DRUM
CRAFT
The drum in Mula (Murcia, Spain) and its tradition have been evolving with the time. We have no knowledge of the instruments that originated the “tamborada” (drum parade), although we suppose that those were military style boxes that probably belonged to a brotherhood. At the time, the boys were joking and banging the drum on their way to the procession.

The lower income residents in the town also wanted to take part in this tradition, which lead to the drum manufacturing locally. In most instances, the shells were made with canned fish, a rope to tighten and some hoops provided by a carpenter. In addition to this, furs and gut snares were also used, and these were easy to get in an eminently rural town like Mula, where there were plenty of goats and sheets. The town’s residents had all the necessary pieces to manufacture the drums by themselves.

 

BORDONES:
Originally they were guts, although nowadays guitar strings are used. These are touching the back skin.
PUENTE
Element screwed to the box and that supports the comb.
PEINETA
Piece that serves to tighten the strings. There are those who carry personalized combs with typical images of Mula or with a personal stamp.
AROS:
The wooden hoops fix the skins on the box. If the drum is tightened with rope, the hoops have holes that allow the rope to pass through. If it is made of screws, it has no holes.
PIEL
Front, known as palillera, of goat.
(Both skins, front and back, are packed in wooden rings that give the desired shape)
PIEL:
Front, known as palillera, of goat.
(Both skins, front and back, are packed in wooden rings that give the desired shape)
PIEL:
Rear, known as the bordonera, made of sheep.
(Both skins, front and back, are packed in wooden rings that give the desired shape)
CAJA:
Sheet metal or steel element that gives body to the drum, leaving it hollow inside.
AROS:
The wooden hoops fix the skins on the box. If the drum is tightened with rope, the hoops have holes that allow the rope to pass through. If it is made of screws, it has no holes.
CUERDA:
String used to tighten the rings and these, in turn, the skins, also to tighten the latter.
TORNILLOS:
Another variant to tighten the drum. They fulfill the same function as the strings.

Evidently, the quality of those first drums was not very good, but the manufacturers were not looking for a perfect sound. The evolvement of the tradition lead to a search for improvements in the pieces and thus in the drums, resulting in the magnificent instruments that are currently manufactured.

Y es así como, a medida que la tradición fue consolidándose, el pique entre tamboristas da lugar a una búsqueda en la mejora de las piezas y, por ende, del tambor, llegando a los magníficos instrumentos que hoy en día se fabrican.