What are the Different Drums in a Drum Set

What are the Different Drums in a Drum Set Base Drum, Snare Drums, Tom-Toms, Hi Hats: the Different Parts of a Traditional Drum Set ChaptersComponents of a Drum KitBass Drums and Kick DrumsSnare DrumsTom-TomsCymbalsElectronic Drum KitThough in the early days of classical orchestra, every percussionist was specialised in a specific instrument, as time went on drummers sought for ways to combine drums so they could play several at once. With the invention of the drum pedal, it became possible to have one or more hanging and floor drums, various stands and cymbal pedals allowed for a variation in sound from low to high.Thus, over time, the drum kit was born. However, there is an inordinate amount of different drums available. So what should you invest in if you want to take drumming lessons? What drums should you get for a beginner drum set? the main difference between the different music styles is in the number, exact size of the drums and their materials.A good size is the five-piece drum set; it can be expanded as needed. Professional drummers, especially in rock bands, like to personalise their drum kits, but wi th the five-piece variation, you can play the percussion to almost any song.You can learn to play these easy songs on the drum!A complete drum set includes:A bass drumA snare drumThree toms, tuned to a low, middle and high pitch. They can be hanging toms, or one of them can be a floor tom, depending on what music you want to play.Two crash cymbalsA hi-hat cymbalVarious effect cymbalsA drum throneA drum throneBass Drums and Kick DrumsBass drums are fairly large, cylindrical, with a depth much smaller than their diameter - this is what sets them apart from other low-pitched drums, such as concert timpani. They come in a variety of sizes, but the size doesn’t influence the sound produced as much as other factors such as construction.The diameter is the main factor in determining the basic note, together with the thickness of the drum shells, the material used - from birch to mahogany to metals for steel drums - and the direction of the wood grain. The way a drum is tensioned will als o affect its pitch.Bass drums are commonly sounded with one or more of the following drumsticks:A single felt-tipped malletA mallet in one hand and rute in the otherMatching malletsDouble-headed mallet for drum rollsA beater (a single mallet activated by a pedal).They come in three main variations.Concert drumsConcert bass drums are double-headed and rod tensioned. They typically measure 40 inches in diameter, and 20 in depth.They are mounted on a stand so their angle can be varied from horizontal to vertical.They have a big sound that reverberates somewhat.Kick drumsThe bass drums in drum kits are generally smaller than concert drums. Their diameter can vary from 16 to 28 inches, their depth from 12 to 22. The most common size for the past twenty years was 20-inch x 14 inch with the current preferred size being 22 inches x 18 inches.Having trouble finding the bass drum? It's the big one on its side, usually with the band name on it - or the brand name if you aren't in a band yet. P hoto credit: Marc Wathieu on Visual HuntKick drums take their name from the drum pedal used to sound bass drums when they are part of a drum set. The drums themselves are set up vertically on drum stands with the pedal on the floor. The pedals were first developed by the drummers themselves, then produced commercially as more and more music-hall bands used primitive drum kits - the Ludwig Ludwig Drum Company is known for having produced the first fast-action bass pedal.Learn more about the history of drums...  Many modern rock drummers use double bass drums in their drumkits - necessitating, of course, a double bass drum pedal. They were first introduced in jazz, and are now fairly common in fusion, rock and punk bands.Bass drums used in drum sets are often muffled in some way to shorten the sound.Pitched bass drumsPitched bass drums are hung vertically from straps and used in marching bands, usually several different drums with different pitches. They are used to set the rhythm, b ut also have important melodic lines. more modern ones are made of Mylar.Snare drums are characterised by parallel cords or wires strung just under the lower skin (except for tarol snares, where the snare wires are under the top drumhead).Here you can see the snares on this antique snare drum. Photo credit: quinet on Visual huntSnare drums started out as military drums, often used for signalling. They have a short, staccato drum sound, and can be played by drum sticks, brush or rute.Famous techniques for the snare drum are drum rolls and rimshots. In classical rock rhythms, they are often used for the backbeat.Different types of snare drums include:Marching snares: snare drums hung by straps, 12 by 14 inches. They are often highly tensioned with the use of a drum key.Pipe band snares: used to accompany the bagpipes. They require a lot of skill and are as much a visual performance as a musical one.Drum kit snares: smaller than marching snares, 14 in diameter, with varying depths. The y are played on snare stands.Piccolo snares: used by drummers wanting a higher-pitched snare. They come in soprano, popcorn, and standard piccolos.Discover more facts about drums...  Tom-TomsToms are cylindrical drums but without snare wires. Many toms are tunable thanks to the use of hoops and tuning lugs. Most toms have two drum heads, but not all.They are usually used for drum fills.The main difference in the various music styles is in the number and types of toms in their acoustic drum set: they’re basically a frame (usually of steel) and a single head.Floor tomsFloor toms are double-headed generally as deep as they are wide. They are set up on three-legged stands, usually to the drummer’s right (for a right-handed drummer).Delve deeper into the parts of a drum kit...  CymbalsThe final element in drum kits is the cymbals. The use of cymbals for percussion music was revolutionised by the cymbal stand and pedals. They allowed drummers to crash cymbals with only one hand or non e at all, opening up the way to more complicated percussion music.There are several different types of cymbals regularly used with a percussion set:Hi-hatsHi-hat cymbals are a pair of cymbals mounted horizontally on a hi-hat stand. A foot pedal moves the top cymbal while the bottom one stays fixed.A hi-hat cymbal. The top cymbal is stationary, the bottom is raised and lowered with a pedal. Photo credit: Timothy Valentine on VisualhuntThis type of cymbal evolved from sock cymbals, originally set at ground level and operated with a spring mechanism. They were eventually mounted on short stands (”low-boys”) which were then raised so the cymbals could be clashed with the sticks as well as with the foot pedal. This setup was originally called “high socks” until it was superceded by the term “hi-hat”.Hi-hats are frequently used for the beat or for accents within the rhythm, occasionally for effect accents. They can be played with sticks in the open, closed or half-open positio n.Ride CymbalsRide cymbals are used in a similar fashion to high-hats, but since the ride cymbal is a single cymbal, its sound cannot be varied as much. However, it has a certain amount of sustain when struck, hence the name: it rides with the music.There are different types of ride cymbals, each one shaped slightly differently and giving a different sound:Flat rides have a dry clash and a clearly-defined soundSwish and pangs are similar in sound to China cymbalsSizzle cymbals are thinner and larger than main ridesCrash CymbalsWhere ride cymbals are used in rhythm and ride with the music, crash cymbals are single-effect cymbals for one loud crash. They can be crashed by hand in pairs or mounted on a stand as a single cymbal, as in a drum set.A crash cymbal in a drum set. Photo credit: HckySo on VisualHuntChina CymbalChina cymbals give a light, crisp tone and are generally mounted upside-down on their stand. They have a bell but no taper and are named after their similarity to Chines e gongs.Electronic Drum KitThough there were a few previous forays into electronic percussion, the first true electronic drum was invented in the early 1970s by drummer Graeme Edge of the Moody Blues.Electronic drums are usually set up like a traditional drum kit, but theoretically, you can program each of the drums to sound like any percussion instrument at all.Basically, each module is a drum pad that produces an electronic sound when struck. The first pads were rubber-coated, but Roland, with its “V-Drums”, introduced a mesh-head pad with a bounce similar to that of acoustic drums.It has the advantage of sounding like any percussion instrument - from maple drum set to cowbell - and can be played with headphones to promote neighbourly feelings when practising. However, the sounds do not replicate acoustic drumming exactly - something that some drummers love and others don’t.Have you heard of these 15 famous drummers?