About bass drums, snare drums, and tom-toms
These percussion instruments play an important role in orchestras and brass bands as well as in rock, popular, and jazz bands. In those cases they are mostly used as a single drum instead of a set of drums.
Bass drum, producing a deep bass sound
A bass drum (big drum), reverberates throughout a concert hall. It is the largest drum of the orchestra that produces a note of indefinite pitch. The bass drum used today dates back to 14th century Turkey.
It usually consists of a drum skin stretched over the top and bottom of a wooden cylindrical frame. In orchestral music, a bass drum of more than 80 cm in diameter and 40 cm in depth is often used. It is usually played by striking the drum with a padded mallet, and sometimes by moving the wrist rapidly with a double-headed mallet, and this performance technique is seen in Dukas' 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' and Stravinsky's 'The Firebird'. The bass drum plays the important role of keeping rhythm not only in orchestral music but also in military bands, rock, and pop bands. Similar bass drums have traditionally been used in many countries in the world.
Snare drum and tom-tom
The snare drum (small drum) is also called a side drum because it used to be positioned to the side of the performer's body in military bands. It consists of two skins stretched over a wooden or metallic circular frame. Its most significant characteristic is the unique sound that is produced from eight snares strung over the bottom of the drum. Rolling, a playing technique of continuous striking the drum head at high speed with wooden sticks, is unique to the snare drum. It is the star of the marching band.
The tom-tom is shaped like a long-bodied small drum and does not have snares on its bottom. It is used in combination with a bass drum and a snare drum in rock, pop, and jazz bands, as a set of drums. The concert tom-tom is also available.
