A frame drum is a drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

 that has a drumhead

Drumhead

A drumhead is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum.-History:...

 width greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead

Drumhead

A drumhead is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum.-History:...

 is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood (rosewood, oak, ash etc.) scarf joint

Scarf joint

A scarf joint is a method of joining two members end to end in woodworking or metalworking. The scarf joint is used when the material being joined is not available in the length required...

ed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical tuning and on many the drumhead is stretched and tacked in place. It is the earliest skin drum known to have existed. Examples are found in many places and cultures. It has been suggested that they were also used to winnow grain.

Frame drums are one of the most ancient types of musical instruments. They have a simple structure with strong spiritual and entertaining effects. They are usually round, made of wood with animal skin and sometimes metal rings or plates incorporated into the drum to provide jingle. They have different sizes; the larger drums are played mainly by men in spiritual rituals and medium size drums are played mainly by women.

Frame drums originated in the ancient Middle East, India, and Rome, and reached medieval Europe through Islamic culture. The similarity of the names of frame drums in these regions shows the common history of these drums.

Types of frame drums

• Adufe
  Adufe
  The adufe is a traditional square tambourine of Moorish origin, which is used in Portugal.-History:A Portuguese percussion instrument, it was traditionally used in the Beira and Trás-os-Montes regions. It was also used in many other regions across the Iberian Peninsula, and similar instruments are...
  
   (Portugal)
• Bendir
  Bendir
  The bendir is a frame drum used as a traditional instrument throughout North Africa. Unlike the tambourine, it has no jingles but most often has a snare stretched across its head, which when the drum is struck with the fingers or palm gives the tone a buzzing quality.The bendir is a frame drum...
  
   (North Africa, Turkey)
• Bodhrán
  Bodhrán
  The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
  
   (Ireland)
• Buben (Russia)
• Crowdy-crawn
  Crowdy-crawn
  A crowdy-crawn is a wooden hoop covered with sheepskin used as a percussion instrument known in western Cornwall at least as early as 1880. It is similar to the Irish bodhrán. It is used by some modern Cornish traditional music groups as a solo or accompaniment instrument...
  
   (Cornwall)
• Daf
  Daf
  A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
  
   (Iran, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Middle East)
• Daffu (India)
• Dayereh
  Dayereh
  A dayereh is a medium-sized frame drum with jingles, used to accompany both popular and classical music in Iran , the Balkans, and many Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan...
  
   (Iran, Central Asia, Balkans)
• Doyra (Uzbekistan)
• Ghaval (Azerbaijan)
• Kanjira
  Kanjira
  The kanjira, khanjira or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. It is used primarily in concerts of Carnatic music as a supporting instrument for the mridangam...
  
   (India)
• Mazhar
  Mazhar
  The mazhar is a large, heavy tambourine used in Arabic music. The mazhar's frame is generally made out of wood. The instrument's brass jingles are quite large . It is played with a shaking technique that gives it a raucous sound...
  
   (Egypt)
• Pandeiro
  Pandeiro
  The pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes...
  
   (Brazil)
• Plenera
  Plenera
  The pleneras o panderetas de plena, are a percussion instrument included in the group of Frame drums. These hand drums from Puerto Rico, are usually performed in plena music. There are three sizes, requinto , segundo or punteador of and seguidor ....
  
   (Puerto Rico)
• Pandereta de tuna, rondalla y estudiantina (Spain, Philippines and LatinAmerica)
• Pandero (España)
• Pandero cuequero (Chile)
• Pandero jarocho (Mexico)
• Ramana (Thailand)
• Ravann (Mauritius)
• Riq
  Riq
  The riq is a type of tambourine used as a traditional instrument in Arabic music. It is an important instrument in both folk and classical music throughout the Arabic-speaking world...
  
   (Arabic world)
• Sami drum (Nordic and Russia)
• Tamborim
  Tamborim
  A tamborim is a small, round Brazilian frame drum of Portuguese and African origin.The frame is 6" in width and may be made of metal, plastic, or wood. The head is typically made of nylon and is normally very tightly tuned in order to ensure a high, sharp timbre and a minimum of sustain...
  
   (Brazil)
• Tambourine
  Tambourine
  The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
  
   (Europe, USA)
• Tamburello (Italy)
• Tammorra (Italy)
• Tar
  Tar (drum)
  A tar is a single-headed frame drum. The tar comes from North Africa and the Middle East. Depictions of these frame drums date back thousands of years....
  
   (North Africa)
• Thappu
  Thappu
  For thappu hand drum, see patayani thappu.The thappu, thapu, dappu or parai drum is a frame drum of India.It consists of a circular wood frame with one end closed with cow skin membrane and the other end open. Thappu is played with two sticks, being one larger and thinner than the other one...
  
   (India)
• Toph, Tupim (Israel)
• Timbrel
  Timbrel
  Timbrel or tabret , the principal musical instrument of percussion of the Israelites, similar to the modern tambourine.-History:...
  
  
• Uchiwa daiko (Japan)

External links

• Glen Velez

• Eckermann Drums Vienna, Manufacture of custom drum membranes and instruments
• Frame Drums
• Frame Drum Central
• online community for frame drum and other world percussion
• Knock on Wood frame Drum Page
• Frame drum videos
• Glen Velez Frame Drum Video
• www.framedrums.net - videos, information and instruction about different frame drums