A friction drum is a musical instrument that can be found in many different forms across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. In Europe, this instrument appeared in the 16th century and was used for certain religious and ceremonial events.

Construction

A friction drum is a percussion instrument made of a single membrane stretched over a hollow container. The sound is created when the membrane vibrates due to friction. The hollow container can be a pot, jug, or any open-ended object. To make the membrane vibrate, a player may rub it directly with fingers or use a cloth, stick, or cord attached to the center of the membrane. The cord is then rubbed or moved with a hand, sponge, or cloth, often wet. The player may press the membrane with the thumb to change the pitch. When a cord is used, the instrument is sometimes called a "string drum" or "lion's roar." In some friction drums, the membrane vibrates by spinning the drum around a pivot.

Use in Western European classical music

The composer Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) wrote a keyboard fantasia that includes a melody from the Dutch song "De Rommelpot." Today, many Western composers have used the friction drum in their music. Edgard Varèse included it in his works Hyperprism (1924) and Ionisation (1933). Alexander Goehr mentions a "lion's roar" in his Romanza for cello and orchestra (1968). Carl Orff used a whirled friction drum in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1934–52). Benjamin Britten, in his Children's Crusade (1969), calls for a string drum to be struck with drumsticks and bowed using the stretched string. Jerry Goldsmith used a friction drum in his 1968 score for Planet of the Apes.

Depictions in Western European paintings

The Rommelpot appears in many paintings created by Dutch artists. Examples include "Two Boys and a Girl Making Music" by Jan Miense Molenaer (1629) at the National Gallery in London, and "The Fight Between Carnival and Lent" by Pieter Brueghel (1559) at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Regional use in folk music

• Belgium: rommelpot, played by folk singers, often as the only musical support for their singing.
• Brazil: cuíca, used in Rio de Janeiro-style Carnival samba music. A stick is attached to the center of the membrane and sticks out into the inside of the sound box, which is a hollow cylinder. The player reaches inside the sound box from the other end to rub the stick.
• Denmark: rummelpot or rumlepot. In some areas of Denmark, such as Southern Jutland, groups of masked children visit homes on New Year’s Eve, singing songs with the rhythmic sound of the rummelpot and receiving æbleskiver, sweets, or fruits in return.
• France: tambour à friction, and local names (brau, bramadèra, brama-topin, petador, pinhaton in the South). Tambour à cordes refers to a string drum, not to be confused with tambourin à cordes, a stringed instrument.
• Germany: Brummtopf or Rummelpott, also called Waldteufel in Berlin and old Prussia. In North Germany, on New Year’s Eve, groups of masked children with homemade instruments, including the Rummelpott, visit homes singing special songs in Low German and receive sweets or fruits. Later that evening, adults go out and typically receive shots of schnapps.
• Hungary: köcsögduda (jughorn or jugpipe), used in zither orchestras. Leather or parchment is stretched over the top of a large terracotta or wooden jug. A reed or piece of horsehair is attached to the cover and rubbed with a wet hand.
• Italy: caccavella or putipù, also called by many other names. The body may be an earthenware pot, wooden tub, or tin can, with a bamboo stick pierced through an animal skin membrane and rubbed.
• Malta: ir-rabbaba or iz-zafzafa. The instrument has a tin, wood, or clay body with a stretched membrane made from cat, goat, or rabbit skin. A stick is tied to the center of the membrane and rubbed with a wet sponge.
• Netherlands: foekepot or rommelpot. The word “foek” may be onomatopoeic, meaning it sounds like the word it represents. It is rubbed with a stick covered in rosin. In some areas of the Netherlands, such as the island of IJsselmonde, it was traditional until the 1950s for groups to visit homes on New Year’s Eve, singing songs with the rhythmic sound of the rommelpot. This tradition continues in North Holland during the feast of St. Martin. In Brabant, rommelpot can also refer to a dance accompanied by the instrument.
• Poland: burczybas.
• Portugal: sarronca.
• Romania: buhai (similar to the Ukrainian buhay), made of a wooden tub or bucket open at both ends, with animal skin stretched over the top and pierced in the middle for a horsehair “ox tail.” The instrument is rubbed with a wet hand. It is traditionally used in the New Year’s ritual plugușorul (“the little plough”), where it mimics the sound of oxen pulling a plough.
• Russia: gusachyok or gusyok (Russian: Гусачок or гусёк). The top of a clay pot is covered with bull skin and rubbed with a stick covered in rosin.
• Slovenia: lončeni bas (pottery bass), also called gudalo or vugaš. The instrument is a clay pot, usually 20 to 40 cm tall, covered with skin or parchment, and has a hardwood stick coated in resin tied to the center.
• Spain: zambomba. This friction drum can be made from various materials and is rubbed with a rod or rope. It is especially linked to Christmas, where it accompanies the singing of carols.
• Ukraine: buhay (Ukrainian: бугай), also known as bugai, buhai, berebenytsia, bika, buga, bochka. This instrument was used in New Year’s and Christmas rituals and is included in Ukrainian folk orchestras.
• Venezuela: The furro is used in aguinaldos, parrandas, and Zulian traditional music such as gaita. It is also called furruco or mandullo.
• Colombia: zambumbia.
• Mexico: arcusa, bote del diablo, or tigrera.
• Cuba: ékue.