On April 7, a draw will be done for an autographed drum head which I used during the 2007 European tour with Quo Vadis and Kataklysm, as well as a pair of my signature drumsticks. In order to be eligible for the draw, you must correctly answer the following question.

The rim of a drum head is fixed to the drum shell and tightened to modify the tuning of the drum. For physics discussions, the drum head can be approximated as a circular membrane with fixed boundaries. The mathematics of the vibrational modes of circular membranes can be explained using particular types of functions. What are these functions called?

Do you know the answer? Send an email with the answer to contest@yanicbercier.com, with “autographed drum head and sticks” as the email subject.

Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University