Tenor drums are cylindrical drums with a pitch higher than a bass drum. Tenor drums are usually used as a percussion instrument in an orchestra. It has a low pitch when played with soft mallets or hard sticks. This particular drum has been used by various composers since the 1860s especially by Benjamin Britten, William Walton and Aaron Copland.

What are tenor drums ?

Tenor drums are also used as percussion instruments in marching bands, and these can commonly seen mounted as sets of four or six drums, on one person who can play the multiple drums simultaneously. These drums are sometimes referred to as “timp toms” and “toms.”

Typically, there are four main drums from 8 to 13 inches in diameter, commonly called a ‘high school configuration.’ Many of these high school bands will usually have one to three tenor drums, while the Division1 drum corps can contain as many as four or five tenor drums sets. These are usually used to supplement the snare drums, and are often identical to the snare parts. The movements around the drums will allow tenor drums to function as a melodic percussion, because each of the drums has different pitches.

There are also the four drum configuration where the lowest drum is the far left and the second lowest to the far right of the player. The second highest and the highest are set on the middle left and middle right respectively. This pattern in tenor drums, makes it easier for players who are right handed to play better. Sometimes there is a fifth drum or the ‘shot’ drum, which is played between the player and the highest two drums. If there is a sixth drum, both the fifth and the sixth are placed closest to the player’s body.

High pitch of tenor drums carries well

Tenor drums are usually tuned to a high pitch, so that their sound could carry when they are played outdoors, or during a parade when there a lot of noise to go over and above. The drums are usually played with mallets and drum sticks. The drums are played near the rim of the head, like timpani which allows for better resonance and fundamental tone of the drum to project. The player usually moves the sticks across the main four drums in a straight pattern from drum to drum. This movement lowers the breadth of space the player has, to move for more complex patterns or movements. It is also easier for the upper arms and can make for longer playing periods.

Tenor drums are not only used for marching bands alone; the Army Cadet Corps and Air Training Corp also uses tenor drums.