Renaissance cylindrical drums have two heads, one with a snare. When the drum head is struck with the drum sticks, the snare adds a vibration, or rattle, to the drum's din. The Renaissance style drums have a tension rim holding the skin head, and the snare is on the bottom head. This style of drum is a traditional military drum with a long history. They were used to mark time for marching or to signal during confrontations. Originally Renaissance drums were fashioned from solid timber making them quite heavy. These modern replicas are fashioned from attractive half-inch laminates for strength and light-weight and mulberry top and bottom rings.