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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Practice Pad: A Complete Buyer's Guide
The variables in practice pads are fewer than in most musical equipment decisions, but they matter. Surface feel, noise, size, and portability each affect whether you actually use the pad you buy.
Snare for Beginners: A Complete Guide
No wiring, no software, just a shell, two heads and a set of wires. Here's the honest, no-nonsense version of what a beginner actually needs to know.
Timbales Explained: Features, Types and Tips
Timbales get mistaken for small toms more often than they should. Here's the honest rundown on what they actually are and how the different parts work.
The Best Steel Pedals for the Money
Learner single-neck, extended single-neck, or double-neck — here's which tier of steel pedal guitar actually matches where you are as a player.
Triangle Instrument for Beginners: A Complete Guide
It looks simple, but a triangle rewards patient practice like any other instrument. Here's a calm, step-by-step way to learn it properly from the start.
Common Cymbal Stand Mistakes to Avoid
Most cymbal stand problems aren't mechanical failures — they're avoidable setup mistakes. Here are the ones that keep coming up, and how to fix them before they cost you.
Everything You Need to Know About Yamaha Drum Kit
Yamaha has built professional drum kits for over fifty years. Learn about the Recording Custom, Stage Custom, Tour Custom and DTX electronic lines, and understand what each range actually delivers.
Childs Electric Drum Kit: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Forget the age label on the box. Here's the honest checklist for choosing an electronic drum kit that will actually get played, pedals and all.
The Best Cymbal Stands for the Money
Hardware budgets are easy to underestimate. Here is an honest tier-by-tier look at what you actually get from a cymbal stand at each price point — and where you get the most for your money.
The Best Sabian Cymbals for the Money
The best Sabian cymbals depend entirely on playing context. This guide picks the top performers for jazz, rock, beginner use, versatility and studio recording.
The Best Steel Band Drums for the Money
There's no single "best" steelpan — only the right tier for what you're actually doing. Here's how the market breaks down.
Everything You Need to Know About Drum Tuning Lugs
Tuning lugs are the tuning fasteners on drum lugs. Understand materials, grip, durability, and how quality tuning lugs affect your drum's tone and playability.
Percussion Instruments Explained: Features, Types and Tips
The broadest family in music, sorted into something that actually makes sense: what counts as percussion, how it's classified, and why it matters.
Common Double Bass Pedal Mistakes to Avoid
Most problems with learning the two-footboard mechanism come from predictable sources. Identifying and correcting them early prevents months of ingrained bad habits.
Piccolo Snare: A Complete Guide
A piccolo snare drum is a specialised percussion instrument producing bright, cutting tones distinct from standard snare drums, valued in orchestras and studios.
Snare Stand for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Everything You Need to Know About Dw Drum Kit
DW has held the top of the drum market for decades. Here is everything you need to know about who makes them, what makes them different, and whether the investment is justified.
The Best Bass Drum Pedals for the Money
From budget starter models to professional-grade hardware — here is how the best bass drum pedals break down by tier, feel and what you actually get for your money.
Drum Rug: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A practical buyer's guide to the drum rug: getting the right size, choosing backing material for your floor type, pile depth, transport options and price points.
Drum Throne: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying a drum throne? Know what to test in the shop, how to spot a solid base and padding that lasts, and how much you need to spend for a reliable throne.
The Complete Guide to Gretsch Drum
Gretsch drums have earned a devoted following among percussionists across jazz, rock and studio recording. Discover what makes these drums special and why professionals choose them.
How to Set Up and Use Instruments Tambourine
Grip, angle, mounting and sound check — a practical, step-by-step walkthrough for getting a tambourine set up and sounding right.
Common Handpan Mistakes to Avoid
A handpan is forgiving to play but unforgiving to mistreat — here are the habits that quietly cause the most damage and disappointment.
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
