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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Celesta: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying a celesta isn't like buying a guitar pedal. Here's the honest version of what actually matters.
Childrens Electronic Drum Kit for Beginners: A Complete Guide
No jargon, no pressure to get it perfect — just a comfortable setup, a simple first-week routine, and the early wobbles every beginner hits.
The Ultimate Guide to Drum Heads
Drum heads shape every aspect of a kit's sound. This guide covers how they are built, what the variables mean in practice, and how to make sense of the options across snare, toms and bass drum.
The Ultimate Guide to Cymbal Sound Effect
Effect cymbals represent percussion's creative edge, transforming drum kits with textural possibilities that extend far beyond traditional crash and ride offerings.
Congas for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Congas look a little intimidating at first, but it's a genuinely welcoming instrument to begin on. Let's take it gently, one step at a time.
Timbales for Beginners: A Complete Guide
If you're standing in front of your first timbales feeling a little unsure where to even put your hands, that's completely normal. Let's take it one step at a time.
Cymbal Stand: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Not all cymbal stands are equal. This buyer's guide unpacks the specs that actually matter — so you buy hardware that holds up, not hardware that disappoints at the worst moment.
Dw Drum Kit: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying a DW drum kit is a long-term investment. This buyer's guide covers which series makes sense at your level, what to check when buying used, and the full cost of getting set up.
Common Childs Electric Drum Kit Mistakes to Avoid
Most disappointment with a child's kit comes down to a handful of ordinary, avoidable choices. Here's what actually goes wrong, and how to fix it.
Common Djembe Mistakes to Avoid
The most common beginner mistakes on djembe: tight grip, inconsistent hand position, poor posture, rushing patterns, irregular practice, and how to recognise and correct each one.
Natal Jazz Drum Kit: A Complete Guide
A proper jazz drum kit combines smaller drums, high tuning, and quality cymbals for the responsive, articulate tones essential to jazz ensemble playing.
The Ultimate Guide to Drum Hardware Parts
Drum hardware is often overlooked by many drummers, yet quality components are essential for tuning stability, resonance, and overall kit performance.
Celesta for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Take a breath: this is a genuinely forgiving instrument to start on. Here's your first practice session, step by step.
Alesis Nitro Max Explained: Features, Types and Tips
What the Alesis Nitro Max includes, how its module and connectivity work, and a handful of practical setup tips.
Everything You Need to Know About Agogo Bell
Two small metal bells with a huge job in samba: here is where the agogo bell came from, how it's built and played, and how it differs from a cowbell or gankogui.
The Best Meinl Cymbals for the Money
The best picks from the Meinl range at each budget tier — from the HCS student pack through Classics Custom gigging sets to the Byzance professional range.
What Is in a Drum Kit? Every Drum and Cymbal Explained
Kick, snare, toms, hi-hats, crash and ride. What each part of a drum kit is for, how kits are counted, and which pieces you can happily do without.
The Ultimate Guide to Cajon Flamenco Duende
The cajon flamenco brings authentic Spanish rhythmic traditions to life through passionate, soulful accompaniment. This guide explores the instrument's origins, techniques and how to begin your flamen...
The Best Darbukas for the Money
Aluminium, ceramic, Turkish or Egyptian — here's which darbuka actually suits your playing, budget and lifestyle.
Common Beginner Drum Kit Mistakes to Avoid
Drum Heads for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Drum heads are one of the most important — and most replaceable — parts of a drum kit. This beginner's guide explains exactly what to look for and how to get started without getting lost in the jargon...
The Ultimate Guide to Steel Pedals
Part slide guitar, part mechanical linkage system — here's what a steel pedal guitar actually is, how it works, and where its crying sound came from.
Common Djembes Drums Mistakes to Avoid
The avoidable mistakes that trip up most djembe owners, from rushed tuning to bad storage, and the simple fix for each one.
The Best Snare Drums for the Money
The best snare drum at each level is the one that consistently performs in context — the Pearl Export for students, Supraphonic for live rock and DW Collector's for professionals.
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
