- Tsuzumi
The nihongo|tsuzumi|鼓|tsuzumi is a Japanese
drum . It consists of a wooden body shaped like anhourglass , and it is tought with two drum heads with cords that can be squeezed or released to increase or decrease the tension of the heads respectively. This mechanism allows the player to raise or lower the pitch of the drum while playing, not unlike the Africantalking drum .The tsuzumi is the only Japanese drum that is struck with the hands; all other drums are played with sticks called "
bachi ". The tsuzumi is played while being suspended over the shoulder by its cords. A single drum head is struck with the tips of the fingers of one hand to produce a distinct "pon" sound, while the other hand holds the drum by its cords, squeezing or releasing them to change the pitch of the drum. Depending on how the player tightens or releases the cords of the tsuzumi, and how hard or soft he/she strikes the head with his hands, the tsuzumi can produce a range of sounds.The tsuzumi plays roles in both
Noh andKabuki theater music, but it is also used in nihongo|min'yō |民謡|minyō, or Japanese folk music. It is often played with its bigger counterpart, the nihongo|ōtsuzumi |大鼓|ōtsuzumi (lit. Large tsuzumi AKA: nihongo|ōkawa |大革?|ōkawa ). Thus the tsuzumi is also referred to as the nihongo|kotsuzumi|小鼓|kotsuzumi, or "small tsuzumi."External links
* [http://jtrad.columbia.jp/eng/i_kotsuzumi.html Japanese Traditional Music]
Video
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=z47Xt6M7m50 "Tsuzumi" Video]
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