The animal skin is typically wet when it is first stretched over the drum. The skin is easier to work with when it has been wet and becomes increasingly difficult to handle and manipulate as it dries. The wetness of the skin is particularly important as this will allow the skin to be stretched, thus creating the tension necessary to create resonance in the drum. It is also important that the work area is very clean when the skin is dry so that dirt and debris do not get caught up in the skin and damage it. The skin that goes on the drumhead is traditionally soaked and stretched twice. The first stretch is employed in order to shape the skin to the head of the dream while the second stretch serves to make the skin taut enough to create an effective musical instrument.
Drum skins can be purchased from a variety of different locations. One website, http://www.soundsofclay.com has drum heads available in a variety of different patterns and styles. These drum heads are made from goat skins and some deer skins. They are also offered with or without hair and in patterns such as tie-dye and fluorescent tie-dye.
Still other sites, such as http://www.janm.org offer long descriptions and detailed instructions on how to make a Taiko Drum. Taiko means “drum” in Japanese and are drums used traditionally in Japanese classical and musical traditions. The drums are large and beautiful and resemble large barrels.
Typically, drums that are played with sticks use thicker skins while drums played with the hand use thinner skins. The animals skins used for making drum heads are almost always rawhide, which is exceptionally strong and flexible and has the added bonus of stretching when wet and tightening when dry. Most commonly the drum head is made out of goat or cow. Skins used for drums cannot be flawed and can be checked for flaws by holding them up to the light. To find out further information on drums, log on to the Internet.
