A Few Words About the Drumset

The drumset or drumkit (sometimes called a trap set) is made up of a number of individual drums and cymbals (and occasionally additional instruments). The number of different drumset configurations is infinite — the drumset is unique among acoustical musical instruments in that each player chooses which drums and other instruments their drumset will include, what size each included element will be, the physical arrangement of all the elements and how each drum will be tuned.

At their core, just about all drumsets consist of:

• A bass drum, a large drum that produces a very deep and powerful tone the drummer uses to define the music’s pulse. In a drumset the bass drum is played with a foot using a mechanical pedal. (In fact, the invention of the first practical bass drum pedal in Chicago in 1909 is what allowed both the drumset and how it is played to evolve and keep pace with the evolution of popular music over the 110 or so years that the drumset has existed.) Drumset bass drums are usually between 18” and 26” in diameter, and between 14” and 18” in depth. Drumset bass drums are usually made of multiple plies of wood that have been molded into a cylinder, with a drum head — originally made from animal hide but now almost exclusively made from plastic — stretched across each open end. Drumset bass drums frequently have their front (non-playing) side drumhead removed or have a hole cut into it to facilitate placing a microphone and sound-dampening material inside of the drum.

• Tom-toms, drums that are smaller and higher-pitched than the bass drum, are played with drumsticks and produce full, round, almost melodic tones that the drummer uses to add color to the music. Small toms (sometimes called rack toms) are mounted on holders attached to the bass drum or to floor stands and produce higher melodic tones. They are usually between 8” and 15” in diameter and between 6” and 15” in depth. Floor toms are larger tom-toms that are mounted on legs and produce deeper melodic tones. Drumset floor toms are usually between 14” and 20” in diameter, and between 14” and 20” in depth. Drumset tom-toms and floor toms are usually made of multiple plies of wood that have been molded into a cylinder, with a drum head — originally made from animal hide but now almost exclusively made from plastic — stretched across each open end. Tom-toms and floor toms without bottom (non-playing) side drumheads became fashionable during the 1970s and 1980s but have since fallen out of favor.

• A snare drum, similar to a very shallow tom-tom but differing in that its bottom (resonant) drumhead is very thin and has several (usually between 12 and 20) long wires or cables (called snares, hence the name snare drum) stretched across it. When the drummer hits the top drumhead with a drumstick the thin bottom drumhead instantaneously moves in reaction to the hit, causing the snares to bang against it. With each drumstick hit this creates a sharp, dry ‘snap’ that projects through the music to carry the beat and accent the music. The snare drum can also create a smooth ‘buzz’ when the drummer rapidly rolls the drumsticks back and forth on the top drumhead. Drumset snare drums are usually between 13” and 15” in diameter (the vast majority are 14”), and between 3” and 8” in depth (most are 5” or 6½”). Drumset snare drums are made of multiple plies (or a single ply) of wood that have been molded into a cylinder, or of metal (brass, bronze, steel, aluminum, copper and occasionally more exotic metals) that has been formed into a cylinder by one of several different methods. 

• Cymbals, thin disks made from castings or sheets of bronze (copper + tin) that are heated and rolled, tempered, trimmed to size, then are pressed and/or hammered into shape, and at the end are lathed to their final thickness and weight. They are played with drumsticks and produce bright, complex, ringing sounds that accent the music or carry the beat. Drumset cymbals are usually between 6” and 24” in diameter (most are between 14” and 22”). Hi-hats are a pair of cymbals that are mounted facing each other on a stand that is operated with a foot pedal. The drummer can bring the cymbals together with the pedal and play them with drumsticks to create a number of musical effects.

If you were to gather together the drumsets used by 100 famous drummers over the past 100 or so years you would find that no two were 100% identical. Although many would no doubt share what has become the standard 4-piece drumset configuration — originally developed by Gene Krupa in the mid-1930s and consisting of: one bass drum, one small tom, one floor tom, one snare drum and several cymbals — even within that ‘standard’ configuration there is tremendous variety in the sizes, placement and tuning of the individual elements. And of course, many famous drummers have used configurations that are substantially different from Krupa’s 4-piece ‘standard’.

A 1937 photo of Gene Krupa, playing the 'standard'

4-piece drumset configuration he developed.

Even with the tremendous variation in drumset configurations over the years, the one drum that every drumset always includes is a snare drum. The snare drum is the heart and soul of the drumset. It is the element that is most used to define a song’s rhythm, and it is the most musically-versatile element in any drumset. It can be played simply, one stroke at a time, to carry the song’s beat, or it can be played in extremely delicate and complex patterns to tell a complete musical story all by itself. And anywhere in between.

-Hyam R. Sosnow