We recently had a lady involved in a drumming circle asked if Native drums have a variation of sound or if they are consistant across the surface of the drum.
Native american drums are made with natural hides rather than modern man-made materials and the sound charactoristics are different.
People who drum with
Indian drums vary the tone of the drum in two ways. First by the strength of the strike with the beater and then also by where they strike the drum. By alternating the strike point from drum center to the edge of the drum, the drummer can control the tone and volume of native drums.
I've also noticed that drummers use different tom tom's or beaters. It is quite noticable that a hard or soft head on the beater brings forth a different sound even on the same drum. The soft drum stick delivers a softer thud sound while a hard beater yields a more ringing tone with a noticable resonance.
