Prior to the invention of tension rods drum skins were attached and tuned by rope systems such as that devoted on the Djembe or pegs and ropes such as African Drums that hand-me-down on Ewe Drums, a system rarely dependent today, although sometimes seem on regimental marching band snare drums.
Drum carried by John Unger, Association B, 40th Regiment Brand-new York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Mozart Regiment, December 20, 1863

The drumhead old-fashioned the most end product on how a drum sounds. Each type of drumhead serves its own musical destination and has its own unique sound. Thicker drumheads are lower-pitched and can be very loud. Drumheads with a white plastic coating on them muffle the overtones of the drumhead slightly, producing a less diverse pitch. Drumheads with central silvered or black dots tend to muffle the overtones even more. And drumheads with perimeter sound rings mostly eliminate overtones (Howie 2005). Some jazz drummers avoid using thick drumheads, preferring double ply drumheads or drumheads with perimeter entire rings. Quarry drummers often prefer the thicker or coated drumheads.