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The drums didn't necessarily serve any musical purpose in the goblin society. They used to be handy tools for communicating since their sound could be heard over great distances. I'd believe that in labyrinthic caves drumming would have been an ideal way to send messages without too much trouble. Besides, since the message "language" was probably different among different tribes and cultures, unwanted people (spies, whom the goblins seemed to be afraid of) couldn't have interpreted the messages.
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Yes, but Tolkien specifically states the orcs had no language of their own, but twisted that of others to their own ends. Developing a drum-message system is very like developing an original language, but we don't have any evidence of drum-messages in any other Tolkien culture. More likely the drums were used militarily to give very simple messages, and, i think, for dark parodies of lighter Middle-Earth music.
02-10-2006, 10:07 AM
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