Dictionary of Drums
Accent
Emphasis placed on a particular note that gives it more stress than the others.
Acoustic
Drums that are void of electronic components. Usually made of wood or synthetic material only. And electronic drums are void of acoustic drums.
Backbeat
A consistent rhythm that stresses beats 2 and 4 in common time. In other time signatures, the backbeat will land elsewhere. For example, the backbeat lands on 4 and 10 in 12/8 time.
Bass Drum
The lowest pitched drum in a marching band or with a drumset.
Bata Drums
A double headed, hour glass shaped drum originating from Nigeria. It later migrated to Cuba and eventually to the US. These drums can be played in the lap or with a strap around the neck.
Batter Head
Typically referring to a drumhead that has a coated surface. It's also a term referring to the side of the drum.
Bearing Edge
The edge of the drum that the head sits on. Bearing edges are often sharpened to a smaller angle for greater attack, projection and evenness of tone.
Beat Displacement
A term popularized in drumming over the last 10 years. It refers to permutation where all beats will move forward say, one eighth note. This method will create numerous variations of rhythmic possibilities on the drums.
Beguine
Music incorporating a bolero rhythm.
Bells
An instrument that consists of tuned metal bars mounted on a rectangular frame such as the glockenspiel, xylophone or marimba.
Bodhran
An Irish drum covered with goatskin.
Bo-Diddley Beat
This beat was popularized by Bo Diddley, the famous blues guitar player. It stems from early forms of Latin and afro-Cuban rhythms (clave) derived from their respective countries. This rhythm was also used for years as the playful music knock, Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits.
Bolero Rhythm
A slow ballad suitable for the bolero dance or similar music.
Bones
A pair of wooden instruments that are held in the hand (between the thumb and forefinger) and are clicked together in rhythm. Commonly known as castenets.
Bongocero
A bongo player.
Bongo Drum or Bongos
A pair of small drums that are connected in the middle and played with your hands. Very common in Afro-Cuban music and Latin percussion.
BoomWhackers
Long colorful tubes that produces various tones. Popular kid's percussion instrument common in musical education. Many elementary schools and junior high schools incorporate BoomWhackers into their music curriculum.
Boom
An arm that extends from the cymbal stand to allow greater positioning around the drumset. Most drummers use it to bring the cymbals in closer to them.
Bossa Nova
The bossa nova rhythm accompanies the famous bossa nova dance. It stems from the Samba and has it's origins in Brazil.
Brushes
Brushes as they relate to drumming have wire bristles that fan out and are used mostly with traditional jazz drumming. Drummers that play brushes utilize snaps and sweeps to create a unique art form that we call brush techniques.
Buzz Roll
One of the 40 drum rudiments. Often confused with the double stroke roll, it is played by executing multiple bounces in each hand and then speeding up. Other names for this roll are the crush roll, the press roll and the multiple bounce stroke.
Cabasa
A Latin percussion instrument consisting of a round cylinder on a handle. There are metal beads (actually a chain) that surround the corrugated cylinder. It is held with one hand and rubbed with the other to create various rhythms.
Cascara
A Latin percussion pattern often played with the right hand on the side of a timbale. This rhythm can also be played on drumset.
Castanets
A pair of wooden instruments that are held in the hand (between the thumb and forefinger) and are clicked together in rhythm.
Cajon
A hollow wooden box that has the tone of a conga. Non-tuneable as it has no drumhead. Origin - Latin America.
Cha-Cha
A medium tempo, Afro-Cuban rhythm, as heard in Tito Puento's "Oye Como Va" song.
Chimes
Long metal tubes that are struck with a special hammer. This percussion instrument is common in school bands and orchestras as well as symphonies.
China
Also referred to as a cymbal.
Chops
Your technique or rhythmic vocabulary. Ex. That kid has great chops on the drums!
clave (clave')
A rhythm made up of a 2 bar phrase played as 2:3 clave (ex: 1 2,1 2 3) or 3:2 clave (ex: 1 2 3,1 2). Once the song starts, the clave will not change. Latin American countries often clap their hands to clave during the music.
claves
Percussion instrument; a pair of cylindrical wooden sticks (usually around an inch and half thick) that are clicked together to make a high pitched sound marking clave in Latin music. Sometimes made from synthetic material.
Clutch
The drumset accessory that holds the top cymbal, of the hi hat cymbals, in place.
Common Time
4/4 time, indicating 4 beats to the measure with the quarter note receiving the beat.
Conga
A drum with African/Cuban origin that is played with the hands. Shaped like a barrel, it sits on the floor or on a stand and can be played sitting or standing. It has a head on one side only. The conga is the middle drum of a typical conga set of drums.
Conguero
One who plays the conga drums.
Cowbell
Clapperless cowbells made of metal are an important element in Latin-American and go go music. These cowbells are struck with a stick - the tone being modulated by striking different parts of the bell and by damping with the hand holding the bell.
Crash
A cymbal used for accentuation. A drummer will use this cymbal to emphasize a certain beat or accent beat one of the new measure. They generally come in sizes 15 to 18
Cymbal
A copper/bronze disk struck with a drumstick to ride or emphasize beats with the hands. Two cymbals can also be played together such as in a marching band or hi-hat cymbals.
Cuica
A Latin percussion instrument which sound resembles a dog barking.
Double Bass
The use of two bass drums with a drum set. Double bass drumming can also be played with a twin or double bass pedal and just one bass drum.
Double Bass Pedal
A twin pedal that strikes both beaters on the same bass drum.
Double-Stroke Roll
One of the standard 40 drum rudiments. The double stroke roll is played with 2 individual strokes in each hand.
Downbeat
The main pulse as it relates to the rest of the measure. If you have 8 eighth notes in a bar of 4/4 time, beats 1, 2, 3 and 4 would be considered the downbeat. The and of 1, and of 2, and of 3, and the and of 4 would be the upbeat.
Drag
One of the 40 standard drum rudiments.
Drop Clutch
A specially made hi hat clutch that allows the top cymbal to drop when you hit a lever on the side of it. This drum accessory is for use with double bass drumming.
Drum Fill
A filler or phrase to be played between different sections of a song. A drum fill can be as simple as a couple of tom tom hits or a blistering, machine gun-like burst of notes. Drum fills can range from 1 beat to 8 measures (or more) in length.
Drumhead
The covering or membrane that stretches over the drum to produce it's sound. Drumheads are made of animal skin and synthetic plastics.
Drumline
A section comprised of only drums and percussion.
Drummer
One who plays the drums, (duh).
Drumset
Consisting of generally 4 to 5 drums or more. 5 piece drumsets are most common.
Drum Solo
A rhythmic break in the song where the drummer gets to shine. Ala Wipeout.
Drumsticks
Sticks used to play a drum or set of drums. Popular models for drumset are ProMark, Vic Firth, and Vater.
Drum Tabs
Tabs for drumming. A short hand style of writing drum music tablature.
Drum Tech
One who sets up and maintains a drum set (or set up) for another drummer. Usually famous drummers or those that play with name bands have their own drum tech. A drum tech is usually very knowlegeable about drums and can tune and tweak them to their maximum sound potential.
Doumbek
A middle eastern drum commonly from countries such as India, Pakistan, Morocco and Egypt. Shaped similar to a djembe drum. Usually made of metal or ceramic. Only 1 drumhead on top.
Dynamics
Playing soft to loud on the drums.
Electronic Drums
Drums that are synthesized. They work off of electricity and use a sound source or brain module. Common electronic drums companies are Pintech, Roland and Hart Dynamics.
Endorsement
When a company (usually a manufacturer) endorses an individual through free or discounted merchandise and/or advertising.
Fatback
A thick 2 and 4, slightly behind the beat backbeat with a lot of soul. Common in funk and blues drumming.
Fill
Short for drumfill. See drumfill.
Finger Cymbals
A pair of tiny cymbals mounted on the hand and played by striking together. Common in belly dancing and mid-Eastern music.
Flam
One of the oldest rudiments and part of the original 13 created by N.A.R.D. One soft ghosted note is played just before the main note, creating a flam effect.
Flam Tap
A flam followed by one tap or stroke. One of the 40 drum rudiments
Flam Paradiddle
A paradiddle that starts each four note grouping with a flam. One of the 40 drum rudiments emphasizing the flam.
Floor Tom
The deepest tom (generally) on a standard drumset. It sits upright on 3 legs. In the last 20 years drummers have also mounted their floor toms on cymbal stands.
Foot Pedal
The accessory that depresses the bass drum or hi-hat cymbals.
Forte
Play loud
Fortissimo
Play the drums very loud.
Four-Four Time (or 4/4 time)
Time signature indicating 4 beats to the measure where the quarter note receives the beat.
Frame Drums
Drums that consist of a head stretched over a narrow framed skeleton. Simple in design but capable of many types of sounds.
Ghost Note
A note that is played extremely quiet. Similar to a grace note.
Glockenspiel
An instrument that contains tuned metal bars mounted on a rectangular frame. The glockenspiel is played with mallets.
Guaguanco
An Afro Cuban rhythm stemming from the rhumba.
Gourd
A hollowed out gourd that is corrugated and played with a stiff metal rod. It creates a zip type of sound often heard in Latin music.
Gong
A large suspended cymbal that is struck with a large felt mallet. It has it's roots in the orient.
Groove
A term used to describe the way a beat feels when it not only has a steady tempo, but feels incredibly good within the music.
Hand Bells
Tuned bells that are held in the hand and sounded by shaking them.
Hand Drums
Drums played with the hands such as congas, bongos, djembes, etc.
Heads
Drumheads
Hi-Hat
The two cymbals on a stand that open and close together. They are operated by the foot. Generally used on the left side of a drumset (right handed drummers).
Hi-Hat Clutch
The device that keeps the top hi hat cymbal attached to the rod.
Hoop
The round metal or wooden disc that holds the drumhead onto the drum. Lug casings are then fastened to hold the hoop in place.
Kettle Drums
A very large drum made of copper or brass. Most often used in orchestras and symphonies. This drum has a foot pedal that is attached to the head mechanism. When the foot pedal is depressed, the kettle drum makes a unique boing type of sound.
Kick Drum
Another word for bass drum. This is the largest drum on a typical drumset and it sits on the floor.
Latin Drums
Hand drums of Latin American and/or Afro-Cuban culture.
Lick
Drum lick or short drum fill. A lick can also be a quick riff or fancy beat.
Linear Drumming
Linear drumming refers to beats or fills that incorporate stickings not usually played together.
Log Drum
Slit drum.
Mallet
A type of drumstick used to strike a percussion instrument particularly a bell instrument such as the marimba or xylophone.
Maracas
A hollowed out gourd on a stick (rattle). Usually filled with seeds or pebbles. Another simply designed instrument but capable of many different types of sounds through various skillful techniques used by the drummer.
Merengue
An upbeat Afro-Cuban rhythm.
Metronome
A clicking electronic device that sets tempo for a rhythm or song. It measures time in BPM (beats per minute). A popular middle of the road metronome setting is, quarter note = 120 bpm.
Mics
Short for microphone / drum mics, microphones for micing drums.
Marimba
An instrument that consists of a large frame holding wooden resonator bars. This musical instrument is played with mallets.
Mozambique
A rhythm from Africa commonly used in Afro-Cuban music. Legend Steve Gadd popularized this rhythm in the 80's as he mixed it with pop music - Paul Simon's Late in the Evening.
N.A.R.D.
National Association of Rudimental Drummers. This was the rudimental body prior to Percussive Arts Society (PAS).
Notation
Referring to music notes on sheet music.
Octobans
Elongated drums with heads on the playing side only. 8 drums per set.
Similar to upbeat. The beats that are not stressed. This word is also used to describe a musician that may play out of time.
Odd Time
Referring to an odd or uneven time signature (not 4/4), such as 7/4 or 5/8.
Orchestra Bells
Bells consisting of tuned metal bars mounted on a rectangular frame and played with a mallet.
Ostinato
A musical rhythm or phrase that is repeated over and over again.
Pandeiro
Tambourine; a round hoop (usually wooden) with metal discs or jingles attached. Common in Afro-Cuban and Brazillian music.
Pang
See china cymbal.
Pans
Steel drums, large oil drums that have had the tops cut off and hammered into a tuned percussion instrument. Common in the Caribbean Islands. Played with mallets.
Paradiddle
Considered one of the more important of the 40 drum rudiments. Played RLRR, LRLL with accents on the first beat of each group.
PAS
Percussive Arts Society. The governing body over all things drumming. They hold a popular annual convention once a year called PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention).
Pattern Generator
An electronic or computerized device or program that generates a multitude of rhythms.
Percussion Clef
The staff commonly used in percussion (as opposed to bass clef) where it is not necessary to notate pitched instruments.
Percussion Instrument
An instrument that is struck with your hands or an object such as a drumstick or mallet. Examples include a drum, cymbal, tambourine, bell, triangle, etc.
Permutation
A term popularized in drumming over the last 10 years. It refers to beat displacement where all beats will move forward say, one eighth note. This method will create numerous variations of rhythmic possibilities.
Phrasing
How drum beats are distributed by the player around the drums in context to the song or drum solo.
Piano
Dynamic marking meaning soft.
Pianissimo
Very soft
Polyrhythm
More than one rhythm or time signature being played at the same time, such as 3 against 2.
Pulse
The consistent heartbeat of a rhythm.
Punk
Punk drumming.
Quadruple Time
4/4 time or time signature equaling 4 beats to a measure. Quad meaning 4.
Quads
Consisting of 4 drums and often played in marching band or drumline.
Quints
Consisting of 5 drums and played in marching band or drumline.
Quinta
The smallest conga drum.
Rack Tom
Toms mounted to a drumset.
Rain Stick
A long hollowed out piece of wood that is filled with beads or pebbles. When turned upside down, it makes the sound of rain falling. This instrument is often used in band and orchestra for special percussion effects.
Rhythm
The manipulation of strong and weak beats, creating a flowing and/or syncopated pulse.
Ride
The primary cymbal that you ride much of the time while playing a standard beat. It is usually larger than the rest at around 18 to 22.
R.I.M.
A device that allows for isolation mounting. It will isolate the toms or drums and allow for greater sustain and natural tone from the drum.
Rimshot
Hitting the snare head and the snare drum rim at the same time. The effect is a louder, punchier sound or backbeat.
Roto-Tom
A mounted, shell-less drum that changes pitch when rotated.
Roll
Drum roll. Rolls (single stroke, double stroke, 5 stroke, etc.) that help make up the 40 drum rudiments.
Rudiments
Rudimentary beats used to create independence between the two hands (and feet) in drumming. These beats can then be manipulated around the drumset. There are currently 40 drum rudiments (or standardized drum rudiments).
Rudiment Solo
A solo consisting of numerous drum rudiments and often utilized in drum competitions by drumlines.
Ruff
A single stroke with one hand preceded by two ghosted strokes in the opposite hand. A single stroke with one hand accompanied by two lighter strokes with the opposite hand just preceding it. Notated like a grace note, except the grace note is two sixteenth notes instead of an eighth note. One of the thirteen original rudiments.
To the Top Generic musical term describing a wide range of Latin American music and dancing. Salsa emerged on the New York club scene in the early 70's and revolves around a high-energy dance style of music. Salsa drumming would consist of the many Latin rhythms made up of traditional Latin clave. Irish style drumming. Any percussion instrument that can be shaken. Usually a hollowed out container filled with beads or pebbles. A large hollow gourd surrounded by woven beads. Common in Afro-Cuban music. Snare used in Irish drumming. One of the most important of the 40 drum rudiments (R L R L, R L R L), as it helps to make up all the others. A hollowed out log or slab of wood cut on top in a manner in which it can be played melodically with mallets. One of the more common drums in marching bands and drumlines and the primary drum of a drumset. The snares are the wires on the bottom of the drum that give it that buzz sound. Standard size is usually 14 diameter by 5 1/2in depth but can vary greatly. The long wiggly shaped wires stretched across the bottom of a snare drum. These wires create a preferred buzz sound. Drum solo A quick sounding cymbal with short sustain. Small in diameter generally from 6 to 14. Most typically 6 to 10. Large oil drums that have had the tops cut off and hammered into a tuned percussion instrument. Common in the Caribbean Islands. Played with mallets. Drumsticks Twirling the drumsticks for showmanship on stage. In drumming it refers to the swing cymbal rhythm or what
the old masters would call "spang-a-lang". This rhythm and variations of it is the driving force behind swing (jazz) music. When a beat or a musical phrase is syncopated. Short for tablature (see drum tabs). Gong The speed of the rhythm or song. A hollowed out frame drum. It consists of a drumhead on one side. A set of tuned wood blocks played with mallets or drumsticks. Another one of the many percussion instruments used for special effects. It is a metal bar actually bent in the shape of a triangle and struck with a small metal mallet. The PIT, as it's called, is the non-marching section of the band where students play percussion instruments such as the marimba, the triangle, tambourine, sleigh bells, finger cymbals and timpani. There are also sometimes extra snare drums, bass drums and even drumsets in this area of the field. See tympani A single drum. Also, mounted drums on a drumset, most commonly played with drum fills. A beat that resembles a train sound. It is played with consecutive 16th notes on the snare drum and accentuated to sound like a train. Common in country music but also used in rock and pop. A common polyrhythm that uses groups of 3 per beat. These can be subdivided many different ways. Ex. quarter note triplets, 8th note triplets, etc. The result of transcribing a piece of music. The largest of the typical 3 conga drums family. A very large drum made of copper or brass. Most often used in orchestras and symphonies. This drum has a foot pedal that is attached to the head mechanism. When the foot pedal is depressed, the kettle drum makes a unique boing type of sound. An oblong drum made of clay. It has a hole on top that resonates the sound when the drum is struck with a hand. Similar to a xylophone but having metal bars and resonators that are driven by a motor. This motor helps to create vibrato sound. Played with mallets. Similar to a xylophone but having metal bars and resonators that are driven by a motor. This motor helps to create vibrato sound. Played with mallets. To the Top Drumming that incorporates rhythms from around the world, utilizing world instruments originating from their prospective countries. Examples would be Afro-Cuban rhythms, Indian rhythms, Caribbean rhythms and so on. A set of hi hats positioned in a remote place on the drumset. A musical instrument consisting of metal or wooden bars that are tuned and played with mallets. Common in musical symphonies and orchestras. A thin donut shaped ring made out of plastic. They are placed around the perimeter of the drums to control overtones or unwanted resonance.
Salsa
Second Line Drumming
Shaker
Shekere
Side Drum
Single Stroke Roll
Slit Drum
Snare Drum
Snares
Solo
Splash
Steel Drum
Sticks
Stick Twirling
Swing
Syncopation
Tabs
Tam-Tam
Tempo
Tambour
Temple Blocks
Triangle
The Pit
Timpani
Tom-Tom
Train Beat
Triplet
Transcription
Tumba
Tympani
Udu Drums
Vibes
Vibraphone
World Drumming
X-hat
Xylophone
Zero Ring