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Drum Kit Explorer (3D)

About this app

A standard drum kit to play yourself, with recordings of real drums and cymbals (VCSL, CC0). Tap a head and it moves in slow motion in rings and pie slices: the modes of a circular membrane, whose frequencies are not whole-number multiples. The centre sounds dull, further out fuller, tighter sounds higher. Snare wires you can release, hi-hat with foot pedal, crash and ride. Plays rock, shuffle, bossa nova, funk with ghost notes and a fill, with sticks and pedals moving along.

With explain mode: an AI tutor walks you through the app, points out what matters in the scene and answers your questions.

Why a drum sounds different from a string

A drum head is a stretched circular membrane. It vibrates in several patterns at once, the modes, with nodal circles and nodal diameters. Their frequencies sit at 1, 1.59, 2.14 and 2.30 times the fundamental, set by the zeros of the Bessel functions. On a string the overtones sit at 2, 3 and 4 times. That is why a drum has a pitch but an inharmonic sound. More tension raises every mode: frequency grows with the square root of tension over surface density.

What the app shows

A standard drum kit in 3D with a 22-inch bass drum, 14-inch snare, 12-inch rack tom, 16-inch floor tom, hi-hat, crash and ride. You hear recordings of real drums and cymbals (Versilian Community Sample Library, CC0), tuned and shaded by the model according to the strike position. The struck head moves in slow motion, coloured by displacement. A panel shows the twelve lowest modes, how strongly the strike position excites each, and the partials next to whole-number multiples. Five grooves play with moving sticks, pedals and grid.

Things to try

Tap the centre of a head and then further out and hear the sound get fuller. Tap a single vibration pattern and hear its pitch. Tighten the head, release the snare wires, open the hi-hat. Run a funk groove and edit the ghost notes in the grid yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Does a drum have a pitch?
Yes. Every drum has a fundamental that rises with head tension and falls with diameter, which is why drums are tuned. Its overtones are not whole-number multiples of the fundamental as on a string, so the pitch sounds less clear.
Why does a stroke in the centre sound dull?
Every mode with a nodal diameter has a still point in the centre and is not excited there. Only the ring-shaped modes vibrate. That is why drummers usually play slightly off-centre.
Why does a snare drum buzz?
Under the thin bottom head lie the snare wires, coiled steel strands. When the head swings far enough, the wires bounce off and back. On very soft strokes such as ghost notes the motion is barely enough, so the snare hardly buzzes.
What can I try in the Drum Kit Explorer?
You play drums and cymbals directly by click or tap, choose strike position, strength and head tension, let single modes vibrate, engage or release the snare wires, open the hi-hat and play rock, shuffle, bossa nova, funk or a fill. The magnifier explains every part.

Subject: Music (Gymnasium)

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