A Lambeg drum is a large

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

, beaten with curved

malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

canes. It is used primarily in Northern Ireland by Unionists and the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

traditionally in street parades held in the summer, particularly on and around 12 July (" The Twelfth"). The weight of the drum means that it had been replaced with smaller replicas for most parades, but the full-sized instrument has started to reappear in recent years - usually on floats. It is also used by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, having historical significance for parts of the nationalist community, as well.

Characteristics

The Lambeg drum is, together with the bagpipe, one of the loudest

acoustic instrument Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adven ...

s in the world, frequently reaching over 120 dB. It measures approximately in diameter and deep, and weighs . Usually it is carried by the drummer while marching, using a neck harness.

Origin

The origin of the Lambeg is unclear. It is commonly believed to have come to Ulster with English settlers in the early-mid-17th century. Other accounts state it came to Ireland with the Duke of Schomberg's men of the army of William of Orange during the Williamite war. Having its roots in the 17th century European military instruments it was originally smaller. Traditionally it was accompanied by the shrill

fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, a small transverse flute similar to the

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

. Over time, the drum grew in size through emulousness between players. The drum eventually got to such a scale that the fifes were drowned out. Today the fife and Lambeg together are the exception rather than the norm in parades; the combination is most common in County Antrim. Most of the original Ulster fifers were of Flemish descent. A number of French Huguenots had followed William's army into Ireland and the Flemish, English and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Protestant groups had united into the

. The name comes from the village of Lambeg, County Antrim, which is situated ten miles southwest of Belfast and two miles from

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

. Tradition has it, that it was in the Lambeg area that the instrument was first played with canes. The drum is sometimes also called "tibbies", "slashers", or "killymans".

Construction

The Lambeg drum's shell is generally made of oak. Lambeg drum heads are goat skins, they are very thin and strong, and of even thickness and consistency all over as far as possible. A Lambeg skin will also receive "special" treatment that is a secret to each maker. Because of their qualities they are also sometimes used for smaller drums such as bodhráns. The Lambegs are different from other large drums in the quality of their tone. The thin heads are pulled tighter and tighter until the tone is bright and hard. There are no mechanical screws on the drums. The heads are held on with a wooden rim and, traditionally, linen ropes.

References

External links

Different Drums
(Northern Irish group that uniquely combine the drums of both communities)

by Paul Marshall, from Drum Dojo site
Video clips of Lambeg drums

Video clips of the Ulster-Scots eXperience playing Lambeg drums

"Luton and Bedford Lambeg Drumming Club, England"Ulster-Scots Agency feature on Lambeg Drum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambeg Drum Drums Battle drums Culture of Northern Ireland Irish musical instruments