The sound of drums and bugles are the stirring sounds of war. The drums' signal a call to arms. Nowadays, we normally only use the stirring sound of drums and bugles (and Bagpipes, too!) ceremonially, not on a modern battlefield (though with some exceptions, such as playing the bagpipes in front of the enemy), as happened in World War II.A drumhead was when drums were piled up and draped with the regimental colours, and flags, to act as an altar for a church service held in the field.