Drums

Drums in the British Field Music

The drums in the late 18th century field music were of utmost importance, they signalled most all aspects of daily life for the British soldier; they would beat calls, the camp duty, provide cadence while on the march, and even beat to coordinate loading and firing. Drummers were also used for duties such as lashing court-martialed soldiers ("Taking them to the halberds"), and drumming hooligans out of the service.

Selection of Drummers

Drummers in the British Army were frequently young boys (orphans or sons of soldiers?), and were trained at an early age by the drum-major. These drummer boys were given the pay and the training of a private until they were able to perform "in a tolerable manner"

The Drum-major was also cautioned to mind the morals and character of his drummers, as their growing up in the regiment might make them likely to become excellent noncomissioned officers, since "such boys, from being bred in the Regiment from their infancy, have a natural affection and attachment to it.." ¹.

Uniform of the Drummers

The uniform of the drummers were many times fancier and brighter than the common soldier, due to his cerimonious function, as well as making him much more easy for the captain to locate him, the regiment's signalman. (Conversely, it also made him an obvious target to the enemy).

The Drum-major

The job of Drum-major was apparently one of high consequence and esteem, as his qualifications for selection included "An executing hand himself upon the drum, ... the method of giving instructions in a cool and intelligent manner, adapted to the early age of those he is to teach, activity, sobriety, and cleanliness... his behaivour must be an example to the Drummers, with whom he is to keep a distance requisite to enforce obedience...", as well as "A remarkable degree of honesty is also necessary in his character...".

The Drum-major was requested not to associate with the drummers, but to keep company with the non-commissioned officers, as "from the minute of his appointment, as he then becomes an Officer of consequence, and not to be looked on altogether in the light of a Drummer". ²

Additionally, the Drum-major's duties would include responsibility for the dress of his drummers, and as the regiment's postman. The Drum-major supervised lashings administered by the drummers, as well as ensuring that "no cat has more than nine tails".³

The British Drum-major was dressed even more elaborately than the common drummer. Cuthbertson noted "It should never be object to a Drum-major, that he is too great a coxcomb: such an appearance is rather to be encouraged, provided it does not exceed the bounds of proper respect to his superiors: his dress and appointments should all tend to promote that character as it is absolutely necessary for him to strut, and think himself a man of consequence, when marching at the head of the Drummers." ⁴

The Drums

Appearance of the Drums

The drums to be wood.
The front to be painted with the color of the facing of the regiment, with the King's cypher and crown, and the number of the regiment under it.

The drums of the 42nd were painted with the device ordered for the Regiment. ⁵

Modern Rope-Tension Drums, as played by the 42nd

The drums that we play are of the old rope-tension type, as was used by the 42nd and all military units during the 18th century. The 18th century armies used drums as signaling devices, their deep, powerful sound carrying over the din of battle, and across the entire camp.

The drum is made of a wood shell, (the drums carried by the 42nd are ash, thouh maple and other woods are used.), over which two heads are placed. One, the batter head, is on top and is the one actually played on, and the other is a thin snare head, with several catgut snares stretched across it, giving the drum the snare sound. In the past, the batter head was always made of calfskin, but many reenactment drummers use "fiberskin" heads, which are much easier to care for.

Several yards of rope are laced through the hoops, and when the leather ears are pulled down, tension is applied to the heads. (Modern drums use lug bolts to tighten tension rods to keep tension on their heads.) The rope is laced tightly and tied off, the excess tied into a "drag rope" that hangs across the bottom of the drum.

Our band carries snare drums, bass drums, and a tenor drum, each adding a distinct sound to the underlying beats. Both the bass and tenor drums that march with our band add an interesting twist to ancient music, both providing the Scotch "flash" effects that pipe bands are known for, in addtion to functioning as the pulse of the band.

The music that we play is an interesting combination of both the traditional Scotch drumming and the Ancient Fife and Drum styles, into a strong marching beat with a "swing" to it. All parts are our own arrangements, written to complement the rythyms of the pipe music.