This category of musical percussion instruments is characterized by the fact that in order to extract a sound, it is necessary to hit them well. The most famous of these, of course, is the drum, present in the arsenal of many peoples.
Small cylinders have been found during excavations in Mesopotamia – presumably the ancient Sumerians used them in their rituals in 3000 BC. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs depict warriors with this instrument. Rock paintings in caves in Peru also testify to campaigns and religious ceremonies using a drum. The resounding sounds helped Haitian witches enter a trance and convey information at a distant distance to Indians. Some tribes made a shell with a membrane of gourd and wood, while others covered it with llama leather. But the most intimidating were war drums: they were made from the skin of the leader of an enemy settlement. The drum came to Europe, presumably from Palestine.
The variety of types of drums indicates their long history. In the army were used nakry – copper cauldrons covered with leather, the first mention of which was at the siege of Kazan in 1552. Teponazztl – an Aztec drum similar to a wooden cylinder. The sound was extracted from it with sticks with tips of rubber. The ashiko and djembe, West African drums, are played with the hands, while the Indian bahia is played with the fingers.
Many peoples play the tambourine, a leather diaphragm with bells stretched on a wooden rim. They appeared in Asia in the II-III centuries. In India their sounds are associated with the cosmos and the infinity of the universe, and in Central America playing a tambourine asked the spirits of fertility. Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich in the X century Russia made a tambourine a symbol of his valiant campaigns, later it became an indispensable attribute of Shrovetide celebrations, along with pancakes. Shamans under the rhythm of tambourine heated on fire make journeys to other worlds.
Very unusual sounds, resembling a roar, are made by a boogeyman in the countries that were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The wooden cylinder, covered with hide, is decorated in the central part with a solid bundle of horse hair. The musician pulls the hair with his hands soaked in kvass, and an inexpressible “roaring” sound is produced – and this instrument also belongs to the drums.
Modern assortment of musical percussion instruments is wide and varied – it is not known whether to envy the musicians or sympathize: you want to master both. The main thing is that the neighbors do not suffer from their exertions.