Membranophone
Instrument in which a stretched membrane produces the sound, such as a drum (Hornbostel–Sachs).
What it means
A membranophone is an instrument whose sound is produced by a stretched membrane, for example of animal skin or plastic. The membrane is struck, rubbed, plucked or set in vibration by an air stream. The term comes from the classification of instruments by Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs of 1914, in which membranophones stand beside idiophones, chordophones and aerophones.
Musical use
Membranophones include most drums, from the timpani to the frame drum, but also friction drums, in which a stick is rubbed against the membrane, such as the Brazilian cuíca. Mirlitons, for instance the kazoo, belong here too, since a membrane vibrates in the air stream of the voice.
The membranophone should be distinguished from the idiophone, in which the body of the instrument itself vibrates, as in cymbals or the xylophone, and from the chordophone, whose tone comes from a stretched string.
Performance practice
When you play a membranophone, pay attention to the tension of the head: tight membranes sound higher and drier, slack ones lower. The striking point changes the timbre clearly; try the center and the edge.