Some do, yes! Though many would consider the majority of drums to be unpitched or non-pitched, you can alter the speed at which the drum skin vibrates in a number of ways, which in turn has an impact on the way it sounds.
Although you might not know it, you can adjust the tightness of a drum’s skin in order to change the pitch that it plays at. For instance, a drum with tighter skin will produce a higher pitch of sound when it is hit.
As you’ve probably now guessed, the same is true in reverse: if you want the drum to have a lower pitch, all you need to do is slacken the skin and it will sound deeper and richer, with more of a bass element to it.
You can also affect the pitch of a drum by altering the amount of air that’s inside it. For instance, if there is more air inside a drum, the note produced will have a lower pitch when you hit it, and of course, less air means a higher sound.
This is because when you play the drum - AKA hit it - you add pressure to the skin, which then vibrates. The larger the surface the drum has, the more time and effort it takes to wobble in vibration, which makes for a lower and slower sound.
However, what you would recognize as a contemporary “rock band” drum kit will feature a variety of drums from bass, tom and snare, as well as cymbals or hi-hats - none of these are pitched, and simply serve as percussion instruments.
Are bigger drums louder?
Not necessarily. If you put two drumheads together and one is considerably bigger than the other, the one with the larger drumhead is going to sound a lot louder, but if there’s minimal difference in size, it’s likely you won’t notice a volume increase.
Although a larger drum might appear to make a “louder” sound than its smaller counterparts, there are some other factors that influence how loud a drum will sound when it is played, for instance how hard you actually hit it.
Striking a drum creates vibrations, which leads to your sound. Therefore, the more energy you put behind your strike, the harder those vibrations will be, which will usually result in our ears perceiving the noise produced as “louder” than before.
It is also believed that the density of the wood used to construct the drum can also impact upon the volume: some drummers would argue that denser woods lead to sounds with more resonance, which are detected as louder by our ears.
Is a drum a high or low pitch instrument?
That depends - usually neither! You’ll notice that you can’t hit “notes” with a drum, because they’re not tuned, generally.
Although drums have a “pitch” it is not a definite one in the same way that a piano or guitar can be tuned to match the notes of sheet music. They are primarily designed to offer a backbeat and help the rest of the band keep rhythm.
This means that most musicians consider drums to be “non-pitched” instruments, in that you can’t match them up to others in order to harmonize. However, you can definitely adjust a drum’s pitch subtly, just by using it in different ways.
For instance, the spot in which you hit the drumhead to play it could offer a different “pitch” or tone compared to another point on the drum - it’s all about experimentation with alternating your technique to create different sounds.
Likewise, it’s also possible to change the pitch to be higher or lower by tightening or loosening the skin of the drumhead. The tighter it is, the more it will give the impression of a “high” note, with a looser skin sounding lower.
Bear in mind that size also impacts how a drum sounds - the smaller and sleeker a drum is, the higher it will sound. Therefore, if your drum is big and wide, it will probably sound lower. Again, it’s subjective and depends on your ears, too!
Which drums have a higher pitch?
It’s difficult to pick out a “high-pitched” drum because they are not usually advertised in such a way. What you can do is buy a drum with characteristics that are conducive to producing high pitched sounds, for instance…
- An adjustable drum skin, which can be tightened in order to increase the tension and therefore produce a “higher” pitch when played
- A thicker drum head, which (some would argue) also leads to a higher sounding note
- A smaller drum shell, which vibrates faster to produce a higher pitch
- A smaller drum generally, as these have higher resonance frequencies and therefore sound higher
You can also try striking the drum head or skin in different places: the closer to the center that you hit it, the lower the note is going to sound because the vibrations caused will be slower - staying towards the outside produces higher sounding notes.
If you’re looking to tune a drum to a specific pitch, you should aim for a steel drum, a rototom or a timpani - these can actually be adjusted to suit your personal needs or specifications, helping you to curate the higher pitch you’re after.
Likewise, a snare drum for instance is going to sound a lot higher than a bass drum, because it has a shorter resonance due to its smaller size. When paired with hard drum sticks, you can really increase the pitch.
Some drums will also come with tuning keys specifically for adjusting their pitch, like a tom or a bass, which can be turned to create a lower or slower sound. It’s worth doing your research on different drum types before committing.
You’ll also notice that the various drums in your kit - if you have one - all have “different” pitches as a result of their alternating sizes and shapes. Playing around with them and where you strike them should help you hit those high notes!