Parts of a Standard Drum Kit Explained
A typical drum kit description will say something to the effect of a "5 piece drum kit" or "4 piece drum kit," but what do these numbers mean? This is a very easy question to answer, the number correlates to the number of drums a kit has. For example a standard drum kit will have 2 rack toms, 1 floor tom, 1 base drum, and 1 snare drum, this equals the 5 piece kit. Another popular option is to only have 1 rack tom, which creates a 4 piece kit.
Beginners or non-drummers easily get confused here because they see a complex drum kit with seemingly 20 or so pieces and they wonder how it could be considered a 5 piece kit. Now let's go over the different drums that I have mentioned so far.
The base drum or kick drum is the large drum located at the bottom of the drum kit and it is played using a foot pedal. The rack toms are held up by a rack that is typically on top of the base drum. The floor tom is a standalone unit that typically sits to the right of the base drum. Finally the snare drum is the drum that sits between the legs of the drummer. What makes the snare drum unique is that on the bottom of the drum are snare strands, which are basically just coiled metal wires. When the drum is hit the snare strands make a buzzing cracking noise that gets added into the normal drum sound.
Cymbals are the other portion of the drum kit, and they are categorized primarily by size. kids drum set are the smallest and are used primarily during fills. Crash cymbals are the next size up and they are used to give emphasis in the song. Often times it is the crash cymbal that is hit at the very end of a song or a drum solo.
Ride Cymbals are different than splash and crash cymbals in that they are primarily used to keep rhythm instead of used to create accents. Ride cymbals are typically around 18 inches in diameter and are a must have for any drum kit.
The last type of cymbals that we will discuss are the hi-hat cymbals. These 2 cymbals are always used with each other and can be found on the left side of the drum kit. They have a special stand which uses a foot pedal to bring the two cymbals together which makes a clicking sound. This click is used heavily in Jazz music and can be effective in creating some complex beats.
Beginners or non-drummers easily get confused here because they see a complex drum kit with seemingly 20 or so pieces and they wonder how it could be considered a 5 piece kit. Now let's go over the different drums that I have mentioned so far.
The base drum or kick drum is the large drum located at the bottom of the drum kit and it is played using a foot pedal. The rack toms are held up by a rack that is typically on top of the base drum. The floor tom is a standalone unit that typically sits to the right of the base drum. Finally the snare drum is the drum that sits between the legs of the drummer. What makes the snare drum unique is that on the bottom of the drum are snare strands, which are basically just coiled metal wires. When the drum is hit the snare strands make a buzzing cracking noise that gets added into the normal drum sound.
Cymbals are the other portion of the drum kit, and they are categorized primarily by size. kids drum set are the smallest and are used primarily during fills. Crash cymbals are the next size up and they are used to give emphasis in the song. Often times it is the crash cymbal that is hit at the very end of a song or a drum solo.
Ride Cymbals are different than splash and crash cymbals in that they are primarily used to keep rhythm instead of used to create accents. Ride cymbals are typically around 18 inches in diameter and are a must have for any drum kit.
The last type of cymbals that we will discuss are the hi-hat cymbals. These 2 cymbals are always used with each other and can be found on the left side of the drum kit. They have a special stand which uses a foot pedal to bring the two cymbals together which makes a clicking sound. This click is used heavily in Jazz music and can be effective in creating some complex beats.
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