From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spanish friction drum
A
friction drum
is a
musical instrument
found in various forms in
Africa
,
Asia
,
Europe
and
South America
. In Europe it emerged in the 16th century and was associated with specific religious and ceremonial occasions.
A friction drum being played.
Construction
[
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]
A friction drum is a percussion instrument consisting of a single membrane stretched over a
sound box
, whose sound is produced by the player causing the membrane to vibrate by
friction
. The sound box may be a pot or jug or some open-ended hollow object. To produce the friction, the membrane may be directly rubbed with the fingers or through the use of a cloth, or a stick or cord which is attached to the centre of the membrane and then rubbed or moved with a hand, sponge or cloth, generally wet. The membrane may be depressed with the thumb while playing to vary the
pitch
. When a cord is used the instrument may be referred to as a "string drum" or "
lion's roar
."
In some friction drums, the friction is obtained by spinning the drum around a pivot.
Use in Western European classical music
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]
The composer
Orlando Gibbons
(1583–1625) wrote a
keyboard
fantasia
in which he quotes the
Dutch
melody
De Rommelpot
. In modern times the friction drum has been used by several Western composers.
Edgard Varese
used it in
Hyperprism
(1924) and
Ionisation
(1933).
Alexander Goehr
specifies a "lion's roar" in his
Romanza
for
cello
and
orchestra
(1968).
Carl Orff
used a whirled friction drum in
A Midsummer Night's Dream
(1934?52) and
Benjamin Britten
, in his
Children's Crusade
, (1969) calls for a string drum to be struck with drumsticks and bowed by means of the stretched string.
Depictions in Western European paintings
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]
The Rommelpot features in several paintings by Dutch painters, including
Two Boys and a Girl Making Music
by
Jan Miense Molenaer
(1629,
National Gallery, London
) and
The Fight Between Carnival and Lent
by
Pieter Brueghel
(1559,
Kunsthistorisches Museum
,
Vienna
).
Regional use in folk music
[
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]
- Belgium
:
rommelpot
, played by folk singers, often as the sole accompaniment to their singing.
- Brazil
:
cuica
, primarily used in
Rio de Janeiro
-style
Carnival
samba
. A stick is attached to the centre of the membrane and protrudes into the inside of the sound box, which is an open-ended cylinder. The player reaches inside the sound box from the other end to rub the stick.
- Denmark
:
rummelpot
or
rumlepot
. In some parts of Denmark, e.g.
Southern Jutland
, traditionally groups of masked children go from house to house on
New Year's Eve
singing songs to the rhythmic accompaniment of the rummelpot and receiving
æbleskiver
, sweets or fruits in return.
- France
:
tambour a friction
, and local names (
brau
,
bramadera
,
brama-topin
,
petador
,
pinhaton
in the South).
Tambour a cordes
is used for a string drum, not be confused with the
tambourin a cordes
, a stringed instrument.
- Germany
:
Brummtopf
or
Rummelpott
, in Berlin and old Prussia
Waldteufel
. On
New Year's Eve
there is a tradition in North Germany in which groups of masked children with homemade instruments, including the
Rummelpott
, go from house to house singing special Rummelpott songs in
Low German
, receiving sweets or fruits in return. Adults go out later that evening and typically receive shots of
schnapps
.
- Hungary
:
kocsogduda
(jughorn or jugpipe), especially used in
zither
orchestras.
Leather
or
parchment
is tightened over the top of a large
terracotta
or wooden jug. A
reed
or length of
horsehair
is fastened to the cover and rubbed with a wet hand.
- Italy
:
caccavella
or
putipu
; also known by many other names. The body may be an earthenware pot, a wooden tub or a tin can, with a length of
bamboo
pierced through an animal skin membrane and rubbed.
- Malta
:
ir-rabbaba
or
iz-zafzafa
. The instrument consists of a tin, wood or clay body with a stretched membrane of cat, goat or rabbit skin which has a stick tied in the centre. The stick is rubbed with a wet sponge.
- Netherlands
:
foekepot
or
rommelpot
. The syllable “foek” is probably meant to be onomatopoeic. It is rubbed with a rosined stick. In some parts of the Netherlands, e.g. on the island of
IJsselmonde
, it was tradition, until the 1950s, to go from house to house on New Year's Eve singing songs to the rhythmic accompaniment of the rommelpot. This tradition is still maintained in North Holland on the feast of
St. Martin
. In
Brabant
rommelpot
can also refer to the dance which is accompanied by the instrument.
- Poland
:
burczybas
.
- Portugal
:
sarronca
.
- Romania
:
buhai
(similar to the Ukrainian
buhay
), made of a wooden tub or bucket open at both ends with an animal skin tightened over the top and pierced in the middle for a horsehair "ox tail". This is rubbed with a wet hand. It is traditionally used in the New Year's ritual
plugu?orul
("the little plough"), where it reproduces the sound of oxen mooing when pulling the plough.
- Russia: gusachyok or gusyok (Russian:
Гусачок or
гусёк
). The top of a clay pot is covered with skin of bull. It is rubbed with a rosined stick.
- Slovenia
:
lon?eni bas
(pottery bass), also called
gudalo
or
vuga?
. The instrument is a clay pot, generally between 20 and 40 cm tall, covered with skin or parchment and with a resin-coated hardwood stick of similar length tied in the center.
- Spain
:
zambomba
. This friction drum can be made from a variety of materials and rubbed either with a rod or with rope. It is particularly associated with
Christmas
, when it used to accompany the singing of
carols
.
- Ukraine
:
buhay
(
Ukrainian
:
бугай
) (also known as
bugai
,
buhai
,
berebenytsia
,
bika
,
buga
,
bochka
). This instrument was traditionally used as part of New Year's and Christmas rituals. It is included in Ukrainian folk orchestras.
- Venezuela
: The
furro
is used in
aguinaldos
,
parrandas
and Zulian traditional music such as
gaita
, these can also be known as
furruco
, and
mandullo
.
- Colombia
:
zambumbia
.
- Mexico
:
arcusa
,
bote del diablo
or
tigrera
.
- Cuba
:
ekue
.
See also
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]
References
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]
- The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians; edited by Stanley Sadie; 1980;
ISBN
1-56159-174-2
- Music in the Renaissance; by Gustave Reese; London 1954
- Anna Borg-Cardona, 'The Maltese Friction Drum'
Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society
, vol. XXVII, (2002), pp. 174?210.
External links
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]
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21. Struck
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22. Plucked
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23.
Friction
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24. Singing
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25. Unclassified
| Attachment of membrane(s) to body/bodies:
- 256. Glued
- 257. Nailed
- 258. Laced
- 259. Ringed
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Gaiaphones
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Hydraulophones
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Aerophones
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Plasmaphones
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Quintephones
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Other
| |
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Designers of instruments
| Pierre Bastien
,
Baschet Brothers
,
Ken Butler
,
Nicolas Collins
,
Ivor Darreg
,
Bart Hopkin
,
Yuri Landman
,
Moondog
,
Harry Partch
,
Hans Reichel
,
Luigi Russolo
,
Adolphe Sax
,
Leon Theremin
,
Thomas Truax
,
Michel Waisvisz
|
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