Beginners guide to drum fundamentals and kits

Like music, drumming is one of the most ancient types of instruments. The history of drumming is enormous and diverse, ranging from hollowed-out logs and frame-mounted hides to all manner of vaudevillian, military, and symphonic percussion gear. Drum kits have evolved, and the playing techniques and styles. However, the essential makeup of drum fundamentals lessons and kits has remained constant. The drum kit consists of the kick drum, snare drum, tom-toms, and crash cymbals are used in addition to hi-hats and ride cymbals. The snare drum and the kick drum are the essential parts of the sets in a drum kit. The others include tom-toms.

Here are some of the essentials of a drum kit

1. Hi-hats

The hi-hats are a pair of 12-15″ cymbals installed on a stand that is brought together by pressing down a pedal at the base. They can be played with sticks or pedaled to produce a characteristic ‘click’ sound. Hi-hats are played with both hands in various forms, with the right hand switching to the snare for the backbeat. The most popular playing style is to ‘ride’ the hats on eighth-notes with the right hand crossing over the left hand, which strikes the snare.

2. Tom toms

Tom toms are also known as rack toms. They range in size from 8″ to 16″ in circumference and are tuned to a certain set of pitches that includes the floor tom(s) at the lower end. They are used to add syncopated decoration to grooves and pseudo-melodic meat to fills and solos. Standard 8th note groove is amongst the most Common Drum Beats in this kit.

3. Crash cymbals

Crashes are narrow cymbals that range in size from 8 to 18 inches, with anything less than 13 inches being referred to as a splash. They’re usually always struck at the same time as the kick or snare, and they’re utilized for accenting key beats and highlighting transitions in a track, such as the transition into the chorus.

4. Kick drum

The kick drum provides the drum kit’s power and lower section. It has a diameter of 18 to 24 inches and sits on its side on the floor, where it is played with the foot using a pedal-mounted beater. The kick drum usually accompanies the bassline in pop, rock, and many dance music genres, either immediately following it or flowing around it. It simply nails every beat of the bar in the house, techno, and other four-to-the-floor styles, of course — arguably the most widespread and powerful rhythmic instrument of the last 30 years. Many drummers utilize two bass drums for the quick double-kick rhythms that are necessary to metal.

5. Snare drum

The snare drum is a small drum with a rack of ‘crimped’ springs extended across the bottom head that produces the backbeat in popular music: ongoing strikes on beats 2 and 4. The snare can be pounded on the head alone or the head and rim simultaneously — this is known as a rimshot, and it’s an almost unconscious technique for any half-decent drummer.

To sum up, there are other elements to the drum set, such as floor toms, ride cymbals, and crash cymbals.