Abstract: A percussion musical instrument constructed to be played by striking the instrument with one or both of a person's feet comprising a body having at least one surface area to which is affixed at least one snare mechanism bearing on the surface area in a manner to be responsive to the striking of the feet on a second surface area of the body.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods relating to a drum formed from a bucket, a drum head, and a drum hoop. The drum hoop has a leg that may be undersized relative to the drum head to compress the bucket, and the drum hoop includes attachment portions that may align with attachment portions of the drum head.

Abstract: An acoustic drum 10 has a hollow cylindrical shell 11, a drumhead 12 mounted to an opening end of the shell 11 to form a striking surface, a striking surface attachment 13a provided on the entire surface of a useful movable portion of the front side of the drumhead 12, and a striking surface attachment 13b provided on the entire surface of a useful movable portion of the reverse side of the drumhead 12. Each of the striking surface attachments 13a and 13b is formed of a resin film, with respective outer areas of the striking surface attachments 13a and 13b being fixed to the drumhead 12. As a result, the acoustic drum 10 can reduce sound volume, while maintaining struck sounds having brightness and providing a player with favorable feeling of striking.

Abstract: A multi-panel glass acoustic instrument is provided, wherein the body of the instrument includes a polygon made of flat pieces joined together. In one embodiment, the flat pieces are formed from glass. In a preferred embodiment, the instrument is a drum, wherein the drum shell is fabricated from a plurality of flat pieces of glass that are bonded together. The drum shell may include one or more rim caps for positioning between the edges of the glass panels and the drum head or heads. In a preferred embodiment, the instrument is a snare drum. The musical instruments of the present invention provide functional, audio, and aesthetic improvements over instruments known in the art.

Abstract: A snare strainer adapted to a snare drum is equipped with two strainers, which are attached to the opposite positions on the circumferential exterior of a cylinder of the snare drum and which control a snappy member to be selectively brought into contact with or separated from the backside head opposite to the drumhead. Herein, a moving base vertically moves along a fixed base attached to the circumferential exterior of the cylinder; holding members, which are tightly joined together so as to hold the terminal of the snappy member, are supported by a support member fixed to the moving base. The holding members are engaged with the support member due to a magnetic attraction exerted by permanent magnets. This makes it possible for the person to detachably attach the holding members to the support member without using tools; hence, it is possible to improve the handling of the snare strainer.

Abstract: An acoustic percussion instrument and percussion set containing the instrument. The instrument includes a hollow cylindrical shell having a first end and a second end and an inside cylindrical surface. A first substantially rigid plate having an outside surface and an inside surface is attached adjacent to the first end of the hollow cylindrical shell. A first resilient pad, that provides a percussion surface that does not require periodic adjustment, is attached adjacent to the outside surface of the first substantially rigid plate. A raised rim circumscribes the first resilient pad.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a percussion instrument has the steps of providing a first member into a liquid with the first member having a first diameter. The first member has a first end and a second end. The method also has the step of heating the liquid and stretching the first end of the first member into a second diameter. The method further has the steps of cooling the stretched first end and fitting a skin on the first end.

Abstract: A resilient washer design having an annulus body and a concentric sleeve extending from the annulus with a plurality of ribs extending from the sleeve. The washer may have an opposing sleeve extending from the opposite side of the annulus with a second plurality of ribs in staggered location to the first set of ribs. This staggered position allows the annulus to flex between the ribs on opposing sides and resist compression of the washer when pressure is applied axially.

Abstract: A snare strainer adapted to a snare drum is equipped with two strainers, which are attached to the opposite positions on the circumferential exterior of a cylinder of the snare drum and which control a snappy member to be selectively brought into contact with or separated from the backside head opposite to the drumhead. Herein, a moving base vertically moves along a fixed base attached to the circumferential exterior of the cylinder; holding members, which are tightly joined together so as to hold the terminal of the snappy member, are supported by a support member fixed to the moving base. The holding members are engaged with the support member due to a magnetic attraction exerted by permanent magnets. This makes it possible for the person to detachably attach the holding members to the support member without using tools; hence, it is possible to improve the handling of the snare strainer.

Abstract: A snare strainer adapted to a snare drum comprises first and second strainers, which are attached to opposite positions on the exterior circumferential surface of a drum cylinder and by which a snappy member including snares is controlled to move in close contact with or separate from the backside drumhead upon operation of a switch mechanism. One end of an interconnection member included in the snappy member is held between first and second holding members of the first strainer, and the other end is held between third and fourth holding members of the second strainer. A tension adjustment screw is operated to adjust tension applied to the snappy member, which can be visually observed using the scale. Hence, it is easy for the human operator to attach and replace the snappy member and to replace the backside drumhead with another drumhead in a short period of time.

Abstract: A hybrid electric/acoustic percussion instrument and percussion set containing the instrument. The instrument includes a hollow cylindrical shell having a first end and a second end and an inside cylindrical surface. A first substantially rigid plate having an outside surface and an inside surface is attached to at least the first end of the hollow cylindrical shell. A first resilient pad is attached to the outside surface of the first substantially rigid plate. An electroacoustic transducer is attached to the inside cylindrical surface of the hollow cylindrical shell.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a musician quality hand drum that may be produced in a simplified and economical manner. The hand drum is simplified in that it utilizes a ring interconnected within an open end of a simple tubular shell to allow a musical quality drumhead (e.g., an animal skin drumhead) to be interconnected in tension directly to the outside surface of the drum shell. In this regard, the need for an intricate, expensive drumhead fixation means and/or drumhead tensioners is eliminated, allowing for cost benefits to be realized.

Abstract: A snare drum strainer mountable to the shell of a drum comprises a piston and an actuator. The piston has an axis and a surface curved about an axis generally parallel to the piston axis, and the piston is operatively connected to snares. The actuator and the curved surface rotate one with respect to the other about an axis generally parallel to the piston axis to reciprocate the piston and to tension and untension the snares. In another embodiment, the piston includes a generally cylindrical surface with a generally helical groove, the piston is operatively connected to snares, and the actuator includes a follower insertable into the generally helical groove. The follower and the generally cylindrical surface rotate one with respect to the other to reciprocate the piston and tension and untension the snares.

Abstract: An improved drumshell construction comprising a first layer of sheet material having elastic properties, a second layer of sheet material in mating engagement with the first layer of sheet material, a means to bond the two layers together, wherein the elastic modules of the first layer of material is imparted to the second layer of material to enhance the formation of a drumshell having varying sound absorptive and radiating characteristics to control and enhance the timbre of the drumhead.

Abstract: A soft case for instrumental drums which has a three layer, elongated, rectangular, flat casing made of flexible materials. The front layer is made heavy weight fabric and the back layer is made a lighter weight fabric. The middle layer is laminated between the outer and inner layers and is made of foam padding. When in use, the casing is wrapped around the shell of a drum. The ends of the casing overlap and are removably secured to one another with hook and loop fastening material. The sides of the casing are drawn taut around the rims of the drum with drawstrings. When not in use, the soft case may be rolled up and stored in a minimum of volume.

Abstract: An acoustic wire for a drum comprising a single long wire made of metal, resin, etc. and strung in a plurality of turns between a pair of supporting members. The single long wire in the form of a plurality of parallel acoustic wires comes into contact with the drum head when the supporting members are moved toward the drum head. The acoustic wire provides a long attenuation time of the vibration of the acoustic wire and large quantity of sound.

Abstract: A drum main body comprising first, second and third drum body elements of cylindrical shape arranged in axial direction thereof. The third drum body element is interposed between the first and second drum body elements and is connected to rims of the first and second drum body elements by fastening bolts. The first, second and third drum body elements that are arranged in an axial direction thereof can be different from each other in materials and/or structure (depth).

Abstract: A transitionally reinforced drum shell for an acoustical drum of the type having drumhead tensioning hardware is disclosed herein. The invention comprises a staged bridge reinforcement structure incorporated on the inside of the shell, which provides structural support for the drumhead tensioning hardware while enhancing the tonal quality of the instrument. The transitions may be accomplished with abrupt steps or smooth tapers between thickness regions. Also disclosed are a non-integrated staged bridge reinforcement structure, which can be retrofitted to existing drum shells, and a method of reinforcing axial regions of a drum shell with such a staged bridge reinforcement structure.

Abstract: Disclosed is a novel apparatus for the practice of use and simulation of a snare drum. The present invention provides a practice drumming pad that can reproduce the sound and feel of a snare drum, thereby allowing the user to practice proper rhythm and technique to produce the desired results when using a real snare drum. The practice pad of the present invention consists of a substrate having a rubber pad on the top surface, a recessed channel in the bottom surface, and a sound generating device consisting of a layer of pellets contained between two rigid plates secured in the recessed channel. The rigid plates and layer of pellets are secured in the recessed channel so as to allow little more than vibrational movement of the plates and pellets in the recessed channel. As one “drums” on the rubber pad, the vibrations are transferred to the plates and pellets to simulate the sound produced by a real snare drum.

Abstract: An adjustable camber induced snare assembly for a drum with a hollow body with a batter head and a snare head comprises an elongate snare a support fastenable adjacent to the hollow body extending across the snare head. Opposing adjustable and biased snare fasteners are mountable on the snare support for slightly tensioning and supporting snares. Adjusting the snare fasteners creates a camber in the snares to adjustably urge the snares to continuously have contact with the snare head during drum play without significant tensioning.

Abstract: A snare assembly for use with a snare drum that provides for the precise fine tuning of a portion of helical wire snares. This snare assembly includes a fine tuning clasp unit comprising an angled stationary snare clasp threadingly engaged to a mobile snare clasp by a fine adjustment tension screw. Also provided are helical wire snares which are soldered to the angled stationary clasp and to the mobile snare clasp and then spanned a distance defining a snare surface and soldered to an angled snare clasp. The snare surface slightly bows in the direction towards the snare head of a drum when the snare assembly is activated by a throw off lever as a result of the use of the two angled snare clasps. Also provided is a leveling bar secured to the angled stationary clasp to maintain a constant uniform downward pressure on the helical wire snares soldered to the mobile snare clasp.

Abstract: One of a pair of concentric ring hoops overlaps the other and holds the perimeter edge of a drum head vibratile element in tension between the mating overlapping faces of the hoops. The hoops are held together by a tensioning bolt threadable into a bracket connected to a lower hoop which has another skin stretched between a stepped inner annular groove on its inner face edge. A drum shell made of a composite of rigid foam interior spaced apart by a pair of epoxy impregnated carbon fibresheets is held by the lower second drum skin into enclosing engagement on its upper perimeter edge with an inner stop flange and vertical wall face of the inner hoop ring of the drum head vibratile skin assembly.

Abstract: A snare for a musical drum is comprised of a set of molded plastic cords having integrally molded enlargements or nodules evenly spaced along the length of each cord. The cords are attached to metal or plastic end pieces, and in the case of plastic end pieces the end pieces and cords may all be molded as a single one-piece unit.