steel drum

steel drum

noun

Definition of STEEL DRUM

: a musical instrument originally developed in Trinidad that is played by hammering raised and tuned portions of the bottom of an oil drum

First Known Use of STEEL DRUM

1952

Rhymes with STEEL DRUM

alum, aplomb, bass drum, bay rum, beach plum, become, benumb, degum, dim sum, dumdum, dum-dum, eardrum, far from, green thumb, hail from, ho-hum, how come, humdrum, income, in sum, outcome, pond scum, side drum, snare drum, sour gum, subgum, succumb, sweet gum, therefrom, to come, Tom Thumb, tom-tom, wherefrom, yum-yum

steel drum

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Tuned gong made from the end, and part of the wall, of an oil barrel. The barrel's end surface is hammered into a concave shape, and several areas are outlined by chiseled grooves. It is heated and tempered, and bosses or domes are hammered into the outlined areas; the depth, curvature, and size of each boss determines its pitch. Melodies, complex accompaniments, and counterpoint can be played with rubber-tipped mallets on a single drum. The steel drum originated in Trinidad in the 1940s. It is usually played in ensembles, called steel bands, of widely varying sizes.