Drums

Drums!

 
The drum is a musical instrument dating back to ancient times,popular in many cultures and ages because of its simplicity(a drum does not have different notes,as opposed to instruments in other musical families,such as brass and woodwind) and ease of play,requiring merely a hand or blunt object with which to strike the drum,and a general sense of rhythm.They are generally used in musical accompaniment to keep the entire group or band on beat and to maintain a steady rhythm.Drums can vary greatly in size,from smaller drums such as tambourines and snare drums to larger,deeper sounding ones like bass drums,on towards mammoth,heavy toned drums like the taiko.In modern times a majority of bands have only one percussionist as opposed to the multiple member percussion groups more often seen in orchestras.The modern drum set,including cymbals,generally is comprised of at least one bass drum that is hit via foot pedal,one snare drum,and two or three toms,a snareless drum used for a deeper and less sharper sound than a snare.Together with a bass guitar,the drum makes up the part of the band known as the rhythm section,essential for keeping vocals,guitars,keys,or other lead instruments on the same beat.In recent decades,electronic drums and drum machines have come into prominence,with the latter seeing widespread use in most forms of electronic and hip hop music.
 

Drums.In Video Games!

Drums have been featured in video games dating back to the 80s,an early example being the set of Journey drummer Steve Smith in the Journey arcade game.They have served a variety of purposes in video games,ranging from musical instruments to less appropriate purposes such as pickups, weapons,or even enemies.In recent years,however,they have been restored to their proper and noble cause,becoming a vital gameplay element in an assortment of games such as Patapon,which focuses on rhythm based combat where the protagonists use drums to control the group's actions,and Frequency,where the player controls a spacecraft shooting nodes on several different note highways,of which the drum is often the beginning track for each song.
Though in the early days of rhythm based games a controller or dance floor were generally used,drum peripherals were a part of the landscape dating back to Konami's DrumMania series.For many years however,drums were reduced to gimmicks( Donkey Konga,a Gamecube game using a controller shaped like a set of congas to control the character,is one of the most egregious examples) or only available to the ever declining arcade scene,taking a backseat to the maraca menaces and Dance Dance Revolutions of the world.However,upon Harmonix's 2007 release of Rock Band,and later Activision's Guitar Hero:World Tour,the drum took it's bow in the limelight,retaining all the characteristics of its real life counterpart:loud,occasionally obnoxious,often aggressive and forceful to an extreme,but quintessentially vital to any band or music experience.
 
Long Live Bonzo.