The full family of drums and percussion — acoustic and electronic kits, hand drums, pitched mallet instruments, and everything in between.
- 118 topics
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Inside Drums & Percussion
All 118 topicsThe 12 most-searched of 118 topics. The full index is at the foot of the page.
Electronic Drum Kit
Electronic drum kits for quiet practice, recording and adaptable modern drumming.
5 topics
Xylophone
Xylophones are tuned wooden percussion instruments with a bright, articulate sound for schools, ensembles and performanc...
1 topic
Drum Kit
Choose a drum kit for practice, recording or live work, with acoustic and electronic options to suit every drummer.
14 topics
Claves
Bright, compact rhythm sticks that deliver a clear click for Latin grooves, ensemble work and classroom percussion.
Glockenspiel
Glockenspiels deliver bright, bell-like tuned percussion for orchestral, educational and studio use.
4 topics
Drum Sticks
Drum sticks shape feel, tone and control, with options for practice, performance and different playing styles.
1 topic
Chimes
Orchestral percussion for shimmering accents, dramatic swells and atmospheric colour in live or studio settings.
1 topic
Bongos
Add lively hand percussion to your setup with bongos for Latin grooves, teaching and live performance.
2 topics
Tambourine
Find tambourines for bright accents, rhythmic lift and versatile hand percussion across many styles.
2 topics
Tubular Bells
Tubular bells are pitched concert percussion instruments known for resonant, bell-like tones in orchestral and theatrica...
Maracas
Maracas add bright rhythmic texture and easy-to-use percussion colour for studio, school and live performance.
2 topics
Drums
Drums for every player, from complete kits to upgrade parts, with options for practice, recording and live performance.
26 topicsArticles on Drums & Percussion
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The Ultimate Guide to Bongos
Two little drums, endless depth. A complete guide to how bongos are built, tuned and played — from the macho and hembra to the martillo and how to choose your first pair.
The Best Handpans for the Money
There's no single best handpan — here's where genuine value sits, from a first cautious try to a premium extended-range build.
Drum Cases Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Drum cases range from lightweight padded bags to heavy-duty ATA flight cases. This guide explains the types, what each offers, and how to match the right case to your situation.
Childrens Electronic Drum Set: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Sound count means nothing. Here's what to actually evaluate when buying a children's drum kit — in the order it matters.
Cabasa Instrument: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Cylinder, chain, handle, size — here's exactly what actually changes the sound and feel of a cabasa before you buy one.
Drum Cases for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Getting your first set of drum cases doesn't have to be complicated. This beginner's guide covers padded bags, hard cases, cymbal bags, and hardware bags — and what to buy first.
The Best Congas Drums for the Money
The best value in congas drums sits at different points depending on your budget and use case. Here are the picks that consistently deliver at each price level.
Double Bass Pedal: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Choosing the right drum pedal requires understanding what changes between price tiers and which features genuinely matter for your playing style. This guide covers the key decisions.
Common Practice Drum Kit Mistakes to Avoid
Players setting up a practice drum kit for the first time make predictable errors that affect noise levels and how effectively they practise. Here is how to fix each one.
Common Guiro Music Instrument Mistakes to Avoid
The same handful of avoidable errors turn up again and again with the guiro, from the shop floor through to the stage. Here's how to skip them.
Everything You Need to Know About Boom Cymbal Stand
A boom cymbal stand is the key to a comfortable, professional drum kit layout. Discover how to position cymbals efficiently and unlock better sound and playability.
Common Childrens Electronic Drum Kit Mistakes to Avoid
Seven avoidable errors that turn a promising children's electronic drum kit into a disappointment, and the quick fix for each one.
The Ultimate Guide to Drum Sticks
What the 7A, 5A and 5B codes really mean, why taper and tip matter more than the label, and the two-minute check that stops you buying a dud pair.
Bodhran for Beginners: A Complete Guide
A beginner's roadmap to bodhran: no prior experience needed. Learn what to buy, how to hold it, basic technique, and a month-by-month practice plan to get you session-ready.
Drum Key for Beginners: A Complete Guide
If you are new to drums, the drum key is the first tool you'll meet and the one you're most likely to lose — here is everything you need to know to get started on the right foot.
Bells: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A practical buyer's guide: understand handbell quality tiers, orchestral chime options, cowbell choices, and match your budget to your musical needs.
Istanbul Agop Cymbals for Beginners: A Complete Guide
These hand-hammered B20 bronze cymbals represent a specific Turkish tradition — warm, dark and complex in character. Here is what new players need to understand before buying.
Congas Drums for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Congas drums require a different approach from any stick-based instrument. This complete guide walks beginners through setup, technique, practice and what to listen to.
Common Snare Stand Mistakes to Avoid
Marimba Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Ever wondered what actually makes a marimba sound the way it does? Here's how the bars, resonators and ranges fit together, explained without the jargon.
Common Drum Cases Mistakes to Avoid
Drummers consistently make the same mistakes with kit protection: wrong case sizes, hardware mixed with shells, gig bags pushed beyond their limits. This guide identifies each problem and how to avoid...
Paiste Cymbals for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Paiste cymbals can look overwhelming from the outside — here's which ones to start with and how to use them correctly from day one.
Common Alesis Nitro Max Mistakes to Avoid
The setup and habit mistakes that catch new Alesis Nitro Max owners out, and exactly how to fix each one properly.
What Drums & Percussion Covers
Drums & percussion is the broadest family in music: it covers every instrument that produces sound by striking, shaking, scraping or setting a surface in vibration. The category divides into membranophones — instruments with a stretched skin or synthetic head, such as a snare drum or djembe — and idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself produces the sound, as with a xylophone, cowbell or claves.
Drum Kits: Acoustic and Electronic
The acoustic drum kit — bass drum, snare, tom-toms, hi-hats and cymbals — remains the foundation of rock, jazz and pop. Every component has its own page here, from choosing drum sticks and replacement heads to selecting the right cymbals for a given style. Electronic drum kits and percussion pads use triggers and sampled sounds, and are increasingly popular for practice, home recording and smaller venues where volume matters. Hybrid kits combine acoustic shells with electronic triggering, giving players the feel of real heads alongside the flexibility of on-board sound libraries.
Hand Percussion
Hand percussion spans dozens of world traditions. Congas, bongos and claves draw from Afro-Cuban music; the djembe comes from West Africa; the cajón from Peru; the bodhrán from Irish folk. Frame drums, goblet drums and shakers appear in folk, classical and popular music alike. When choosing a hand drum, the key considerations are playing technique, head material, tuning range, portability and whether it is intended for solo practice, ensemble playing or live performance.
Pitched Percussion
Pitched percussion instruments play identifiable notes and sit at the intersection of rhythm and melody. Xylophones, marimbas, vibraphones, glockenspiels, tubular bells and the celesta are all mallet instruments, found in orchestras, concert bands, musical theatre and studio production. The handpan — a relatively modern bowl-shaped idiophone — has attracted a dedicated following for its resonant, meditative tone.
Accessories and Smaller Percussion
The tambourine, triangle, cowbell, shaker and chimes might not anchor the rhythm section, but in the right moment they define a recording. This section also covers the accessories that hold everything together: drum sticks and mallets, beaters and brushes, mounting hardware, cymbal stands, drum pedals, replacement heads, cases and triggers.
All 118 topics in Drums & Percussion
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- Djembe
- Double Bass Pedal
- Dream Cymbals
- Drum Bags
- Drum Cases
- Drum Hardware
- Drum Hardware
- Drum Heads
- Drum Key
- Drum Kit
- Drum Mutes
- Drum Pad
- Drum Rack
- Drum Rug
- Drum Shells
- Drum Sticks
- Drum Throne
- Drums
- Drums & Percussion (General)
- Drums & Percussion — Other Brands
- Drums & Percussion — Pearl
- Drums & Percussion — Tama
- Drums & Percussion — Yamaha
- Dw Drum Kit
