Sound Quality and Striking Position of a Conga Drum

Abstract

The relationship between the location at which a drum membrane was struck and the quality of sound produced was investigated by striking the drum at several distances between the center and the rim. Through analyzing the harmonics of the wave produced from the impact, it was shown that as the striking location changes, the relative amplitudes of different modes of vibration also changes. It was found that sound of a higher pitch is produced at the rim of the drum than anywhere else on the drum head due to higher modes of vibration becoming dominant.

Keywords

• drum
• sound
• quality
• harmonics
• amplitude
• conga