What kind of drums are played in a bagpipe band?
• Snare drum: This is the most prominent sounding drum in the drum line. The snare drum that is used in a bagpipe band is different from the snare drums that are used in other bands. The pipe band snare drum has snare mechanisms on both the top and bottom drumheads. The drumheads are also tensioned much higher than on a normal snare drum. This results in a very high pitched and crisp snare sound which compliments the notes played on the bagpipe chanter. • Tenor drum:This is the drum that fills in the middle tones in a pipe band. The tenor drum is usually pitched the same as the bass drone on the bagpipes. Some bands may have multiple tenor drums and pitch them to various notes on the chanter scale. Pipe bands can have two types of tenor drum players: • Flourishing tenor drummer does fancy swings with his/her mallets which visually compliment and add excitement to the bands performance. A flourishing tenor drummer also plays rhythmic beatings which fill in the overall ensemble sound. •
