Are Drums the oldest musical instrument?
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And now it's time for Who Smarted? Psst, hey, smarty pants, trusty narrator here. By the sounds of things, you can probably guess where I am right now. Oh, if you said watching a marching band, you're right. It's halftime at the local college football game. And while my team is getting horribly blown out, I don't mind because I'm actually more excited to see the marching band perform.

Smarty Pants, listen closely and see if you can tell which instrument in particular I'm super psyched to see and hear. Can you tell which instrument played that sound? If you said both sounds were made by different versions of the same instrument, you're right. And that instrument is the drums, which, of course, also played that drum roll you just heard. If you ask me, the drums just can't be beat, which is ironic because you beat the drums. ♪

Anyway, I'm not here alone. The school's music director and band leader, Professor Peart, will be joining us as soon as the band finishes playing. Not to mention, Professor Peart also plays drums in a cool local rock band. It's quite a rush hearing him play. Ah, the band's done. There goes our lousy football team back on the field. And here comes Professor Peart.

Hey, great job out there, Professor. Hey, thanks, trustee. How goes it, smarty pants? Uh, the smarty pants say, hey. Only I can hear them. Anyway, nice-sized crowd came to see the game today, don't you think? The game? I don't think so. Let's face it, our team stinks. If anything, all these people came to see the halftime show featuring our award-winning band. You think so? I know so. Look, half the crowd's leaving.

Well, the band was great, especially the drummers. Oh yeah, our drum ensemble is one of the best in the country.

I'll say, hmm, since the game isn't very interesting, maybe now's a good time for you to teach me and the smarty pants a thing or two about drums. Such as, when were drums first discovered and how have they been used throughout history? What are drums made of? Why do different drums sound the way they do? And finally, do you have to take lessons to learn how to play the drums? Sounds good. Although maybe we should get away from this awful game. Good call. Get ready to march to the beat of a whiff of science and history on...

Who's smart?

Hey, Smarty Pants. Trusty here with a special mission for all the Smarty Pants listening. But unlike a top secret mission, this mission requires you to tell everyone. That's right. Your job is to spread the word about Who Smarted so we can keep growing and bringing you awesome new episodes. To qualify for this mission, let's play a little game. Who do you know that would love Who Smarted but doesn't listen to the show?

Got someone in mind? Great. Question two. Pick one. Make a plan. Stick to it.

And best of all, complete this not-so-top-secret mission. I'm counting on you, Smarty Pants. The more people you tell, the bigger we grow, which means a lot more smarting for you. Okay, Smarty Pants, we've relocated to the band rehearsal room, where things are a lot less noisy. I may have spoken too soon.

But that's okay, because this episode is all about drums. In fact, Smarty Pants, are you ready for a quick guessing game about drums? Great! Okay, listen up. Professor Peart will have one of his drummers play a type of drum. See if you can guess which one it is. Okay, here we go. Okay, what do you think? Was that sound made by A. Steel drums B. A bass drum Or C. Bongo drums

If you said B, bass drums, you're right. In most marching bands, it's that deep thump-thump of the bass drum that keeps the rhythm for the other instruments to follow along with. Does that deep sound have anything to do with the size of the drum? Because that bass drum is huge! That's exactly right, trustee. The bass drum is actually the largest of all the drums in a marching band, or in a rock and roll drum kit.

And it makes the deepest sound with the drum head on both sides, being struck using felt-covered mallet drumsticks. Nice. I also noticed it's the only drum that appears to be held vertically or straight up and down. Good observation. Instead of hitting down on the drum, the drum is held upright and the drummers hit the sides of it.

Wow, they must have pretty strong back muscles to hold up that big, heavy drum. Yep, plus they wear a special harness. But being a bass drummer in a marching band isn't for everyone. Okay, next drum. Listen up, smarty pants, and see if you can guess what this one's called. Is this one called A, a snare drum, B, an oil drum, or C, an eardrum? The answer is A, a snare drum. The snare drum is smaller than the bass drum, and as you can hear...

or sound from the snare drums are higher than the bass drum. Yep, you can hear a big difference. Question, why is it called a snare drum? Smarty Pants, any ideas? It has to do with a set of metal wires that are strung across the bottom surface of the drum. That group of wires is referred to as a snare. When the drumsticks strike the top surface of the drum, the wires below vibrate, which causes that metallic-y sound.

There's a few variations of snare drum. There's the kind found on a rock drum kit, and then there's the marching snares that can be worn and played while walking or marching. I noticed the snare drummers holding their drumsticks much closer to the top of the drum as they hit it rapidly. Hey, good observation. It's very different from the bass. But while the snare drum sounds like it's trickier to play...

The bass drum is often harder to play because it's not trying to blend in with the other instruments. Rather, it's doing its own thing independent of the rest of the band. Interesting. Okay, last one for now. Smarty Pants, what kind of drum is this? Is it A, a tin drum, B, a treble drum, or C, a tenor drum?

The answer is C, a tenor drum. A tenor drum is a membranophone drum without a snare, meaning it's made from a stretched membrane, which gives it this mid-range sound that's between a bass and a snare. And because there's no snare, it doesn't have that extra rattle to it. But you can still play it fast.

And just like the marching snare can be worn and hit while walking, sometimes four or even six tenor drums called quads are mounted together for carrying and playing on the march. Wow, those are all so cool. What about you, Smarty Pants? Do you have a favorite? I kind of like them all. Hey, Trusty, follow me. I want to show you my recording studio. It's where me and my rock band, we write, perform, and record music together. ♪

Ooh, I can't wait to see and hear what you have in store. Cool. Don't worry. It's just a quick walk. Uh, not if we use my teleportation app. Here we are. Whoa. I've never seen so many drums in one place. There are bongos, timpani, congas, tabla drums from the Indian subcontinent,

And these? Smarty pants, see if you can guess what these drums are called. Is it A, tin drums, B, metal drums, or C, steel drums? The answer is C, steel drums. Steel drums, otherwise known as steel pan drums, were created on the island country of Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930s. They're pretty advanced because different parts of the pan or drum produce different sounds.

But that beautiful, unique sound is the soundtrack of many North American islands and are sometimes used by bands to add a cool or colorful sound. Wow. Did you know there were so many types of drums, Smarty Pants? Professor Peart, how old were you when you first started playing the drums? Ha, not that young. More like five years old. My dad saw how much I enjoyed banging on pots and pans with wooden spoons. So one day, he brought home a pair of bongos to see if I'd like hitting them.

Ooh, bongos are a great first drum to learn on. Mind if I give it a shot? Absolutely. Go for it, trusty. Hey, not bad. Not bad at all. Not good, but definitely not bad. Thanks. So once you mastered the bongos, then what? Then I started taking lessons on a full drum kit, like this one right here. Wow. We'll get into some more drumming right after this quick break and a word from our sponsors.

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What is Batman's personality? He's a rich guy. Find Forever Ago, Brains On, and Smash Boom Best wherever you get your podcasts. Or head to brainson.org to learn more. Now back to Who Smarted. So this is your rock drum kit for when you play with your band? Exactly. A standard drum set comes with five drums. There's the snare, the bass, which you play by stepping on a pedal, or two pedals, two different sized toms,

And one large floor tom. And a couple of cymbals, too, of course. Okay, but you have a lot more than five drums here. Yeah, my touring kit has about 30 different pieces. 30? Yep, not including this gong. Wow. How do drummers memorize which drums to hit, and in what order? Simple. Practice.

The more you play, the more you learn, and the more you develop your muscle memory and your musical ear. Gotcha. Smarty Pants, true or false? Of all instruments, drums have been around the longest. The answer is true. Probably.

While we don't know for sure, we do know that percussion instruments, which are instruments played by hitting them, were among the earliest. And there's evidence the first membrane drums consisted of naturally hollow tree trunks covered at one or both ends with the skin of animals, fish, or reptiles, including alligator. ♪

I've read about archaeological digs going back to around 6000 BCE, where they've uncovered what appear to be drum-like instruments in areas of ancient China. And many historians see them being used in Africa some 50,000 years ago. Whoa. Hey, look at you with the drum facts, trusty. Nice job. But hey, do you know what ancient drums were used for?

Um, no. It's been said that drums were most likely used during certain types of ceremonies. And we know here in the United States, drums were used quite frequently throughout our history. Oh yeah? How so? Much of the history behind the drum in the USA starts with Native American tribes who used them on many occasions. This included celebrations, meditation, ceremonies, and of course, storytelling.

In fact, drums played such an important role in Native American culture, they were referred to as the Earth's heartbeat or the spirit of life. That's beautiful. Drums also played a role in the American Revolution and the Civil War. Really? Smarty Pants, do you know how drums play a part in battle?

I'm not exactly sure either, but the professor knows. During the Civil War, drummers, known as drummer boys, would use their drums as an essential line of communication on the battlefield. Different drum calls would mean different things, like keep advancing or retreat. Drumbeats also helped keep soldiers in step as they marched in unison.

Nowadays, drums are featured prominently in marching bands from small schools to giant universities. And of course, by bands playing rock, blues, jazz, and other forms of music. Oh, and the professor here can play them all. Think you could play us out? Hey, sure thing. I'm in no rush.

A double dose of long distance shout outs to Rowan and Michael in County Down, Ireland. Thanks so much for smarting with us, you two. We're so glad you love listening, laughing and learning about all the different subjects with me and all your friends from Who Smarted?

This episode, Drums, was written by Dave, Double Bass Davis, and voiced by Adam, Stix Davis, and Jerry Colbert. Technical direction and sound design by Josh, Hi-Hat Han. Our associate producer is Max, more cowbell, Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian, extended drum solo Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis. Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production. Who Smarted?