No matter the venue – from concert halls and jazz cafes to art galleries – drummer sets have long been an indispensable instrument for musicians of all genres. Beginner kits feature simplified configurations and standard drum sizes for easier learning; professional sets provide higher-end materials to produce richer sounds.
Understanding how many drums make up a drum set will enable you to easily create basic beats and play confidently. Let’s begin by discussing its individual components.
Bass Drum
The bass drum is the largest drum in any drum set and serves many functions. Its primary job is marking rhythm on accented beats in both tutti and solo passages, but its tonal and melodic tasks also include standing out without overshadowing other instruments’ sounds and producing full-sounding tones; making the bass drum one of the most integral and complex instruments within an orchestra.
A bass drum’s shell is typically constructed of several wood plies glued together, and this construction determines its sound output. Budget and starter kits may use cheaper shell materials such as basswood or poplar; intermediate and professional sets often utilize maple, mahogany or birch for more resonant sounds.
A bass drum features two drum heads: the batter head which is struck with the beater, and a resonant head often equipped with a port. After playing notes on their bass drums, drummers may either keep the beater touching the batter head after note has been played, or release it immediately – either option producing different tones; leaving it touching will produce sharper attacks but less resonance while releasing will cause it to sing for an instantaneous fraction of a second, producing richer tones than leaving beater touching;
Most drummers mute their bass drum by filling it with material to dampen its resonance, however this limits its range of sounds produced. Muffled sounds may become dry, hard-edged and noise-like while their attack becomes reduced; alternatively drummers who opt not to muffle can achieve fuller and resonant tones by employing light touches with their beater to achieve more full and resonant tones.
Tuning a bass drum so that its batter side has slightly lower pitch than its resonant side can help achieve this, followed by tightening each lug one turn at a time in clockwise direction (e.g. 12 then 6, etc).
Snare Drum
The snare drum is at the core of any drum set, as its name derives from its ability to produce a snapping sound when struck with drumsticks. A typical 14″ by 5” or 6″ deep cylindrical shell with two stretched-calfskin or plastic drumheads–one thicker than the other–known as batter heads or batter heads, each featuring catgut or wires known as snares that produce its signature rattle when struck produces this signature sound when struck.
Adjusting snare wires enables drummers to control how the drum responds to strikes by altering its response. Drummers can utilize various types of snare wires in order to achieve the desired response; commonly used are coiled metal strands which, when played using cross-stick techniques, produce crisp and sharp responses while nylon, rope, or synthetic gut wires produce warmer sounds with muffled tones. Many manufacturers offer drums with interchangeable wire sets so musicians can select which set is right for them.
Standard drum kits contain four drums: the snare drum shell, a floor tom, medium tom and rack mounted toms – these vary in pitch from lowest (floor tom) to highest pitched (rack mounted toms).
Drum shells are traditionally constructed from either one or multiple wood species, with maple and birch being two popular choices for snare drums. More adventurous drummers may opt for shells made of various metals or exotic, rare woods. More recently, drummers can discover drum shells made with innovative technologies like symmetrical venting that allows air to circulate rapidly around the shell for smoother and more responsive tones; other innovations in snare drum construction include using different types of bearing edges on heads in order to reduce tuning loss.
Toms
Toms are integral components of drum sets, providing an expansive rhythmic palette and tonal qualities essential for musicianship and sonic palette development. Additionally, they give depth and variety to a drum set so drummers can present audiences with captivating performances.
Drums may be mounted to a rack system above the bass drum, known as rack toms; or placed directly to the right of the drummer as floor toms. Their pitches may differ depending on size and depth of shell – deeper drums often producing lower pitches.
Drums produce distinct sounds when struck with various sticks, brushes, or mallets; this allows drummers to craft unique sounds for their style of drumming.
As with choir ensembles, drums also possess their own distinct voices. Different sized drums produce distinctive tones which combine harmoniously to form the complete voice of their percussion ensemble. Drummers should experiment with various sizes and configurations of drums until they discover their optimal voice.
Tone can be affected by many aspects of a drum’s composition: diameter, depth of shell and mounting system are all critical elements. Drummers also utilize tension rods to tighten or loosen drumhead tension; these tension rods come equipped with lugs which allow drumhead tightening or loosening via tension rods. Drumhead materials vary greatly including animal hide and plastic as single or double plies which feature tension rod lugs to tighten or loosen tightness accordingly.
Drum shells can be constructed out of any number of materials, with wood being the most frequently used option. Wooden drums generally produce warm and resonant tones while acrylic or synthetic shells produce crisper sounds; drums with more hardware on their shells are often known as flying drums due to being designed so as to ‘fly’ when struck with a stick.
Drummers can adjust the positioning of their toms to make playing easier for themselves. If you are short in stature and own a smaller drum kit, mounting both of your snare drum and floor tom on a cymbal stand may make reaching them simpler; this can also help ensure healthy posture when drumming for extended periods of time.
Cymbals
Cymbals are among the smallest components of a drum set but make an enormous contribution to its sound. Available in various shapes and sizes with distinctive tones, cymbals come in an assortment of styles including crash, ride and hi-hat cymbals; more rarely featured may also include small chimes called hi-hat cymbals as well as splash cymbals to provide accents or short crashes.
A cymbal is composed of a metal plate with thinnest sections near its bell and thicker ones nearer its bow, typically made out of brass, that has been hammered using special hammers before leaving its factory to produce sound. Timbre can be altered by altering shape, size or surface treatment. A hole is often drilled in its center so that mounting stands can be added or straps tied around for hand playing; this hole, known as its bell or dome produces higher pitches than the rest of its plate’s design.
A cymbal’s rim may be either smooth or rough depending on its intended use; smooth rims tend to be used for crashes and rides while rough ones may be found on bell cymbals, splashes, and other specialty cymbals that need distinctive sounds.
Most cymbals are typically constructed of either silver or bronze metals, each offering its own distinct advantages; bronze cymbals generally offer more balanced and versatile sound compared to its silver counterpart, as well as being protected with an additional layer of paint for additional surface protection.
Cymbals can be divided into two broad categories according to their look and sound: Bright/Open are typically shiny with high overtones and long sustain. They work particularly well in rock music or styles requiring strong cutting sounds. Dark/Dry tend to appear dull with unfinished edges. Their sound has lower pitches with more subdued characteristics for subtler musical genres like jazz.
Crash cymbals, typically played with sticks, are the smallest of cymbals. Their small size enables it to quickly react when hit by sticks; as such they often become the first cymbal to be hit when playing rhythms; their collective destruction being commonly known as a crash chorus.