There is some exciting science behind the explanation to this question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Physical Insight on Drums and Melodies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Instruments generally not only create a single frequency at one time. By playing a single note on a melodic instrument (e.g., the piano, wind or string instruments), many different frequencies are produced at once – a whole spectrum is generated. However, this spectrum is not accidental. It follows reasonably precisely the harmonic series that you can imagine as the “ideal” levels that these frequencies might have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the higher, often weaker frequencies generated are known as overtones. As long as the overtones align with the harmonic series, the result will sound harmonic, and we will have the feeling of listening to just one even note or pitch.<\/strong> One example of a waveform that is generated by a violin as well as piano with its sine wave pendant is shown here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, if you hit a drum, its frequency spectrum will be quite different from that of the harmonic series. Indeed, you often hear one loudest single frequency. Yet, the overtones don’t really conform with what you might be expecting to perceive from a melody instrument<\/strong> (like the piano in the example).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result is that we do not have a similar feeling of hearing a single and well-defined pitch. Rather, it sounds more like a dull impact instead of a clearly defined pitch. This is why it would be far harder to recognize a melody played on a drum set than on a piano., also known as inharmonicity. The single stroke of a timpani makes such a spectrograph:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some might say, overtones describe the noise that you wouldn’t want to hear when hitting a drum. But it’s not necessarily that. Because all drums, as well as cymbals, produce overtones, and not all of them are frankly bad. Instead, they are an integral part of any instrument’s sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply put, an overtone is the additional harmonics that can be heard over and beyond the key tone. When you hit a drum, the basic note is generated by the impact when the stick is first struck on the drumhead. The overtones are the resulting harmonics that you hear afterward.<\/strong> They can sometimes be really terrible. However, even a well-tuned drum will still produce overtones<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the topic of harmonic vs. disharmonic overtones: Instruments that have an effectively one-dimensional sound generating mechanism (e.g., a violin or a pipe organ) tend to produce harmonic overtones. In contrast, instruments that are two-dimensional (e.g., drums) are prone to produce disharmonic overtones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to play melodies on drums properly, you should have a proper amount of drums available on your drum kit, but there is not a hard limit to how many toms you should have. Of course, it’s possible to play certain melodies with just two additional toms, besides the snare and bass drum, like on a jazz drum kit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if you want to have the capability to experiment with various pitches, the motto is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The more toms you have, the more freedom you have to experiment.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n When having fewer toms, like on a jazz kit, the drummer has to compensate the number of drums for accommodating all the different pitches. Usually, the drums are tuned before a performance and cannot really be re-tuned on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, a drumhead can be tweaked to produce higher pitches through creative applications of putting pressure or bending the drumhead. Jazz drummers use this technique called “melodic drumming”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As an example, to play higher pitches on the snare drum after loosening the snare wire, the drummer presses down his elbow on the snare. The more pressure is put on the drumhead, the higher the pitch will be.<\/strong> With this technique, it’s only possible to reach a higher pitch by tensioning the drumhead. Producing a lower pitch is not possible unless you loosen the lugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast to having fewer drums, drummers can also have a massive drum kit with a vast number of different drums that are all tuned to a specific note<\/strong> so that melodies can be played on them more easily. With that, you don’t have the difficulty of having to bend the drumhead just so much that you reach the desired tone, since you have most of the notes there already and ready to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Melodic drumming is very much used in jazz drumming, in the context of playing within a band, as well as it’s utilized in the art of playing drum solos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ari Hoeing and Alvin Atkinson are two examples of drummers who use melodic drumming on their jazz kits. Ari Hoeing<\/strong> is one of the most well-known drummers in that niche. This is a video of him performing Billie’s Bounce. You can see him in the intro as he pushes the drums down to increase the tension and create a higher pitch. As the main melody starts at 1:53, you can watch him playing what is actually the melody of that song. You can see this, but compared to the saxophone, it is a lot more challenging to tell which notes the drums are playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/drumminginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/waveform-examples.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/drumminginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/spectograph-timpani.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat Are Overtones?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Requirements to Play Melodies on Drums<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Drum Set<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Techniques<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In What Context is it Used?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n