Outside Source - Drums

Drums are a huge part of today’s culture. Turn on MTV and your bound to see America’s most popular band rockin out – all bands containing a drummer because they are essential. People love feeling the beat of a song pumping out of 12 foot stack bass amp at a life concert, or the quiet, soulful sound of a snare and a symbol accompanying a live jazz band.
More primitively, though, cultures played percussion instruments such as the fish-skin drum. "It looks very primitive and uncommon both in design and material as it remains primitive from the old times when the Hezhe people relied on fishing and hunting," said Liu.
Liu hypothesized that the sound of the drum was similar to that of ethnic groups such as shamanism in Northeast China – because the sound of drums from this particular society often resembles and symbolizes thunder. More recently, the drums at Shaman sacrificial rites and rituals have been gradually becoming more complicated, made to resemble "boats" or "horses."

CAO MIN,China Daily staff. China Daily. (North American ed.). New York, N.Y.: Jun 18, 2003. pg. 9