The name says it all: one solid hit on the bass drum can cover the sound of a whole orchestra, and make them jump out of their chairs! The bass drum is made of a cylindrical wooden frame called the shell, with two thin sheets of plastic pulled taut across either side to create the drum heads. The instrument rests slightly tilted on a frame, and the percussionist uses a heavy wooden mallet with a felted head to strike the upward-facing drum head. Since the bass drum can be played so loudly, there is generally only one in an orchestra. Even if its size would lead you to believe that it can only be loud, rest assured! It is possible to play very quietly as well. Unlike the timpani, the bass drum does not produce a defined note.

Large double-headed drums, similar to what we know today as the bass drum, have already existed for thousands of years! In fact, the ancestor of the bass drum originally comes from Turkey and reached Europe at the end of the 18^th Century. It was rapidly adopted by Western composers in order to portray Middle Eastern colours in their music. It wasn’t long, however, before the bass drum lost this association, becoming a versatile and fully integrated instrument in the orchestra.