A kettle drum’s kettle functions as an acoustic baffle

Evidence

The kettle drum is a thin circular membrane stretched over a metal kettle. The kettle slightly modifies the mode shapes and frequencies compared to a stretched circular membrane unattached to a kettle. The kettle acts as a baffle, with the same function as a loudspeaker baffle. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1410

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the baffle concept by analogy to loudspeaker design, relevant to the reader’s auditory-perception framework.