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Drum Kit Facts

Drum Kit Facts
The drum kit is a collection of instruments including drums and cymbals and other additional instruments that are grouped together and played by one musician. The musician typically uses drum sticks in his hands and pedals at his feet to strike the various instruments. The drum kit emerged in the 1800s when a musician in an orchestra was required to play more than one instrument, most often the cymbals, triangle, and bass drum. Because the budget for musicians in many stage shows and theaters could not afford to hire multiple musicians they drum kit was developed to enable one musician to play many. When Ludwig & Ludwig Co. patented the first bass drum pedal in the early 1900s the modern drum kit became possible.
Interesting Drum Kit Facts:
Drum kits first became popular military bands and then in jazz music.
The modern drum kit that most people recognize today was made popular in the 1920s in New Orleans in the Vaudeville era.
In the 1920s during prohibition the freelance drummer became popular.
Drummers in the 1920s foley artists became important for silent film makers. The drummer was the individual hired to create the sound effects for the films such as galloping horses, trains arriving, gun shots, and flying planes.
Jazz music, which included the drum kit, was a big part of the music in the depression era. It was a vital sound of the big band swing music.
He drum kit can be divided into four main sections including the hardware (drum stands, pedals, and cymbal stands), the extensions (chimes, tambourines, cowbells, other non-standard instruments), the shells (toms and bass drum), and the breakables (stool, snare drum, cymbals, sticks, and bass drum pedal).
When a drum kit is shared between several drummers, which happens if more than one band is playing on stage in one night, the 'breakables' of the drum kit are usually swapped out between drummers so that they can use their own.
The main components of the modern drum kit include the snare drum, toms, bass drum, octobans, ride cymbals, hi-hats, crashes, effects cymbals, and additional instruments such as cowbells, wood blocks, gongs, chimes, triangles, tambourines, timbales, brake drums, buckets, and tubular bells, and many others.
Drum kits can come in different configurations such as three piece sets, four piece drum kit with floor tom, four piece drum kit with two hanging toms, five piece sets, cocktail kit, and extended kit.
The three piece drum kit is common for young drummers or when space is limited.
The four piece drum kit with floor tom includes a floor tom.
The four piece drum kit with two hanging toms has two hanging toms and is common when space is limited.
Five piece drum kits are the most common drum kits and have three toms in total and often have effects cymbals added.
The cocktail kit is often only two pieces but the drums are often regular size.
The extended drum kit can include many more cymbals, drums, and additional instruments.
Well-known drum kit manufacturers include Gretsch Drums, Ludwig-Musser, Pearl Drums, Yamaha Drums, Rogers Drums, Slingerland Drum Company, ddrum, Tama Drums, and Premier Percussion, and several others.


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