I Can Hear The Drums....

James Gleick brings forth rather interesting information in the chapter "Drums That Talk" that even I, as a musician, had never thought about in much detail. The idea that a drum, a very singular instrument when we think about the way that they are not very prized unless being added to vocals and various other instruments, can be the cornerstone of language for certain people brings out a new appreciation to what sort of impact drum beats have on our culture today. When we listen to a song on the radio and actually concentrate on the drum beat then it is very easy to hear that the drum has a lot to do with how upbeat or slow something really can be. The same song can be played with a very fast drum beat and seem upbeat and something you would listen to driving down the highway while if the drum beat were to be slow and somber the song would be equally as somber sounding.

Morose Code developed from the idea of the drum beat that were once use to relay messages from far distances. Drums have the ability to make a set of words come to life, and as Gleick mentions in his book even though the African tribes could speak very broken English their drums could speak in clear sentences and get across points that they lacked the ability to express. People take for granted the things that have become common place such as an instrument that to most people only makes a bunch of loud noises all at once behind a set of lyrics or a great guitar riff.