Differing tensions on paired drum heads deliberately spread nonharmonic modes to sound nonpitched

Evidence

Percussion instruments that make use of bars, membranes or plates as their vibrating system (described in Section 4.4), which are struck, have a distinct timbral quality of their own. This is due to the nonharmonic relationship between the frequencies of their natural modes, which provides a clear acoustic cue to their family identity. It gives the characteristic “clanginess” to this class of instruments, which endows them with a timbral quality of their own. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1479 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Higher drum modes self-compensate and leave kettle volume unchanged; Complex shapes make transverse wave propagation velocity extremely complicated, affecting percussion design; Where you strike a percussion instrument governs which modes sound (+5 more)

Related

• Drum-kit drums are deliberately tuned non-pitched so they fit any musical key (similarity 0.91)
• Nonharmonic natural modes give struck percussion instruments their clangy identity (similarity 0.89)
• Where you strike a percussion instrument governs which modes sound (similarity 0.89)
• Mallet hardness and strike position shape a drum’s brightness (similarity 0.88)
• A free-edged cymbal plate produces inharmonic, mixed modes (similarity 0.87)
• Percussion excitation is a short impulse rather than a sustained tone (similarity 0.86)
• Higher drum modes self-compensate and leave kettle volume unchanged (similarity 0.85)
• Drum membrane modes are not harmonically related (similarity 0.81)
• Mismatched drum-head tensions deliberately destroy definite pitch in bass and snare drums (similarity 0.80)
• Drum families differ structurally in head number, bowl shape, and playing excitation (similarity 0.79)
• Percussion instruments divide into bar, membrane, and plate classes (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Nonharmonic natural modes give struck percussion instruments their clangy identity #expands (0.85) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1479
• Drum-head construction and excitation method define each drum’s basic acoustics #expands (0.80)