(Clicks drumsticks together) (drumming sounds) (Traditional drum sounds) Man 1: Dude, how do you get  such a great tone out of that?

Man 2: Science bro.

Man 1: What?

Lee Francis IV: Hang on... let me take care of  this!

Traditional drummaking has taken place   in Indigenous communities for thousands of years.

The science of acoustics and cultural practice has   intertwined for a very long time and we'll learn  all about that today here... on Indigi-genius.

Party on Wayne!

(sighs) Lee Francis IV: deedle, lee,  dee, deedle, lee, dee... ♪ ♪ Lee Francis IV: For Indigenous people, drums are  more than just a collection of natural elements.

The art and science of drummaking have been a part of Indigenous  cultures throughout the world for millennia.

Drums have a deep spiritual resonance, but  also have a necessary understanding of physics,   in order to achieve the correct sound.

In creating  a membranophone or instrument that has a skin or   membrane stretched over a frame, Indigenous  peoples have had a long time to practice.

Everything about the drum itself has to do with  acoustics, or the way sound waves travel.

In the   case of a drum, striking the head of a drum  changes the shape and squishes all that air   inside.

That air then pushes down on the bottom  of the drum head and changes its shape.

These   compressions are reflected back against the drum  shell over and over which creates the vibrations.

These vibrations vibrate the air,  becoming sound waves, which eventually   reaches our ears.

In making a traditional drum,  the first step was to select and create the shell.

Mostly, it would be a solid piece of wood of  various size, which would be covered by hide   or skin and stitched or woven into place.

The hide  would be wet to create elasticity and as it dried   up, it would tighten up to give the drum its  permanent shape and sound.

This took incredible   understanding and calculation.

Master drummakers  can intuitively sense the tone they want to   achieve simply by calculating the size and shape  of the shell.

The larger the volume of the shell,   the lower the sound of the drum.

In other words,  the larger the diameter, or the deeper the shell,   the thicker and heavier the tone.

The smaller or shallower the shell,   the brighter, lighter the tone.

The reason why  this is so incredible for Indigenous drummaking,   is that once the hide was stretched, there was  no way to retune the drum without re-wetting   and starting all over again.

So, the drummaker  needed to get it right on the very first try,   every time.

But, more than just the  acoustics, the drum was, and is considered,   a spiritual connection.

Many Indigenous  peoples understand that the resonance   of the drum beat reflects the beat of the  heart and the connection to mother earth.

Drummakers are held in high regard in their  communities, for their skill and ability to   create these powerful instruments.

Whether they  are the enormous Powwow style drums, or simply   small and elegant hand drums, drummaking has a  long and storied history among Native peoples.

When I was a young man, I learned Powwow songs  next to some of the best drummers I've ever known.

Whenever I left practice, I was left with this  deep feeling of contentment and understanding.

This weaving of science and spirit continues  to be a hallmark of Indigenous innovation,   which is on display each and every day...  here on a Indigi-Genius….

Two, three, four... (music plays) ♪ ♪