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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Tambourine: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying a tambourine well means making the right call on head, jingles, and size. This buyer's guide covers every variable and which brands are worth trusting.
Congas Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Tall drums, one head each, played by hand — but there's real craft and a deep tradition behind that simplicity. Here's how congas actually work.
Childs Electronic Drum Set: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Choosing the right electronic drum kit for a child is a practical decision that involves budget, noise tolerance and matching the kit to the child's age and size — here is how to do it.
Cymbals: A Complete Buyer's Guide
What to check before you buy cymbals — from matching pieces to your playing to spotting a good one in the shop, with no brand loyalty required.
Triangle Music Instrument for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Take a breath - you can absolutely do this well. Here's the gentle, step-by-step version of learning the triangle, with no pressure to sound perfect first go.
The Best Sonor Drum Kits for the Money
The AQ2 wins at entry level, the Force series justifies its price for regular gigging, and the SQ1 is the professional standard that lasts a career.
Instrument Agogo for Beginners: A Complete Guide
No chord shapes to memorise, no parts to assemble — just a proper technique worth getting right from day one. Here's how to start playing the agogo.
Crash Cymbals: A Complete Guide
A crash cymbal is the drummer's punctuation mark. Here is how they work, what the variables mean, and how to choose the right one for your playing.
Cajon Drumming for Beginners: A Complete Guide
No music reading, no drum kit, no pressure — here is a gentle, encouraging way to take your first steps in cajon drumming.
Common Samba Music Instruments Mistakes to Avoid
Most disappointment with samba percussion isn't about the gear itself — it's a handful of habits that are genuinely easy to avoid once you know them.
The Ultimate Guide to Djembes Drums
A clear, practical rundown of the djembe: where it comes from, how it's built, and the three distinct sounds it's designed to make.
Alesis Company: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying Alesis isn't one decision — drums, digital pianos and MIDI keyboards each need their own checklist. Here's all three.
Stick Bag for Beginners: A Complete Guide
A stick bag is not glamorous, but it will save you from losing sticks, scrambling for spares, and arriving at rehearsal unprepared. Here is the no-nonsense guide for new drummers.
Common Frame Drum Mistakes to Avoid
Most frame drum problems trace back to the same small set of habits — a tight grip, too much speed too soon, and not listening deeply to the tradition you are working towards.
Splash Cymbal: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Celesta Explained: Features, Types and Tips
That shimmering sound in the Nutcracker has a name and a mechanism. Here's how a celesta actually works.
The Best Drums Notations for the Money
Notation itself is free to learn. What varies in value is the resource you learn it from. Here's the best option for every budget and learning style.
Everything You Need to Know About Tama Drum Kits
Tama produces drums at every level from student kits to professional touring instruments — understanding the series and materials helps you choose the right option for your playing.
Everything You Need to Know About Bongo Drumming
From eastern Cuba to salsa clubs and bedroom studios, here is everything worth knowing about bongo drumming: history, anatomy, the martillo pattern and basic technique.
Drum Throne Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A drum throne is engineering for drummers. Find out how seat shape, height adjustment and base construction affect your playing, and how to set yours up right.
The Best Drum Pads for the Money
No invented benchmarks — just an honest look at what entry-level, mid-range and professional drum pads actually get you for the money.
Zildjian S Family Cymbals: A Complete Buyer's Guide
The question isn't whether Zildjian S Family Cymbals cymbals are worth buying, it's which pieces actually suit what you play. Here's how to decide.
Drum Heads: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Drum heads involve more decisions than they appear to at first glance. This buyer's guide cuts through the variables and tells you what actually matters for your specific setup.
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
