History Main / DrumsOfWar

[[caption-width-right:350:''The Spirit of '76'' (1876), Archibald Willard]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/450px_military_drummer_statue.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Image courtesy of [[https://www.flickr.com/photos/57673155@N00/7237631 David Wilmot]], licensed under Creative Commons]]

* There were also a lot of various drums in Chinese and Japanesse armies while in Europe their role was partially fulfilled by brass instruments.

* In ''Literature/{{Thud}}'', as the anniversary of the Battle of Koom Valley approaches and tensions grow between the dwarves and the trolls, mention is made of troll war drums called ''gahanka''. Traditionally it is made of cured Dwarf-skin for preference, stretched over a frame. Human skin will do, if Dwarf is in short supply; although today's trolls assure humans they don't do dat sort of ting no more and use animal leather.

!!Examples

* ''Film/MasterAndCommander''. When the command [[RedAlert "beat to quarters"]] is given, the beating of drums rouses the crew from their hammocks and sends them rushing to their action stations. On the soundtrack, the track called "The Battle" is ''very'' heavy on drums.
* In ''Film/TheGreatWall'' the Nameless Order uses an entire drum squad to transmit orders. They stand on top of the tower not caring about things like firing catapults and rushing monsters, start a few pieces of soundtrack and [[RuleOfCool use nunchaku for drumsticks]].

* One episode of ''Series/GilligansIsland'' involved the castaways starting up a band to keep themselves entertained. Gilligan took the drum-like bongos and his song was mistaken by natives on a distant island as a declaration of hostile intent, prompting them to attack first. One adventure later, after everything had been cleared up, Gilligan proceeded to give the leaving natives a different bongo beat, [[HereWeGoAgain which the natives of another island mistook for this trope...]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho''. The Harold Saxon Master speaks of being tormented by the [[TerribleTicking constant sound of drumming in his head]] from when he first looked into the Untempered Schizm as a child, a "warrior's march" calling to him.

* In both ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'' and ''VideoGame/CadenceOfHyrule'', the player may obtain the War Drum item. Striking it allows the player to jump in place without missing the beat and increases the damage of their next attack.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' has an Orc unit called the Kodo beast, which is ridden by an orc drummer. It increases the damage done by all nearby allied units by 10%.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': ''The Burning Crusade'' and some later expansions had the leatherworking items called "War Drums" to grant the party a bonus, usually a haste (attack speed) increase.

* In VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}, there is "Chaos Eater" track which is played in this fashion.

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The association of drums with violence may be a contributor to the AllDrummersAreAnimals stereotype. If the drums are being used to harass or annoy someone, it's LoudOfWar. If the sound of the drums itself causes harm, that's a BrownNote. If someone is getting ''hit'' with a drum, it's either ImprobableWeaponUser or ImprovisedWeapon. If someone uses their weapon to hit their shield like a drum, it's WeaponALaShieldPercussion.