When was the first percussion instrument made

Surprisingly, these drums are some two thousand years older than the Sumeria n civilization itself, dating back to around BCE. This suggests that drums predate the civilizations known to us, and that their roots lie in the cultures of the Stone Age. Another ancient drum found in Moravia dates back to BCE. It points to the long, centuries-old tradition of crafting percussion instruments that preceded it. In Ancient Egypt, another great civilization that rivals Sumer as the first civilization on Earth, drums appeared in BCE, even earlier than hieroglyphic script and the Pyramids.

Metal, cup-shaped drums dating to around BCE were found in territories currently occupied by Germany. They ranged from 14 to 50 cm in size.

A thousand years before our era, Mesoamericans made drums out of pumpkins or hollowed out of wood, which they used in religious ceremonies and rituals, and also in military campaigns to energize their warriors.

How did drums make their way to Europe? This question is debated to this day. Some say that drums came to Europe from the Middle East at the dawn of the Greek civilization , which has its roots in the cultures of Asia Minor.

Others say drums came to Europe from Africa, transported by the ancient Greeks who were impressed by the powerful, strong sounds of African tom-toms. Although the curious instruments imported by the Greeks were not used often, they most certainly impacted the percussion tools subsequently developed by the Greeks.

A new wave of drums that took over Europe is associated with the period when the Roman Empire began competing with the Phoenician state of Carthage for new lands in Africa. In the third century BCE, the Romans invaded Africa, where they encountered the highly-developed practice of playing percussion instruments. Surprised at the effect produced, the practical Romans applied these instruments first and foremost to military affairs: to transmit military signals, intimidate the enemy and raise troop morale.

But, although they used African drums, Europeans did not use African rhythms, preferring their own musical traditions. The next stage of Europe's adoption of drums began with the discovery of America. With its medley of inhabitants from Africa, Asia, and South America, the Americas produced an amazing cultural mixture of ethnic rhythms and a diverse array of percussion instruments.

In America, Africans invented new instruments and drums that resembled those from their homeland, but were still something new.

Our collection of instruments includes: Ocean drum, bongos, djembes, gong, pandeiros tambourines , kalimbas thumb pianos , dholak, pancake and monkey drums, vibratone, afouche cabasa, glockenspiel, buffalo drum, tambour, bodhran, cymbals, maracas, rainsticks, cowbell, woodblocks, agogo, castanets, tulip woodblock, triangle, bells, claves, finger cymbals, rhythm thang, shakers, dustbin and lid, hammer handles, broom handles etc - all those can be used for percussive groups.

Anything and everything goes for a hand drum - it's possible to improvise with virtually anything. Percussion Instruments are defined as those that are sounded by striking, shaking, plucking, or scraping. All instruments such as drums and bells fall into this category. Percussion instruments may be further divided into those instruments that produce a definite pitch and those that do not.

Some whistles aerophones are also included in this category of instruments because they tend to be considered sound effects rather than serious instruments. Untuned percussion instruments include the bass drum, side drum, anvils, triangles and jingles. The bass drum makes a massive sound. If you've ever listened to a full orchestra playing above it, you can still feel its power. The drum is hit with a huge beater but can sometimes be played using the hand or fingers for special effect. Tuned percussion instruments include the xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, bells, crotals and many more.

The 21st century urban environment provides tons of cool sounding material resources for making percussion sounds. What works? Just use your ears! Their model of wooden shell that was covered by the stretched alligator skin became template for drums created across entire Asia, Middle East and Africa, where drums were used for thousands of years.

Presence of drums in Europe was not prominent for centuries after. While Middle East, Asia and Japan become home of many drum designs, drums were very rarely used in Europe. This changed significantly after European armies came back home after crusades, bringing with them technology, knowledge and objects that enabled beginning of the European Renaissance.

With the steady stream of trade arriving via Genoa and Venetian ports, Europe started its centuries long recovery after harsh Dark and Middle Ages. This recovery also touched music, enabling drums to finally become widely accepted, and morphed into countless types that were used as main and secondary instruments in rhythm section of both folk and classical music.

Presence of drums in orchestras continued to evolve, until in Ludwig Company managed to introduce true revolution — foot pedal for beating Bass drum. This enabled musicians to finally start using drum kits that we know and use today.