What is a Membranophone? Well, a membranophone is an instrument made with a stretched animal skin that vibrates when hit to produce sound. Most membranophones are drums, made strictly for specific contexts, and in some communities, only men are allowed to play them.
Depending on the event, each instrument has a specific playing technique. Some membranophone instruments are played with bare hands to produce a particular sound, and others are beaten using specific types of sticks and other drum-playing objects.
Classification of membranophones
Membranophones are divided into categories depending on how the membrane is made to produce a sound.
- Struck membranophones– the instrument’s membrane is struck using bare hands or a special stick to produce the pitch.
- Shaken membranophones– the drum has objects that make the membrane vibrate when it is shaken.
- Plucked membranophones– these are membranophones that have a string fixed to the membrane so that when it is plucked, the membrane vibrates.
- Friction membranophones– friction is applied on the membrane of the instrument, and it vibrates.
- Singing membranophones– You hum into these membranophones, and the membrane modifies the hum to produce the desired sound.
Examples of membranophones
Membranophones are mostly drums made of different shapes. There are drums with a bowel shape, tubular, and others are made with a shallow frame. Gourds and pots make the bowl-shaped drums and the kettledrums as well.
Depending on the type of drum, the manufacturer uses one or two skins. The skin is then pinned or glued to the guard or the material being used and left to dry.
Drums appear in different shapes like cylindrical, conical, hourglass, or barrel-shaped, and they are also of different sizes. The pitch you want the drum to produce will depend on what you use to strike them and the playing technique. A single or double skin on the drum will also influence the pitch.
Since most membranophones are drums, most of our examples are types of drums.
Drums
Drums are the most recognizable category of membranophones. To produce sound on the drum, the instrument player uses another device to strike the stretched top membrane of the drum. They could use drumsticks or even bare hands, depending on the pitch they want to produce.
Since the drumstick hits the drum head with a lot of force, energy moves to the drum head, which then vibrates to produce a sound. One of the most common types of the drum is the snare drum.
Snare or side drum
If you are a fan of pop, R&B, and rock music, you must have heard the sound of a snare drum. However, it is hard to tell which drum type is playing, especially if you don’t know much about drums.
The side drum has stretched wires that pass across the bottom of the drum head. When the drummer strikes the drum head using drumsticks, the wires strike the drumhead, and a hissing sound is produced. That is the sound that pop, R&BS, and rock music are identified with.
A snare drum highlights these beats because it is very clear and easy to hear. This is a struck type of membranophone. Most snare drums have double heads, where the top one is played with two drumsticks.
Bass drum
Besides drum sticks, mallets also strike drums to produce a sound. The shape of the mallet and the force used to strike the drum will affect the pitch produced. Although it resembles a drumstick, a mallet has a small wooden bead at the end.
The bass drum comes with a kick peddle to enable the drummer to play it with the legs as they strike the other drums with their hands. The kick pedal has a kick drum beater that strikes the bass drum.
Bass drums are huge than the standard drums and have a larger surface area. The bass produced by these drums supplements the other instruments and gives the song a beat.
Congas
Congas is another example of membranophones, and these drums come in pairs or a set of three. The bearing edge of this drum set is round and uncovered to ensure the drums sound the same and can produce diverse sounds.
The pitch produced from these drums depends on how the drummer uses the striking instrument. For a tighter pitch, they apply pressure on the drum head. These drums are played using the hands and can be played when lying on the floor or standing.
Kanzoo
Although most membranophones are drums, the singing membranophones use air to produce a pitch. You hum into the kanzoo, and a pitch is produced by the vibration of the air and humming. You can change the pitch made by changing how you hum. This instrument is homemade and not commonly used.
Timpani
These membranophones resemble a half dome. Timpani is a special type of drum that produces high-pitched sound. Unlike the usual drums, these have a pedal that you adjust the tune of the drum with.
Drummers use mallets to play them. You will realize that timpani are mostly played in groups to produce different chords in the music.
Bongos
These types of membranophones come as a pair, but each drum has its drum head only at the top. Drummers use their hands to produce different sounds on the bongos. When using the hand to play the drums, you can play on the edges and hit them with different forces to create the desired pitch.
You can also play the drums with the entire hand or the fingers only, depending on the pitch you want. One hand is used to beat the drum head, while the other stretches the drumhead so that it can produce the correct pitch.
Conclusion
Most membranophones are drums, and the drums are of different shapes and produce different pitches. Some of them have a double membrane, while others have the membrane at the top only. As you consider specific factors of the membranophone to buy, it is also essential to choose the best striking rod because it affects the sound produced.