Different Drums Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

Often paraphrased as "marching to the beat of a different drummer", the admonition comes from the concluding paragraphs of Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" (1854).

Ralph Waldo Emerson roundly criticized Thoreau's writings and philosophy, fearing it would lead to social disorder, though he deeply admired Thoreau's ability to write.

Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander are all poets who have written for United States presidential inaugurations.

Answer: espontoon

The drum major of the "Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps" is the only member of the corps who wears the light-infantry cap and carries an espontoon instead of a traditional mace. With the movement of his espontoon, the drum major issues silent commands to the Corps. The espontoon is about six feet long, made of wood, with a double-edged blade at one end, and an iron tip at the other.

During the Revolutionary War the espontoon was carried by infantry officers as a symbol of rank and as a signaling device for directing troop movements.

For Lewis and Clark it also served as a walking cane. Lewis killed a rattlesnake with his (May 26, 1805), and Clark killed a wolf (May 29, 1805).

A musket is a shoulder gun carried by infantry soldiers; a baton is a slender rod which a band or orchestra leader uses to direct his musicians: a truncheon is a shattered spear.

Answer: Tabor

A tabor was a small drum held close to the body with a strap or thong either around the waist or the arm. This allowed the player to simultaneously play the drum and a pipe. The pipe had a ridge along its bottom to assist in support while the player struck the tabor. The player was able to accompany himself, making the tabor and pipe an ideal combination for producing music for dance.

A "rebec' was (generally) a three-stringed instrument resembling a fiddle; a "dulcian" was the forerunner of the modern bassoon; a "dulcimer" was a stringed trapezoidal lap instrument played by hitting hammers on the strings.

Answer: Carol of the Drum

The words of "The Little Drummer Boy" were written by Katherine Davis in 1941. Following the original recording by the Jack Halloran Singers, musical producer Harry Simeone recorded a second version in 1958 under the 20th Century Fox label. The recording became such a success that Simeone wanted another carol written in a similar vein - a carol describing a young child's remembrance of the original Christmas. In 1962 he recorded "Do You Hear What I Hear, the carol of a shepherd boy's experiences of the first Christmas.

Answer: Baseball

Mark Harris wrote "Bang the Drum Slowly" in 1956 as a sequel to his novel "The Southpaw" (1953). The story revolves around the experiences of baseball player Henry Wiggens during a season with the mythical New York Mammoths (based loosely on the New York Yankees). Although it is a good season for the team, catcher Bruce Pearson is dying of Hodgkin's Disease. Wiggens helps Pearson hide his illness and helps him get through the season.

The novel's title "Bang the Drum Slowly" is taken from the song "The Cowboy's Lament" [also known as "The Streets of Laredo"] (1876) written by Francis Henry Maynard.

"As I walked out in the streets of Laredo,
As I walked out in Laredo one day,
I spied a young cowboy wrapped up in white linen,
Wrapped up in white linen and cold as the clay.
"O beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly;
Play the Dead March as you carry me along.
Take me to the green valley and lay the sod o're me,
For I'm a young cowboy and I know I done wrong."

Answer: Miyoshi Umeki

Unfortunately, Miyoshi Umeki did not receive the Tony in 1958, she was only nominated. She did receive the 1957 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "Sayonara". Red Buttons also received the award for Best Supporting Actor in the same film.

"The Flower Drum Song" (1958) was the last of Rodgers and Hammerstein's so-called "chopstick" musicals [the others being "South Pacific" (1949) and "The King and I" (1951)]. "The Flower Drum Song" pays homage to a 600 year old Chinese cultural tradition that rivals the Broadway musical in scope and artistic quality.

The Chinese Flower Drum Song ("huagu") tradition dates from the 14th century in the Fengyang region of the Huahe River Valley of central China. Originally, it is reported that impoverished sisters-in-law within a Chinese family chanted a plaintive "begging song" in public asking for gifts of charity. While one of the women sang her plaintive, almost monotonous chant, the other(s) accompanied her with a small hand drum and double-stick arrow to draw attention to their plight.

Over centuries of time, the Flower Drum Song tradition evolved into dramatic musical forms similar to opera and ballet, accompanied by a chorus of singers, dancers and musicians. The present form of the tradition is akin to a Broadway musical production and a proto-typical form of Chinese performance art of the highest caliber.

Answer: Copper

The preferred base or body of the timpani is made of copper so that the drum produces not only a percussive "bang" but also a musical tone which can be adjusted higher or lower by tightening or loosening "keys" attached to the drumhead and foot pedals. Also preferred for the drumhead is calf-skin or, more recently, Mylar plastic. The drum is "played" with felt-tipped sticks.

The first orchestral score for the timpani was written by Jean-Baptiste Lully for his opera "These" in 1675.

Players and makers of timpani formed Guilds in the 17th century and in Germany were allowed to wear the ostrich feather of nobility in their hats.

Answer: Taiko

Although steeped in ancient Japanese tradition, the taiko has become a worldwide instrument in the latter half of the 20th century. Many community taiko drum groups have been formed throughout the world

The koto is a 13-stringed musical instrument like a zither. Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck composed "Koto Song" in which the piano was played to simulate the sound of the koto without actually using the koto instrument itself.

The biwa is a short-necked Japanese lute.

The sh­ is a free reed musical instrument whose original inspiration may have come from the myth of the phoenix. The two silent pipes of the instrument appear like "wings" but have little to do with the musical sound it produces.

Answer: A Scottish brownie

Aiken Drum was a Scottish brownie who lived in the moon.

Mischievous Scottish brownies live in an unused or seldom visited area of a house. In exchange for small gifts of food (most notably porridge and honey), they delight in assisting in small household chores which they see left undone. They will summarily abandon a house and its owners if they think they are being paid for their services or if the owners speak ill of them.

Since most brownies do not converse with humans, don't like to be seen and generally don't show themselves until nightfall, it is hard to determine Aiken Drum's exact identity. What is certain is that a nursery rhyme dating from 18th century Scotland has entertained children for more than 250 years.

"There was a man lived in the moon,
Lived in the moon, lived in the moon
There was a man lived in the moon,
And his name was Aiken Drum.

Chorus
And he played upon a ladle,
a ladle, a ladle
And he played upon a ladle,
and his name was Aiken Drum.

And his hat was made of good cream cheese,
of good cream cheese, of good cream cheese,
And his hat was made of good cream cheese
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus

And his coat was made of good roast beef,
of good roast beef, of good roast beef,
And his coat was made of good roast beef,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus

And his buttons made of penny loaves,
of penny loaves, of penny loaves,
And his buttons made of penny loaves,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus

And his breeches made of haggis bags
of haggis bags, of haggis bags
And his breeches made of haggis bags,
and his name was Aiken Drum."

Answer: No other instruments were played

Accompanying the casket as it moved on a caisson from the White House to the Capitol on Sunday November 24th was a joint-service drum corps composed of eighteen men from the different branches of United States military service. No other instruments besides the muffled drums were played during the solemn march to the Capitol.

For the funeral rites of November 25th, four service bands (Air Force, Army, Marine and Navy) accompanied the cortege at various points. Mrs. Kennedy had approved the repertory to be played by each band during the funeral rites:

Marine Band:
"Our Fallen Heroes"
"Holy, Holy, Holy"
"The Vanished Army"
"Eternal Father, Strong to Save"
"The Star Spangled Banner"

Navy Band:
Beethoven "Funeral March"
R. B. Hall "Funeral March"
"Onward Christian Soldiers"

Air Force Band:
Chopin "Funeral March"
"Vigor in Arduis"
"America the Beautiful"

Army Band (and Pipers):
"Pray for the Dead"
"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name"
"Mist Covered Mountain" (pipers)

In an unprecedented invitation to a foreign country to participate in the funeral rites, Mrs. Kennedy requested that nine pipers from The Black Watch of the Royal Highland Regiment of Scotland accompany the service bands of the United States. The Black Watch repertory included:

"The Brown Haired Maiden"
"The Badge of Scotland"
"The 51st Highland Division"
"The Barren Rocks of Aden"