The full family of drums and percussion — acoustic and electronic kits, hand drums, pitched mallet instruments, and everything in between.
- 118 topics
- 506 articles
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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Everything You Need to Know About Drum Mute Pads
Drum mutes let you practise quietly without disturbing others. Explore rubber pads, mesh head options, and how they transform your practise routine.
The Ultimate Guide to Pearl Exx Drum Kit
Pearl has built premium drum kits since 1946, trusted by session musicians and touring professionals worldwide. Explore Pearl's range, from affordable beginner kits to handcrafted professional instrum...
Common Kick Drum Mistakes to Avoid
Most kick drum problems come from the same predictable mistakes. Here's the honest list and how to fix every one of them.
Electric Drum Set: A Complete Buyer's Guide
The number of onboard sounds tells you almost nothing. Here's what to actually test, check and budget for before buying an electric drum set.
Timbales: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying timbales properly means looking past the finish. Here's what genuinely matters, in the order I'd actually check it.
The Best Mapex Drum Kits for the Money
Common Instruments Tambourine Mistakes to Avoid
From clamping the frame too tightly to putting the mic too close in the studio, here are the tambourine habits worth fixing early.
Snare Drum Snares Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Take the wires off a snare drum and you've got an ordinary tom. Here's what those wires actually do, and how to get them working for you.
Common Cabasa Instrument Mistakes to Avoid
A few honest observations on what wears a cabasa out early, and what just makes it sound worse than it needs to.
Guiro for Beginners: A Complete Guide
No rhythm training needed. A calm, steady walkthrough of your first sessions with a guiro, from grip to your first solid pattern.
Common Triangle Music Instrument Mistakes to Avoid
Everyone assumes this instrument is impossible to get wrong. It isn't. Here's what actually goes wrong, and the quick fix for each one.
The Best Paiste Cymbals for the Money
Paiste covers every budget from student sets to hand-finished professional cymbals — here's which tier delivers the most for what you pay.
Cymbals Explained: Features, Types and Tips
What cymbals are made of, the main types you will meet on a kit, and a few honest tips for choosing wisely — no sales pitch, just the useful stuff.
Guiro Music Instrument: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Gourd, wood, plastic, fiberglass, metal, handled or palm-held — here's how to actually choose a guiro that suits what you play.
Common Celesta Mistakes to Avoid
Every quirk in how a celesta behaves traces back to a specific mechanical cause. Here are the mistakes that come up again and again.
Practice Drum Kit: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Choosing a practice drum kit involves deciding between electronic, low-volume acoustic and practice pad setups. Here are the key decisions and specific recommendations.
Stick Bag: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A stick bag is a small purchase with a big practical impact. Knowing what to look for — capacity, material, strap quality, pocket layout — saves you from buying twice.
Steel Pedal: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Choosing a tuning system, checking the changer mechanism, budgeting for a volume pedal — here's exactly what to check before buying a steel pedal guitar.
China Cymbal for Beginners: A Complete Guide
The inverted cup and turned-up edge are not design flaws — they produce a specific, aggressive sound that crashes cannot replicate. Here is how to use one well.
Everything You Need to Know About Tom Tom Dashboard Mount
Tom mounts directly affect drum tone and sustain. Discover how isolation technology improves resonance and why professional drummers prioritise quality hardware.
Drum Key Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A drum key is the one tool every drummer needs but rarely thinks about — here is a plain-spoken breakdown of what it does, the types available, and how to get the most out of it.
Childrens Electronic Drum Kit: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Pad, module, ergonomics, then contents — the order to check things in before you buy a children's electronic drum kit, and the questions worth asking first.
China Cymbal: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Size, weight and alloy are the three variables that determine how a china cymbal sounds and performs. Here is how to choose the right combination.
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
