quality, natural goat-skin
head
model. Also, if you enjoy the deeper tone that the Bodhran produces,
you
should try to find one that is at least 16 to 18 inches in diameter
or
greater.
There
are a number of books available that are great resources for
trying
to learn. One of the better booklets that I have found is entitled
"Power
Bodhran Techniques". The name of the author eludes me at the
moment
but
you should be able to track it down with relative ease. To hear the
Bodhran
in use, try any of the Chieftains albums or most any other good
Celtic
music groups. And, invariably, you will usually find one or two
Bodhran
players at any good size event who will be more than happy to assist
you
in your playing.
From:
mittle at panix.com (Arval d'Espas Nord)
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: bodhran question
Date:
24 Mar 2000 16:02:40 -0500
Organization:
PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
>
i am curious about the Bodhran, is it hard to play, I am not very
>
musical, but I like drums
Drop
by my Bodhran Page, http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/bodhran.
At
the risk of disappointing you, I must warn you that just about
everything
about modern bodhran playing is purely modern. Drums of the
same
basic construction may have existed in period Ireland (or may not),
but
as best I've been able to determine, the styles of play used today
were
all
invented in the 20th century.
But
don't let that discourage you: It's a lovely instrument when played
well,
and well worth the effort it takes to learn to do so.
===========================================================================
Arval
d'Espas Nord mittle at
panix.com
From:
Barbara Webb <b.h.webb at stir.ac.uk>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: bodhran question
Date:
Mon, 27 Mar 2000 13:16:34 +0100
Organization:
Psychology Department, Stirling University
Lee
Ann Schemel wrote:
>
As I told Arval who also Replied, My persona does not want
>
to play the harp, don't want to lug a harp around.
I'm
not sure why you drew the conclusion from Arval's pointing
out
that current bodhran technique is modern (and not, as far as we
know,
medieval) that he was suggesting you'd have to play harp
instead...Drums
are certainly medieval- maybe finding out some of
whats
and hows of medieval drumming would be of interest? The only
references
I know are:
Blades,
James. Early percussion instruments : from the Middle Ages to
the
Baroque / James Blades and Jeremy Montagu. 1976
Montagu,
Jeremy. Making early percussion instruments. 1976
I'd
be interested if anyone can suggest further sources, particularly
any
that discuss technique rather than just construction (Montagu
is
not very inspiring in his suggestions of what rhythms to play).
By
all means go ahead and enjoy modern bodhran playing too...
Caitlin
de Courcy
(As
a harpist I find a bit bizarre the concept that my 'persona'
might
want or not want to play the harp - maybe I should tell my
persona
that if it wants to play harp, it can do the practice?)
From:
mittle at panix.com (Arval d'Espas Nord)
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: bodhran question
Date:
29 Mar 2000 10:24:23 -0500
Organization:
PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
Thanks
for your courtesy Eibhlin. No apology was necessary, no offense was
taken.
>
I really do not think there is a wrong way to play a bodhran is
there?
Badly?
Seriously: There are techniques that work well and ones that don't.
Unfortunately,
we simply don't know how the drum was played (if it was
played
at all) in medieval Ireland. The earliest evidence of any kind that
I've
seen of the bodhran is a late 19th century photograph of an
Irish-American
ceili band. The drummer is holding his tipper in roughly
the
way I would if I were standing ready to play; but we can't conclude
much
from that. This photo was startling: I had previously believed that
the
introduction of the bodhran into performance music came only in the
mid-20th
century. I still think it is probably true that it was mostly
used
as a noise-maker before this century.
If
you're interested in medieval percussion, there are plenty of
possibilities
better-documented than the bodhran. The book recommended
here
a few days ago would be a good starting point.
===========================================================================
Arval
d'Espas Nord mittle at
panix.com
From:
Dana Lewis Hawkes <danad at tidepool.com>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Snare drums
Date:
Tue, 04 Apr 2000 00:00:44 -0700
Malachias
Invictus wrote:
>
What period did snare drums come into use? I figure that it is not
within
>
the SCA period, but I was curious if anyone happens to know.
>
>
Malachias
Actually,
I have a book called 'Making Early Percussion Instruments' by Jeremy
Montagu
in which he talks about some tabors and nakers having a gut snare.
From:
Josh Mittleman <mittle at panix.com>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Snare drums
Date:
4 Apr 2000 15:10:27 GMT
Organization:
PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
>
What period did snare drums come into use? I figure that it is not
within
>
the SCA period, but I was curious if anyone happens to know.
Oh,
absolutely within period. Certainly by the 14th or 15th century in
Italy
and France. I'd guess that it's much earlier. The early examples
I've
seen seem to have a single strand of gut stretched across the _upper_
side
of the drumhead.
Arval
From:
Nils K Hammer <nh0g+ at andrew.cmu.edu>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Snare drums
Date:
Tue, 4 Apr 2000 16:15:12 -0400
Organization:
Csd Education - Phd, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
I
assumed they were modern, but then someone showed me a picture in the
Orchesography
book with them.
nils
From:
mittle at panix.com (Arval d'Espas Nord)
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Bodhran Purchasing
Date:
7 Apr 2000 13:04:07 -0400
Organization:
PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
>
Does anyone know of a reliable online or mail order source that
>
provides high quality bodhrans?
There's
a list of pretty nearly all the major bodhran makers and vendors at
my
Bodhran page, http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/bodhran/. The
information
there will give you an idea of what's available and how much it
costs.
What you want to buy and how much you'll need to pay will depend on
just
what you mean by "high quality". For a
professional-quality, tunable
bodhran,
expect to spend $400. Anything under $100 is a toy, perhaps good
for
a novice to use to learn to play. In between, quality varies
unpredictably.
If you'd like me to recommend a few drummakers, drop me a
line
direct.
===========================================================================
Arval
d'Espas Nord mittle at
panix.com
From:
"Kensei" <harpbard at nospam.2xtreme.net>
Newsgroups:
rec.org.sca
Subject:
Re: Bodhran Purchasing
Date:
Sat, 08 Apr 2000 08:30:29 GMT
ulric
<ulricthefoxNOulSPAM at onebox.com.invalid> wrote:
>
All of this discussion of Bodhrans has really stoked my desire
>
to go out and buy one.
>
>
Does anyone know of a reliable online or mail order source that
>
provides high quality bodhrans?
>
>
I have looked on E-Bay, but there really is no telling what
>
those drums sounds like or what the quality of construction is
>
like.
Try
http://www.larkinam.com/MenComNet/Business/Retail/Larknet/Bodhrans
Quite
a selection, their 18" diameter double row tacks BOD006 $60.00,
has a
good
full deep sound and good quality - but you can go up to $450 for a
profesional
model if you chose.
Subject:
Re: An informal survey
Posted
by: "Catherine Koehler" hccartck at yahoo.com hccartck
Date:
Wed Jan 13, 2010 7:49 am ((PST))
I
play a djembe and also use to make drums with an African arts group.
We used sonotubes (generally the 10" or 12" diameter) I
would cut them into an acceptable length and the participants would
decorate them however they chose. We then used pre-cut goatskin drum
heads - stapled on and then ropes wrapped around the staples. The
sound was wonderful! If anyone needs me to give you more specifics,
feel free to contact me off list. Perhaps we could actually offer
this as a class a Gulf Wars!!!
Aine
---
On Wed, 1/13/10, Nauloera . <nauloera at gmail.com> wrote:
<<<
I'm interested and I could get my hands on one of those big blue
plastic
barrels
that folks down in my neck of the woods use for trash barrels if
someone
out there knows how to turn it into a drum (I would have absolutely
no
clue). Other than that I have a wee little doumbek I've been trying
to
teach
myself to play... Not going so well with that. So I'd also have to
learn
to play before I could use a big ol' drum.
Kitty/Manhalah
the Shireless >>>
To:
Gleann Abhann (mail list) <gleannabhann at yahoogroups.com>
Subject:
Re: Looking for Drummers!
Posted
by: "melinda" mlaf at sbcglobal.net maybard
Date:
Tue Nov 9, 2010 6:36 pm ((PST))
From:
"Barbara Easley" <barbara.easley at fedex.com>
<<<
If anyone can help get some drum heads for us, I know that there were
about
8
of us wanting to do this. Plastic blue barrels cut in half or thirds
make
a
GREAT base! >>>
Tandy
leather. Rawhide, preferably goat skin - it is thinner than cow,
and,
in
my opinion, sounds better - at least, the drums that I have made
sound
better
with the goat skin. You will need a piece big enough to cover the
top
of the barrel, plus overlap for the lacing. Soak the rawhide in
water
till
it becomes pliable, cut in circle shape, punch holes at regular
intervals
along edge, but far enough away from edge that the lacing won't
tear
through. I also use rawhide lacing. How you lace it depends on the
base
- if top is wider than the middle, then you can run a lace around the
middle,
and take your lacing around that. Otherwise, you might have to
drill
holes in the base to run the lacing through. Lace loosly at first,
until
the head is laced around and more or less centered on the base, then
go
back and tighten everything up. As the head dries, it will tighten
and
sound
better and better. I've been told that oiling rawhide drum heads
will
help
protect it from dew and night dampness. Over time, with repeated
oilings,
the rawhide will become transluscent and almost waterproof, but it
will
be loose right after an oiling, and will need to dry a bit to tighten
up.
If it does get damp, the sound will become dull, but a few minutes
carefully
holding it over a hot fire usually fixes the problem, at least for
a
little while. If the rawhide gets loose during regular usage, dampen
the
rawhide,
then let dry, and it should tighten back up.
Melandra,
who, yes, includes drum making among the various things she has
tried...
To:
Gleann Abhann (mail list) <gleannabhann at yahoogroups.com>
Subject:
Re: WAR DRUMS FOR GULF WARS!
Posted
by: "Catherine Koehler" hccartck at yahoo.com hccartck
Date:
Thu Nov 11, 2010 3:31 pm ((PST))
Dear
Duchess and others...
I
posted last year about a way to make the drums using sonotubes
(contractors use them..ask for throwaways) They are a VERY sturdy
paper used for concrete columns and come in different dimensions.
They are easy to cut on a saw, and easy to paint. I actually wet the
goatskins and then STAPLE them to the cardboard with a power stapler.
Then I cover the staples with cord wrapped around the head. They
are incredible sounding! I have made these for several years for an
African heritage dance grant but they are just as easily medieval
depending on how you embellish them. Just thought I would throw
those ideas out there for the group to chew on for awhile!
Aine
---
On Thu, 11/11/10, Barbara Easley <barbara.easley at fedex.com>
wrote:
We
are making them... isn't that what the SCA does? <G>
I
have pickle buckets, and blue plastic barrels. I've cut the tops off,
and am using different sizes of barrel to make different pitch drums.
Get a goatskin from Tandy (see previous post) and some rawhide
string. Cut the skin a little bigger then the head circumference.
Poke holes regularly around it. Wet it down, tighten the strings
evenly around it, and wait for it to dry.
I'll
paint them and decorate them to hide their pickle-bucketness and
barrel-ness <G>.
DRUM!!
Ilissa
<the
end>