The drum kit as it most commonly appears nowadays contains two types of components: the toms and the cymbals.
There are three kinds of toms:
There are also three kinds of cymbals:
This is the lowest sounding of the toms in a drum kit. A bass drum can be up to 30 inch in diameter, and it is the only tom that is played by the drummer's - usually right - foot.
In old jazz, the drummer played "four to the floor", that is, hammering out each and every beat with the bass drum. Later this role shifted to the bass player who started playing walking bass instead of just chord notes. In jazz the bass drum is now used for accents.
Pop music gives a prominent role to the bass drum, almost invariably hitting the first and often also the third beat of a bar. For the rest, the bass drum can hit various other points in the basic rhythm, depending on the type of music. In disco music, the bass drum plays every single quarter note.
The snare drum is with the bass drum the most important tom in a drum kit. It has a very characteristic "wet" sound, resulting from the fact that metal springs are in contact with the drum head.
Jazz drumming uses the snare for accents, but in pop music the snare drum is very prominent, hitting the second and fourth beat of each bar at least 90% of the time. The rest of the time, the snare is used for fills and drum rolls. It is quite exceptional for a basic rhythm to have snare accents on other than the second and fourth beat of a bar.
While there are various techniques for playing the snare drum that are not relevant to dancing, it is useful to recognise "cross sticking". This is the practice of laying the stick flat across the rim of the drum and playing it by lifting it slightly and bringing it down again. This gives a much lighter sound than a full hit on the snare.
Disco music uses many synthesised snare drum textures. A popular one uses the sound of a hand clap mixed with the drum sound.
The hi-hat consists of two cymbals, touching at the rims. The drummer hits the upper cymbal of the hi-hat with a stick, and uses his -- usually left -- foot to bring the cymbals together or move them apart. In pop music the hi-hat is the clearest indication whether the rhythm has straight eighths or a swing feel.
Occasionally the hi-hat is used to play the backbeat. This is a jazz technique. Example: Billy-a-dick by Bette Midler, Four Brothers by The Manhattan Transfer.
The high-hat usually plays quarter or eighth notes. In disco music, sixteenth notes, played by alternating hits with the left and right hand, are common. Example: Need a man blues by Donna Summer.
Another disco technique of hi-hat playing is to alternate a hit on open cymbals with a note produced by bringing the two cymbals together with the foot.
A typical drum kit has at least two cymbals (the hi-hat is usually not
counted among the cymbals), with a thin or small "crash" or "splash"
cymbal for accents, and a thicker, typically about 18 inch sized "ride"
cymbal that is used for defining the basic rhythm.
The ride cymbal is to jazz what the hi-hat is for pop music: it defines
the continuity in the high frequencies. The swing
feel in jazz music is most clearly heard in the ride cymbal.
Most drum sets include a number of toms (the bass drum and the snare are usually not counted among the toms), mostly used for rhythmic accents.
The term "percussion" is commonly used for all rhythmic instruments
not part of the drum kit. Jazz music usually has very little percussion
although it appears in large ensembles such as big bands. Pop music uses
percussion mostly in an ornamental fashion. Certain styles of hustle
music feature percussion instruments rather prominently. Example: Turn the beat around by Gloria
Estefan.
It is only in latin-american music that the percussion is prominent, and
in fact essential. A latin rhythm section can easily have three percussion
players and need not have a regular drummer.
One of the clearest uses of percussion is in the Cha-cha, where the defining cha-cha-cha rhythm is played on the congas.
See the page about bass.
These instruments have a secondary rhythmic function, mostly strengthening accents already present in the bass and drums.
This file is part of "Feel The Beat", a musicology course for dancers, by Victor Eijkhout (victor at eijkhout dot net), who appreciates being sent additions or corrections on the material in this course. Copyright 2000/1 Victor Eijkhout.
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URL: http://www.eijkhout.net/ftb/text_files/Instruments.html
Last modified on: Sunday, May 6, 2001.