How many ways can you hit a drum? What are some of the most common and important tools that you may need as a developing drummer? In this week's blog, we are going to dive into the world of percussion implements - the things we hit the drums with. We are going to look at some of the categories of these implements and possible musical situations where they might be useful.
Sticks
This is the most common tool we use to play the drums with (certainly as drum kit players). Sticks come in all shapes, sizes and weights. The main differences between sticks are length, diameter, tip style and tip material. Each of these alter how the stick sound and feel when played on the instrument. We actually have a whole blog the goes into detail on this - click here to read it.
Brushes.
Brushes are commonly made from many metal strands spread out in a fan like shape. These tools create a unique sound and are typically used in a “sweeping” motion across a drum head. Brushes create a lower volume sound than traditional sticks, making them popular with lower volume and acoustic styles of music. They are commonly used in Jazz music and also have wider genre applications. Brushes are a great tool to play in low volume situations and are also a great creative tool for experimenting with different textures.
Rods.
Known as hot rods, whips, rutes, wands and a number of other names, these implements look like a stick and are played using the same motions but with a lower volume and less pronounced attack to the sound. Rods were widely used in orchestral music and more recent have become more widely used on both drum set and other percussion. Rods take on many shapes and forms but are typically smaller sticks made of wood or plastic, held together to form a flexible structure. This multilayer structure helps to generate a similar sound from the instrument at a reduced volume.
Mallets.
Mallets are a widely used implement across many different types of percussion. A mallet consists of a shaft as a handle connected to a head. The head can be made of different materials for different musical applications or instruments. Mallets made with harder heads can be used for instruments such as glockenspiel and xylophone. These heads are typically made out of rubber, nylon, acrylic or wood. They provide a very precise, bright and clear sound from the instrument. Other mallet heads have a core (again either, rubber, acrylic, nylon or wood) but are wrapped in soft layers of fabric. The fabric softens the sound creating a smoother and warmer tone from the instrument. Softer mallets are typically used for marimba and vibraphone as well as timpani. Softer mallets are also popular amongst drum kit players for an alternative sound option.
Summary
So that’s our list. It’s a small insight into the world of percussion implements all of which get used on the drum set. Each stick brings a unique character and sound option to the instrument and can be used across genres and styles of music. There are also others that we have not covered here as they are more specialised.
Why not have a look at you stick bag today and see if there are any new sounds you might want to add from our list above. Learning to use the tools in both conventional and non conventional ways is a great way to get creative on the drums.
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