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The Influence Of Drums In Native American Indian Music

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Drums are highly influential in American Indian music. Different tribes have different traditions about their drums and how to play them. For larger dances or powwow type drums, the basic construction is very similar in most tribes. It is a wooden frame or a carved and hollowed out log, with rawhide buckskin or elk skin stretched out across the opening by sinew thongs. Percussion, especially drums and rattles, are often used to accompany and keep the rhythm steady for the singers, who use their native language or non-lexical vocables (nonsense syllables). Vocables, or lexically meaningless syllables, are a common part of many kinds of Native American songs. They frequently mark the beginning and end of phrases, sections, or songs
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