House of Sound - drums and percussion

In the House of Sound Fran Scott and Greg Foot investigate how drums work.
Drums have been around for thousands of years and throughout history have often been involved in warfare ­- something Fran and Greg are reminded of as they play along to Mars from Holst’s The Planets suite.
Using confetti placed on a drum they use a slow motion camera to reveal how the confetti behaves like air molecules when the drum
is struck.
The skin of the drum vibrates and makes the confetti dance. As the air molecules vibrate one against the other sound waves are formed and the sound of
the drums can be heard. Fran explains that the pitch of a drum depends on how tight its skin is. If the skin is tight the drum makes a high note, if it is slack it makes a low note.
Greg points out the amount of air inside a drum also influences its pitch. The more air in a drum, the lower the note. The less air in a drum, the higher the note.
Volume depends on the size of the vibrations that are made. Hit a drum hard and this makes big vibrations and a loud sound. Hit a drum softly and the vibrations are smaller and the sound not as loud.
Together Fran and Greg make a drum kit out of things that can be found around the house, and finally Fran shows viewers how to make fun drums out of a plastic bowl and half a balloon.